What Lens Should I Buy?

As I have expressed in past blog posts, the camera body does not matter nearly as much as the glass on it. Knowing what lenses are most beneficial to your style of photography is so important, otherwise you’ll waste thousands of dollars on lenses that do nothing for you!

There are hundreds of different kinds of lenses out there. From wide angle to telephoto to macro, they serve tons of different purposes. The lens you buy also determines your maximum aperture, so that is something to keep in mind as well. So, before you purchase your next piece of glass, think about what you’ll be photographing!

If you take a lot of portraits, you want to choose a lens with a wide maximum aperture and a long focal length. The absolute minimum focal length that you should be working with is 50mm. If you work with a shorter focal length such as 20mm (a wide angle lens) there will be some serious camera distortion that will make your subject look round or disproportionate. Longer focal lengths are much more flattering for portraits, so try a lens such as a 70-200mm. Also, as you know from my last blog post, a wide aperture leads to a shallow depth of field, meaning the background behind your subject will be out of focus and silky smooth. So, you should look for lenses with a maximum aperture somewhere between f/1.2 and f/2.8, but no higher!

If you photograph a lot of landscapes, a wide angle lens might be for you. Wider angle lenses such as 35mm or less will allow you to get the full landscape in your photograph. Without this wide angle, it will be very hard to incorporate foreground and background into your landscape and will not give the viewer the sense that they can step right into your photo.

If you’re looking for a standard lens that’s lightweight and easy to travel with, and you’re mostly just interested in getting some fun shots to share with family and friends, a standard kit lens should be enough for you. These lenses are typically a 18-55mm f/3.5, or something along the lines of that. They are light, user friendly, and fairly versatile- perfect for a vacation.

Also, it goes without saying that we want a lens that will actually fit on our camera body, so check to make sure the lens you’re looking at will actually mount on your camera. Camera mounts vary between brands and even within the same brand, so use a site such as www.lenshero.com to check for compatibility before purchasing.

If you have any questions about your potential lens purchases, just leave them in the comments below! Also, if you have any suggestions for future posts, leave those as well!

Thank you SO much for reading, see you next Friday!

July 17, 2018

July 17, 2018

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