Slr which lens to buy

The images you take will often be sharper and crisper than those taken with your kit lens. They also tend to work well in low light. This is lens is definitely a go-to, especially for portrait photography. Photography is all about your eye, style and how you combine them. Life moves fast. Sign up to get updates with more stories and content to help you live intentionally, joyfully, and well.

Fracture Team. Many people shell out for a DSLR or mirrorless interchangeable lens camera when they have a child, but by the time that child starts running around, the kit lens struggles to keep up, both in terms of aperture and focal range. This is especially true if you're trying to photograph the kids running around in the garden or on the sports field. This means you need something with a bit more reach, but probably without the bulk and weight that a professional lens would bring.

A zoom lens will allow you to keep your shots framed as you want while your subject moves around in front of you.

While the kit lenses which come with most cameras are surprisingly good at the wide angle end, you could find that they don't quite go far enough for some of the landscape images you try to take.

So, unless you're able to keep moving backwards, you're going to need a new lens. Focal length is key here, and you'll only get some landscapes if you've got an ultra wide angle lens. You could go for either a prime or a zoom, but most people in this situation are probably going to be best-served by a zoom. After a while you might find that you've simply outgrown your kit lens. You suddenly find that it's stifling your creative ambitions and preventing you from taking the photos that you want, even if they are within its focal length reach.

This is the ideal time to get yourself a fast prime lens, and the good news is that you don't have to spend a fortune to do it. Because they are primes, it also means you need to zoom with your feet, which will in turn probably mean you spend more time thinking about how you compose shots. Never a bad thing. As we've seen, different lenses can give photographers the creative freedom to take all sorts of images.

It's no understatement to say they are as important, if not more so, than the camera you're using. This is why it's such a shame to see photographers buy cameras with the ability to change lenses and then never do so. It's worth remembering that lenses can often last longer than your camera, because they will continue to work on the next generation of cameras, and the one after that, probably.

This is why many photographers are willing to spend more on an individual lens than their camera. However, buying new lenses doesn't have to mean spending a fortune. We've seen how relatively inexpensive primes like the nifty-fifty 50 mm F1.

There are also thousands of second-hand lenses which will work just as well as new ones out there — especially for DSLR shooters, where you can often use a year-old lens. You never know, your father might even have some lying around in the attic.

Hopefully this article hasn't made you feel compelled to buy more and more lenses, as that really wasn't the aim. If you're not sure if you need a new lens, you probably don't. Instead, we hope this has helped you understand what to look for when you feel that your current lenses are preventing you from being the photographer you want to be.

LOG IN. Menu HOME. Search Query Submit Search. By Simon Crisp. Facebook Twitter Flipboard LinkedIn. Choosing which lens to buy for your DSLR or interchangeable lens camera can be a daunting and confusing experience. View 30 Images. A normal prime and a telephoto zoom are two of the most common lenses to be bought after a kit lens. Telephoto zooms are good for focusing in on specific details or distant subjects. Telephoto lenses offer a normalization of relative size which can be used to give a sense of scale.

The difference between various focal lengths, taken on a full frame 35 mm-format camera. Wide angles lenses suffer less distortion than their ultra wide counterparts, but you still get an exaggeration of lines and curves. Telephoto lenses enable you to capture subjects without having to get too close.

Telephoto lenses are good for focusing in on specific details or distant subjects. Typical uses of ultra wide angle lenses include landscape, architecture and interior photography. Wide angle lenses can still be used for portraits, just be careful not to distort faces unflatteringly by shooting too close.

Because of their typical sharpness, macro lenses often make good portrait lenses too. Telephoto lenses are those with a focal length in excess of 70 mm, though many people would argue that "true" telephoto lenses are ones which exceed mm. Marco lenses are technically those which are capable of reproduction ratios greater than Though normally used for close-up photography at which they excel , macro lenses can also be great for portraits.

When working at close distances, macro lenses have a tiny depth of field. Many photographers consider a 50 mm prime as a normal lens, as it's said to reproduce an image which feels "natural" and similar to what you see with your eyes. Wide angle lenses aren't just for buildings and large groups of people.

Because different cameras use different sized sensors, there are a variety of lens formats. Superzooms are do-it-all lenses which cover focal lengths from wide to telephoto. Image stabilization allows for use of slower shutter speeds without suffering camera shake. Extreme focal lengths and larger apertures mean bigger and heavier lenses, along with bigger price-tags.

