Which Camera Lens Should I Buy - resource website

[cassio]

Hi guys!

I developed a website to help newbies find which camera lens should they buy next as an upgrade or 2nd lens.

Here's a list of questions you can ask yourself that can help you identify which camera lens is suited to your shooting style. You may click on the different camera lens categories to find the available lenses for you.

QUESTIONNAIRE:

Do you hate changing lenses when shooting? Do you want just one lens to shoot everything?

YES: Get yourself an "All-in-One Zoom" lens
NO: Proceed to next question

Are you happy with the range of your kit zoom, but want a lens that provide sharper images and handle better low light situations?

YES: Get yourself a "Fast Midrange Zoom" lens
NO: If you want a different range of focal lengths, proceed to next question.


Look at your shooting pattern. What kind of photos do you really love to shoot? See the different categories you love to shoot below. There may be some overlaps so answer all the questions that apply.

PORTRAITS
I'm on a budget:
-Consider a "Fast 50mm" lens
-or a "Kit Tele-Zoom" lens

I can stretch my budget:
-Check out a "Fast Short tele" lens
-or a "Fast Tele-Zoom" lens

SPORTS
I want to shoot games such as football, baseball, basketball and other sports from the sidelines:
-Get yourself an "All-in-One Zoom" lens
-or consider a "Kit Tele-Zoom" lens
-Better yet, use a "Fast Tele-Zoom" lens

I want to shoot racing, skiing or other sports from long rage:
-You're best bet are "Super Tele-zoom" lenses

LANDSCAPES
I want to shoot wide-open spaces, beaches, buildings and big landmarks:
-Purchase an "Ultrawide zoom or Prime" lens

I want to zoom in on interesting subject matter in the landscape:
-Buy an "All-in-One Zoom" lens
-Spend less on a "Kit Tele-Zoom" lens
-Get more from a "Fast Tele-Zoom" lens

I want to make big-sun shots:
-You're best bet are "Super Tele-zoom" lenses

WILDLIFE
I want to take photos of animals in parks and wildlife reserves:
-Get yourself an "All-in-One Zoom" lens
-Spend less on a "Kit Tele-Zoom" lens
-Get more from a "Fast Tele-Zoom" lens

I want to shoot wild animals from afar:
-You're best bet are "Super Tele-zoom" lenses

I want to shoot small animals or insects from up close:
-You need a "Dedicated Macro" lens

CLOSE-UPS
I want to specilize in photographing small objects and small subjects:
-You need a "Dedicated Macro" lens


LOW LIGHT CANDIDS
I want to take pictures in low light without using flash and avoiding noise from high ISO:
-Consider a "Fast 50mm" lens
-Check out a "Fast Short tele" lens

I want to have the flexibility of a having both a zoom and wide angle lens
-Get yourself a "Fast Midrange Zoom" lens
-or purchase an "Ultrawide zoom or Prime" lens

THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
I like to go wandering around the city, night and day, shooting the streets and the people:
-Get yourself a "Fast Midrange Zoom" lens

IMPORTANT: Do take note that some lenses only work on cropped sensors (APS-C). Make sure you check with your camera manufacturers on the compatibility of the lenses with your DSLR Camera.

 

[cassio]

I'd like to ask help from Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus users on what are the highly recommended lenses for each category so I can add them there.

Thanks!

 

[cassio]

Here's a good second lens to gt: Fast 50mm lens

Fast 50mm Lens
The Fast 50 lens is a fixed focal length lens at 50mm and often have large apertures (f/1.2 to f/1.8). The 50mm focal length is great for portraits where the background softly blurs on wide apertures.

The 50mm f/1.8 versions are most popular because of it's good optical quality at a very affordable price.

PROS:
- 50mm f/1.8 versions are very affordable!
- great for portraits due to soft background blur
- fast lens due to wide aperture
- good for low light shooting

CONS:
- fixed 50mm focal length will be tight on cropped sensors (80mm equivalent)
- 50mm f/1.2 versions are very expensive

Here's a list of recommended 50mm lenses.

