Lens Question from a Beginner

[chris1210]

Hello,

I am currently doing research on lenses for a project, and I have very limited knowledge about them. I was wondering if someone might be able to tell me what are some functions/qualities that a photography would want in a lens when they are looking to buy one, or anything that a photographer feels should be in a lens that isn't already?

Thanks!

 

[Designer]

Image quality is Job 1. I think all available lenses have been reviewed, tested, and talked about, so it should be fairly easy to get a feel for the image quality that each prospective lens is capable of. Look for resolving ability, chromatic aberration, etc.

Your mount: Is the lens available in your mount or camera model. With Nikon, it's usually not a problem, although some bodies don't auto-focus the older lenses.

Focal length. No point in getting something way out of the range of what you intend to do.

Maximum aperture. This is usually where people start looking, and knowing what kind of photography you intend to do could have something to do with the aperture.

Size/weight. This can be important if you mainly intend to carry it around all day.

Cost. Is the thing within your budget? Some folks are happy to save money by buying a used lens.

 

[Dao]

In some applications, a photographer may need/want a lens that has a flat field, min. distortion and vignetting issue. (i.e. reproduction of a art work using a dedicated macro lens)

Sometimes, a photographer may need/choose a lens that capable of Tilt-Shift.
For example
Quoted from Wikipedia
"In applications such as landscape photography, getting everything sharp is often the objective; by using tilt, both the foreground and background can often be made sharp without the use of a large f-number." **

"Shift can be used to keep the image plane (and thus focus) parallel to the subject; it can be used to photograph a tall building while keeping the sides of the building parallel."

Note: ** "larger f-number" refer to smaller aperture

 

[weepete]

Corner to corner Sharpness, low distortion, low CA, nice bokeh, quick and quiet autofocus, weather sealing, good build quality, coated optics, minimal flare, wide aperture. Features wise Image stabilisation is nice to have but not essential, manual full time override is handy too.