For instance the ring-type ultrasonic motors that were great for focusing on DSLRs aren't as well suited to focusing on mirrorless cameras, particularly for the smooth, subtle movements required for video autofocus. As such, it's difficult to make generalizations, so it's worth checking reviews of the lens you're planning to buy.

Many modern lenses have no physical connection between the focus ring and the focusing lens elements, as was the case in older SLR and DSLR lenses. Many cameras use this to provide speed-sensitive manual focus, where a quick turn of the focus ring results in a bigger focus jump than a slow movement. This lets you jump quickly to the part of the focus range you want, but can be awkward if you're trying to manual focus while shooting video. To get round this, some cameras offer a 'linear' focus response mode, where the focus always moves by the same amount in response to how much you turn the focus ring: letting you practice and anticipate the amount by which you need to turn the ring.

Although modern autofocus is excellent, there is still a huge number of manual focus lenses on the market. These include designs optimized for shooting video and traditional, high-quality designs, through to unusual, specialist lenses that would be near-impossible to make autofocus along with the creations of small companies without the experience or access to lens mount protocols to manufacture AF lenses. Ultra-wide angle lenses, tilt-shift lenses and some very expensive lenses designed to be mechanically simple but optically excellent are out there, and are worth considering.

As a general rule, the more expensive a lens is, the better built it is likely to be. The kit lenses that come with cameras tend to rather lightweight and plastic in construction.

If you spend a bit more, you can get something more durable. Some lenses incorporate environmental seals against dust and water; in general this tends to be towards the top end of the price spectrum, but Pentax and Olympus in particular offer a decent range of mid-priced sealed lenses.

One last word. When choosing a camera system to invest in, it's important to appreciate that the lens has just as great an impact on the image quality as the camera. Lenses tend to last longer than cameras too, becoming obsolete less quickly than bodies, so it can be worth spending a little bit extra to get the quality or flexibility you really want.

But, while DSLR systems are much more extensive, most new lens development is focused on Mirrorless cameras, so these may prove more future-proof.

Bear in mind that most mirrorless lens systems are still only a few years old, so they may be missing the type of lens you want, for now. That said, the system with most options isn't inherently any better than a smaller system that includes all the lenses you need. Even if you don't have a very specific application that needs specialized lenses or other accessories in mind, it's worth doing some research before committing to one system or another.

Oh, and once bitten by the lens buying bug, many enthusiasts find it hard to stop; you have been warned Angle of view - Describe the view offered by a lens, measured as the angle between the furthest extremes of the lens's coverage. If this is confusing, imagine the view in front of you as a semicircle of degrees: a 'wide-angle' lens can see a bigger segment of the semicircle than a 'long' telephoto one.

Depth of field - This describes how much of the scene in front and behind the point of focus appears acceptably sharp. An image with shallow depth of field leaves the background and foreground appearing blurry and out-of-focus. An image with deep depth of field contains a greater amount depth of sharp detail. Focal length — Expressed in millimeters, focal length describes the angle of view of a lens.

Telephoto lenses have a long focal length, and wide-angle lenses have a short focal length. The longer the focal length, the narrower the angle of view and the more zoomed-in it appears. Long lenses are more zoomed-in, while wide lenses are zoomed-out and capture a wider angle of view. This system includes some high-end video cameras. APS-C - A common sensor format used by interchangeable lens camera manufacturers. Full-frame - A sensor format the same size as a frame of 35mm film - the dominant film format of the 20th and early 21st Centuries.

Despite the name, sensor larger formats do exist, in sizes known collectively as 'medium format'. Prime lens - A lens with a fixed focal length, which cannot zoom in or out. A technical term not to be confused with Amazon Prime.

Zoom lens - A lens whose field of view described in terms of focal length can be adjusted, allowing you to zoom-in or out on a subject, to achieve a different composition without changing your position. Most commonly used in reference to focal length: e. Is it worth the hefty price tag? We take a look at the Cine, the high-end model in this series.

The Nikon Z9 is the company's first camera to feature a stacked CMOS sensor, which brings a raft of new features, including blazing speed and autofocus performance to the Z lineup. Click through for our detailed first impressions of Nikon's latest professional ILC.

