Digital SLRs are still the cameras of choice for many serious enthusiasts and pros, and compact mirrorless cameras with DSLR functionality have really caught fire with consumers over the past few years. That’s why it’s hardly surprising that interchangeable lenses have become a hot topic. With the current focus on personal creativity and doing more with your pictures, savvy shooters are well aware that the greatest advantages of shooting with a DSLR or mirrorless camera is the ability to change lenses. It allows you to pick the precise type of lenses that best suit the type of subjects you shoot and your distinctive style—everything from fish-eyes and ultra-wide-angles to super telephotos, wide-aperture prime lenses for capturing pictorial effects, and anything in-between. In short the lenses you use can expand your shooting range, and enhance your picture-taking experience. To get the most out of your camera, picking your second and third lenses are crucial decisions, so here’s some guidance on you need to know before opening your wallet or swiping your credit card.
The first lens sets the stage
The most popular first lens bought with a DSLR of mirrorless camera is a short zoom (sometimes called a normal or standard zoom), such as the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lenses offered by every major camera maker with their APS-C-format DSLR starter kits. The 18-55mm, equivalent to a 28-85mm lens on a full-frame pro camera, provides wide-angle to medium telephoto coverage and a 3X zoom ratio. Compact, lightweight and inexpensive, the 18-55mm (or equivalent) is a great starter lens for general shooting, but a two-lens outfit is more versatile. And contrary to popular belief, the second lens you choose doesn’t have to be a zoom that complements the normal zoom by extending its focal-length range at the wide-angle or telephoto end.
Why not start with a two-lens outfit?
A good example is the Nikon D3300 two-lens kit currently available at an Adorama price of $596.95 with a normal zoom DXVR II Nikon 18-55mm f/3.6-5.6 lens, a compact DXVR II Nikon 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 telephoto zoom, plus accessories including a Nikon bag. This combo deal delivers a non-overlapping zoom range from 18-200mm, covering an equivalent range from 28mm wide angle (for indoor shots and vistas) to 300mm super telephoto (for sports and nature), and it saves you around 50 to 100 bucks on the cost of the second telephoto zoom lens. Another effective strategy
Alternative “first lens” choices
A popular alternative is skipping the mid-range zoom entirely and equipping your camera body with a long-range wide-to-telephoto zoom with macro capability that can be employed as an all-in-one walk-around lens. Excellent examples: The Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM Zoom, which incorporates double-sided aspheric elements, a Thermally Stable Composite barrel and focuses down to 13.8 inches at all focal lengths (Adorama price $349.00 bundled with a Digital UV filter, lens cap tether, and cleaning kit), and the Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro lens, a fine performer that focuses down to 18 inches over the entire zoom range, and provides a macro magnification of 1:3.7 at the 200mm setting (Adorama price: $199.00.)
Recently, experienced shooters have been going whole hog and opting for a high-performance ultra-telephoto-zoom that covers the full-frame format and provides even greater reach by forgoing the wide-angle focal lengths. A superb example is the Sigma 50-500mm f/4-5.6 APO DG OS HSM that incorporates an Optical Stabilizer delivering a 4-stop advantage in handheld shooting, APO color correction, and four SLD elements ensuring outstanding image quality, and macro capability down to 1:3.1 at 200mm (Adorama price: $1,509.00.) The longest range ultra zooms for APS-C-format cameras: The 15X Tamron 18-270mm Di II VC PZD with an equivalent focal-length range of 27-419mm, built-in Vibration Compensation (VC) and piezoelectric (PZD) autofocus motor (Adorama price: $449.00.) and the class-leading 16.6X Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM (equivalent focal length range: 27-450mm) that offers 1:3 Macro, an enhanced Optical Stabilizer (OS), and four FLD and 1 SLD glass elements to deliver incredibly sharp, high-contrast images (Adorama price: $579.00.)
It’s worth noting that all ultra-zoom lenses are great for shooting in dusty or challenging places where lens changing is a hassle and could cause sensor contamination.
The wide, wide zoom: Great for tight spaces and wide vistas
Do you take lots of pictures indoors—interior views, kids in the family room, groups of friends and relatives gathered around the table? If so, an ultra-wide-to-wide-angle zoom like the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for APS-C-format DSLRs with 16-32mm equivalent coverage is a perfect second lens (Adorama price: $449.00), and so is the Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.6 DI-II LD Aspherical that is equivalent to a 16-37mm and focuses down to 10 inches at all focal lengths (Adorama price $499.00.) A unique choice for full-frame Canon aficionados with deep pockets is the magnificent but pricey Canon 11-24mm f/1.4L that incorporates Super UD and UD elements and four aspheric elements to achieve its remarkable speed and extraordinary imaging performance (Adorama price: $2.999.00.)
Note: Any lens in this class makes it easy to get everyone into the picture, shoot in tight spaces. and capture all the action from an intimate perspective. They’re also great for shooting landscapes.
