Better Glass

speed_dmon

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I know that a photographer needs different lenses with different focul lengths for various different subjects. I constantly hear the strong recommendation to invest in better glass. My question is, what makes one lens better (and ultimately a lot more expensive) than another of the same focul length?
 
Its build, its aperture, different layers on the glass, they are sharp at a wider range on apertures and wider range..

For instance I have a Canon EF 75-300mm F/4-5.6 or something and when I take pictures especially at 300mm they are not very sharp at all, especially action shots, like soccer, hard to get nice n crisp...
 
Don't forget added features - IS or VR (I think in nikon land) in the lens will add a few £100s/$100s to the overall cost of a lens - its worth the money, but it adds to complexity in construction - thus more cost

In general the things that lead to a good photo are:
1) photographer skill (key part this!)
2) lens quality
3) camera body quality.

And considering that camera bodies are upgraded (and thus become out of date) very quickly good lenses are a good investment towards better shooting - its not a garentee - a bad photographer with top end kit is still going to make the same mistakes as they would on low end kit.
 
A better lens will

- have a faster maximum aperture.
- already be tack sharp wide open rather than needing to be stopped down.
- have more rugged build quality and be more durable.
- have better color and contrast.
- have nice creamy bokeh (out of focus area rendering)
- have insanely fast focusing and tracking ability.

Basically you can put a nicer lens (assuming a zoom) at any focal length and any aperture and it'll give great results. No need to stop down the lens, no need to avoid any certain focal length ranges, you can knock it against a wall and not worry (the wall will get hurt more). Just shoot with confidence.

This describes my pro $1200 Nikon 17-55DX f/2.8 lens. However it doesn't mean I can't also get great results with my cheap $140 (used) 18-55VR kit lens. I can, and do.
 
My opinion is that this is one of those cases where you (usually) get what you pay for. The ability to shoot in low light situations, have the VR (Nikkor) function to reduce camera shake ( Remember Mr. Bojangles? I drinks a bit), color contrast so that the colors pop, a constant aperture (zooms) are all part of the package. And most importantly to me, Image Quality. Just wish I could shoot quality images.
 

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