The Sony a7 IV is the fourth generation of the company's core a7 full-frame mirrorless camera model, and it's the most advanced yet. Click through for an in-depth look at Sony's latest full-frame mirrorless ILC. Nik Silver Efex Pro 3, one of the standout components of Nik Collection 4, is a black-and-white conversion tool that goes far further than the grayscale or black-and-white tools built into all-in-one photo apps.

For some users, this app alone might be worth the cost of the whole collection — find out for yourself in our review. The Nikon Z mm F2. Get all the details in our full review. These capable cameras should be solid and well-built, have both speed and focus for capturing fast action and offer professional-level image quality. Although a lot of people only upload images to Instagram from their smartphones, the app is much more than just a mobile photography platform.

In this guide we've chosen a selection of cameras that make it easy to shoot compelling lifestyle images, ideal for sharing on social media. If you're looking for the perfect drone for yourself, or to gift someone special, we've gone through all of the options and selected our favorites. Cancel my request. It's your turn. See bio. We will be calling you. We're sorry. We have encountered a problem.

Sorry, the call-back feature is currently unavailable. How to choose the right lens for your DSLR or mirrorless camera Create photos that you'll love sharing with friends and family. Meet Kramer Crane Close. Prime lenses are ideal for low-light situations, like night-sky photography.

Wide-angle lenses let you get close to your subject for unique perspectives and compositions. An ideal focal range for portraits is between 85mm and mm. A macro lens lets you take super-detailed photos of tiny subjects. No matter what lens you choose, you'll have a fun new way to view the world. Comments 35 Read comments. Thanks for your kind words, Jay. I'm glad we were able to help, and I hope you enjoy your new camera!

Thank you for your kind words, Cathy. I'm so glad we've been able to help! Hi Amanda! Thanks for reaching out. Your Rebel T7i is an excellent camera, and with the right glass you can absolutely get the image quality that you're looking for from it. It will give you gorgeous portraits, plus excellent action shots from a distance. And, you can use this lens with any of Canon's full-frame DSLR or mirrorless cameras if you decide to upgrade your body down the road.

You're very welcome, Cathy. I'm glad we can help! Both are prime lenses, meaning they have a fixed focal length and do not zoom in and out. The mm is a better choice for ultra-close macro shots, and it's also an outstanding portrait lens. The 40mm is a fine choice for the money, and is a great first prime if you go that direction. Owning a prime lens will open up a whole new world of creative possibilities for you!

Please let us know if you have any other questions, and thanks for reaching out. Hi Anna, thanks for reaching out. An 85mm prime is a fantastic focal length, and is arguably the best lens for the money for what you're looking to do. It will be an excellent addition to your kit, and I expect you'll love the beautiful out-of-focus elements "bokeh" , and terrific light gathering ability it offers. I use an 85mm for portraits and other outdoor shooting, and love it. Hi Bill, thank you for your kind words.

I'm very much looking forward to those things as well. Hi William, thanks for reaching out. My 5 tips for amazing sunrise photos article may be helpful — it includes examples of the camera settings I use when I'm photographing low-light environments.

Generally speaking, I like to exposure for the sky when I'm shooting sunrises and sunsets. This means I'm underexposing the foreground to preserve the highlights in the sky sometimes by a full stop of light or more. In post-production editing I then selectively raise the shadows to give the photo the balance and vibrancy that I want.

It took me a while to learn the ropes, so don't be discouraged if you're not getting the results you want. The best thing you can do is to keep venturing outside and practice as much as possible.

Thanks again for your questions, and happy exploring! Hi Rosemary, thanks for your questions. On your Rebel T3i it give you a comfortable working distance for portraits, along with beautiful background blur. This lens is also a nice choice for indoor photos where lighting is a challenge. Hi Kaitlin, thanks for reaching out. I've owned and loved the 6D, and have used it for many a shoots.

It will give you sharp focus on the eyes and face, but with the beautiful background blur you're looking for. I highly recommend it for your 6D! Looking for dslr lenses? Shop our selection. Related products. Low stock. Top seller. Temporarily out of stock. In stock. Go back See more. Video: How to Choose a Lens Zak shows us the different lenses you can use on a digital SLR camera or interchangeable lens hybrid camera, and how to get the pictures you want. Audition speakers before you buy. Virtual Audio technology allows you to compare sonic characteristics between speakers so you can make a more informed shopping decision.

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