what makes a professional lens?

[2WheelPhoto]

[h=2]what makes a professional lens?[/h]

is it a money tree, or not?

 

[Garbz]

Consumer grade lenses are mostly made from plastic components, including some resin lens elements, and have basic auto focus motors. Consumer grade lenses lack or have minimal elements of the more expensive glass types like low dispersion glass, and the better lens coatings that promote light transmission and/or minimize lens flare. Consumer grade zoom lenses are usually variable aperture zooms having a max aperture of about f/3.5.

Prosumer grade lenses have more metal parts, may have faster auto focus motors, more low dispersion lens elements, better lens coatings, and wider maximum apertures.

Professional grade lenses have still more metal parts, the best glass, the best lens coatings, the widest max apertures, and in the case of zoom lenses constant max apertures.

So that covers new lenses of current design, but what happens when you compare to lenses of the past? My Nikkor AF-S 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G has faster focus, just as much metal, ED elements, better coatings, and actual weathersealing compared to my Nikkor AF 80-200 f/2.8D. Yet the former is a kit lens... arguably prosumer.

 

[Timbo]

Yes but there are lenses without red rings that outperform the Ls in some situations, eg the 50mm F1.4 vs 50mm f1.2L at apertures smaller than F4.

 

[Timbo]

Depends how good they are with flash .

 

[imagemaker46]

I think actual working pros probably use less expensive gear than most hobbyists...

Unless you shoot pro sports!

I shot a pro football game last year using a $600 Canon T2i. Mind you I had a 300 2.8 and a 1.4x attached to it.

 

[studiobetties]

You will find discussions about professional vs. consumer level gear and what it really boils down to is that there are lenses that are optically better than others that will produce the best images based on their glass, f-stop, focusing speed, etc. Generally speaking, lenses with a wide aperture are considered professional (though there are some consumer level lenses that just aren't built as robustly so are not considered "professional" from a overall quality standpoint).

As a professional, I consider any lens that produces the look I am going for can be professional. Are there lenses that cost a lot of money and may last longer than some of the lenses I have? Sure are. But sometimes the cost doesn't justify switching when I am getting images I love out of the lenses I have. Sometimes the professional option is NOT better. Case in point: Canon 85 1.2 vs Canon 85 1.8. The 1.2 version is VERY slow focusing and almost unusable in any other situation besides static portraiture (which is almost an oxymoron). I have the 1.8 version and love it. I have used the 1.2 and hate it.

Just my opinion.