 

[gardy90]

i love my nikon 55-200f/4-5.6 im finding myself wanting somthing wider though, im an avid climber and will prolly be getting one before climbing season starts

 

[cassio]

i love my nikon 55-200f/4-5.6 im finding myself wanting somthing wider though, im an avid climber and will prolly be getting one before climbing season starts

Thanks for sharing!

What do you usually use your 55-200 for? What do you usually shoot when you climb?

 

[Overread]

Less Zoom more PRIME!


I'll be back to give some macro and wildlife advice

edit - you need to put way more info on the linked pages - at present its not much difference from just a long product list with the lenses broken into categories for each differing area and price range

 

[gardy90]

i love my nikon 55-200f/4-5.6 im finding myself wanting somthing wider though, im an avid climber and will prolly be getting one before climbing season starts

Thanks for sharing!

What do you usually use your 55-200 for? What do you usually shoot when you climb?

i have yet to use my d90 for climbing as the weather has not allowed yet, i like to get alot of pics that show the perspective of the climber on the wall, like from above(butshots from the ground are so boreing) but i shoot about everything with the 55-200(the only lens i have) and it works flawless for most stuff like pics ob buildings all the way to catching ducks mid-flight, it can be hard indoors because of the amout of distance you have to be away for it to focus(somehere around 3ft if i remember right), i am considering the 35mm f1.8 for a wider angle, but with climbing i might end up spending more on a wide zoom instead since its often hard to change your position on the wall to get a shot

 

[zringinu]

hello, i want upgrade my lens range for my Nikon D60. However i am finding difficulty in choosing. Can some one tell me the difference between and f/2.8 lens and an f/4 lens.

 

[gardy90]

the f/2.8 will be faster wider apeture, allowing you to shoot better in low light, it will also give you less DOF than the f/4 at those wide openings, btw, what type of lens is it?

 

[gsgary]

hello, i want upgrade my lens range for my Nikon D60. However i am finding difficulty in choosing. Can some one tell me the difference between and f/2.8 lens and an f/4 lens.

1 Stop of light, F2.8 will let in twice as much light

 

[cassio]

Less Zoom more PRIME!


I'll be back to give some macro and wildlife advice

edit - you need to put way more info on the linked pages - at present its not much difference from just a long product list with the lenses broken into categories for each differing area and price range

Thank you so much for the comment! I'll work on these.

 

[zringinu]

I was looking at the 200mm or the 300mm. But I am still not sure because i already have the AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED Lens. what do you suggest to increase some telephoto photography, a lens with more focal length or a teleconvertor? Thanks beforehand for your help!

 

[cassio]

I was looking at the 200mm or the 300mm. But I am still not sure because i already have the AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED Lens. what do you suggest to increase some telephoto photography, a lens with more focal length or a teleconvertor? Thanks beforehand for your help!

I'll be needing help from Nikon users on this since I'm primarily a Canon user.

However, based on experience, here are some things to take note of when using teleconverters:

1. Teleconverters won't work on all lenses. For the case of Canon, their Teleconverters (Canon EF 1.4x and Canon EF 2x) will not work on EF-S lenses or non-white L lenses.

2. Teleconverters will cause your max aperture to go down. Example, if you use a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 with a Canon EF 1.4x, your max aperture will become f/4 and not f2.8. You need to consider this when shooting in low-light situations.

3. Teleconverters may affect the autofocusing speed of your lens. I may still have to confirm this technically, but when using the above setup, I felt AF to be slower when the teleconverter was on.

4. Sometimes, a 1.4x and a 2x teleconverter is not long enough. When I was shooting F1 races, I felt that the Canon 70-200mm 2.8 with a Canon EF 1.4x was not enough when shooting from outside the fences. No wonder the professionals were using 600mm lenses! So the question is, will a teleconverter be enough to reach your subject.

If I were to choose, I would go for longer focal lengths than teleconverters because of the above reasons. The only major issue is that these super tele-zooms are so freaking expensive and so freaking heavy!

Still, my suggestion is to first double-check the compatibility of the Nikon or third party teleconverters with your current lens. If it's compatible, try out a demo unit from your favorite store or rent it on one of your outings so you can really test it out.

 

[zringinu]

thanks cassio. will definitely keep your points in mind!