Telephoto zooms: They’re for the birds . . . and much more
If you’re an outdoorsy type who often takes pictures of birds and other small, skittish woodland critters, or you’re into shooting sports from the bleachers, there’s nothing like a really long telephoto zoom lens to take your photos to the next level. Example: The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM works on full-frame DSLRs and delivers the equivalent of a 109mm medium telephoto to a 465mm ultra-telephoto on APS-C-format cameras, a range that’ll let you capture dynamic portraits or that great catch in the outfield. This big gun is also great for handheld shooting because it has IS (image stabilization) to prevent shake-induced blur, and its aperture is fast enough to let you shoot at high shutter speeds to stop action, especially with the latest crop of DSLRs that deliver superb image quality at high ISOs. (Adorama price: $649.00 with filter kit.) Want to go even longer? Take a look at the impressive Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD that works with full-frame and APS-C-format cameras and has built-in VC image stabilization (Adorama price: $1,069.00). and the amazing Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary with new zoom lock and manual override switches and an upgraded Optical Stabilizer (OS) with an accelerometer for improved horizontal and vertical panning (Adorama price: $1,089.00.)
Fast Telephoto Macros: Super for close-ups and portraits
If you find that you often shoot extreme close-ups and also like to take portraits, check out the prime (single-focal-length) macro telephoto category. When it comes to taking pro-quality close-ups of, say, flowers or coins, nothing beats a good f/2.8 single-focal-length macro lens. Examples: classic Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro Nikkor that provides VR image stabilization and works with Nikon DX format digital or 35mm SLR cameras (Adorama price: $896.95), the Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di VC USD 1:1 AF that has VC image stabilization 2 XLD and 1 LD elements, and features anytime manual focus control (Adorama price: $749.00), or the highly regarded Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM that has an advanced Optical Stabilizer (OS), a floating focusing system to minimize astigmatism and spherical aberration, and full-time manual focus (Adorama price: $769.00.) All three lenses get down to 1:1 life-size for extreme close-ups, and each one provides the superb imaging performance that only a single-focal-length lens specifically calculated for macro photography delivers. They also have wide f/2.8 apertures that provide greater focusing precision, and all are superb for shooting portraits, especially wide open where the shallow depth of field can give stunning pictorial effects.
Fast prime lenses: A popular choice for fine art photographers
While zooms still dominate the lens market due to their framing flexibility, many creative enthusiasts and pros are now gravitating to wide-aperture non-zoom, or prime, lenses. Lenses in the f/1.2-2.8 range let in more light so you can shoot in really dim conditions without bumping up the ISO too high and getting “digital grain.” And they allow you create dramatic effects in portraits and landscapes by exploiting their limited depth of field at their widest apertures. The smooth natural transition from the sharply defined subject to the softer background or foreground areas is known as beautiful bokeh, and using it adeptly is a classic portrait technique that emphasizes and elevates the subject.
A few years ago Sony pioneered the resurgence of fast primes lenses with such outstanding (and affordable) examples as the Sony 85mm f/2.8 SAM (Adorama price: $298), the Sony SAL 50mm f/1.8 DT AF (Adorama price: $168.00) and the Sony DT 35mm f/1.8 SAM (Adorama price: $218.00), which provide equivalent focal lengths of 132mm, 78mm and 54mm, respectively on APS-C-format Sony Alpha models. More recently, Sigma unveiled its popular Art Line that includes such outstanding fast prime lenses as the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 SG HSM Art, an advanced design yielding extraordinary sharpness and beautiful bokeh (Adorama price: $949.00.) and the remarkable Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art, a 15-element, 11-group design that combines ultra-wide-angle coverage, a super-speed maximum aperture, and spectacular performance (Adorama price: $899.00). Finally there’s the favorite among pros, the glorious (and pricey) Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II that yields impressive imaging performance along with the smooth, creamy bokeh portrait, still life, and landscape photographers love (Adorama price: $1.899.00 with filter bundle.)
Compact Mirrorless Camera lenses: Definitely up-market
With the upsurge in the mirrorless camera category can lenses for these compact, full-featured models be far behind? No indeed, and there are some fascinating options, including: The Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DI-II AF for Sony Alpha APS-C cameras, with moisture-resistant construction and a new high-performance AF drive module (Adorama price: $249.00.), the new manual focus Zeiss Loxia 50mm f/2 Planar T* for Sony E-mount full-frame and APS-C models, with an aperture that can be de-clicked when shooting video (Adorama price: $949), and the economical high-performance Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Tele Zoom for Sony/Minolta mount cameras (Adorama price: $169.00, bundled with UV filter, lens cap tether, and cleaning kit. Note: There are also numerous lenses offered by both the camera makers and independent lens companies that are designed for other mirrorless systems such as Micro Four Thirds format-cameras (including the Olympus OM-D), and APS-C-format systems including the Fujifilm-X, Samsung NX
The main thing to think about when choosing your next lens is determining which ones work best with your present lenses to extend your photographic range in a direction that includes the type of pictures you shoot most often. To do this effectively you’ve really got to think about what kinds of pictures you take now, and where you want to go with your photography. In other words, you have to ask yourself how your photography is going to evolve going forward. Finally, bear in mind that while all the lenses we’ve mentioned here are excellent choices they serve mainly as examples to whet your optical appetite, so by all means, check out all the alternatives before making your final decisions.
