Cameras & Camcorders

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi Everyone,

I know that purchasing a DSLR is a major purchase for almost anyone, and with all the options out there it can often be a confusing decision. One of the biggest differences between a Point-and-Shoot camera and a DSLR, other than quality of images each type is capable of, is the ability to choose which lens you want to use in order to capture the best image possible. Choosing the best lens(s) that will meet your needs is often more confusing than choosing the camera itself.

There are a wide variety of lenses that are manufactured for all DSLR’s, and each type of lens has its own advantages and disadvantages depending on your own specific needs. The four basic categories that Best Buy® has of DSLR lenses are Fixed Focal Length, Short-Range Zoom, Long-Range Zoom, and Specialty Lenses.  Each category has its own advantages and disadvantages, and within each category there is usually a wide variety of quality and selection.

Fixed Focal Length Lenses

With all the advancements in lens technology over the years this group has become less and less popular. In the early years of SLR cameras this was by far the most popular and prevalent lenses made for SLR cameras. The reason for this was that they were much easier to engineer and manufacturer than zoom lenses, and  even today they tend to be much higher in quality than a zoom lens of equal cost. They lack the versatility of a zoom lens as you will need to carry a number of different lenses around with you to be prepared for all shooting situations. To compose the shot you want, with a Fixed Focal Length Lens, you will need to move towards or away from your subject.

Short-Range Zoom Lenses

These zoom lenses are what usually come included with a DSLR kit, and they go from wide angle to short telephoto in focal length. For most DSLR’s they start at 18mm (wide angle) and go to about 55mm (short telephoto). These lenses are generally good for most users needs, but if you want to take images of far away subjects they will not meet your needs.

Long-Range Zoom Lenses

Lenses in this category cover short telephoto to long telephoto focal lengths, and are good for capturing subjects that are at a good distance from you without actually having to move closer to your subject. They tend to be much heavier that the previous two categories, and usually cover the 70mm to 200mm focal length range.

Specialty Lenses

As the name implies these lenses are designed for very specific shooting situations, and if you are purchasing a DSLR to be used for one purpose there might be a specialty lens that will produce better images for that purpose than the previous three categories will. The most common kind of specialty lens is what is called a Macro lens. A Macro lens is optimized for close-up photography, and it really will produce much better close-up images than a non-macro lens.

Another thing to keep in mind before purchasing a new lens is that there are basically two sizes of sensors that are used on DSLR cameras, and you should make sure you are purchasing a lens that works with the sensor that is on the DSLR you own or are intending to purchase. The two sensor sizes are Full Frame sensors (approximately the size of a 35mm film negative or slide), and APS sized sensors (smaller than a 35mm negative). A lens designed for a Full Frame sensor should work on a DSLR with an APS sized sensor, but a lens designed for an APS sized sensor will not work properly with most Full Frame DSLR cameras (the corners of your images will be vignette off).

With all that being said I should point out that there is wide degree of quality in each of these categories, and as with anything in life you usually do get what you pay for. The more expensive lenses usually have wider apertures (allowing for the need for less light), have much better lenses inside, and usually are constructed to last a lifetime if properly taken care of.

I hope this information is helpful, and I would love to hear any feedback or questions you might have!

[Entropy]

A few other things that may be useful:

Two of the most important specifications of a lens are focal length (or focal length range for zoom lenses) and aperture (or aperture range for most but not all zoom lenses)

Focal length determines the field of view of a lens.  A 50mm lens on 35mm film is considered to be a "normal" lens.  The rough equivalent for most DSLRs (except full frame units) is around 30mm.  A normal lens on Olympus and Panasonic DSLRs is 25mm.

Aperture determines how much light a lens allows through.  Consumer lenses are usually in the f/3.5-5.6 range (typically zooms that start "fast" at the wide-angle end and become "slow" at the telephoot end.)  High-end zoom lenses are constant f/2.8.  Constant-aperture f/2.8 zooms will give the best performance, but are expensive and heavy.

I would advise any first-time DSLR purchaser to consider a zoom lens that includes the "normal" range for their DSLR.  Such a lens is often sold as part of a "kit" package for the DSLR.  For example, an 18-55mm lens is very common with most manufacturers.

If you purchase a "superzoom" lens (sometimes called a "travel lens") like an 18-200 or 18-250, make sure to read the reviews.  Many of these lenses provide substandard performance, although there are some gems that provide unusually good performance for a superzoom.  (I have a Sigma 18-250 and love it when travelling, the Tamron 18-250 is well regarded, I do not know about the 18-270 that replaced it.)

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Although I haven't used one myself, the Tamron 18-270 "superzoom" lens has gotten very good reviews. I would suggest keeping in mind that these lenses are designed for "APS" sized sensors, and if you ever plan on upgrading to a "full frame" sensor DSLR (or you already have one) your images will show significant vignetting with this lens.

Generally speaking there are two sizes of sensor used in DSLR cameras, and these are referred to as "APS" size sensors and "Full Frame" sensors. An APS size sensor is approximately the size of an APS film negative, while a Full Frame sensor is approximately the size of a frame on 35mm film. I say approximately because they vary slightly in each format depending on the manufacturer of the camera.

The reason this is important in relation to what lens you choose is that the size of the sensor affects the angle of view that a specific focal length will reproduce in your image. For example a 28mm lens is generally considered wide angle on a Full Frame sensor, but will produce an only normal angle of view on an APS size sensor DSLR. Because of this some most lens manufacturers have produced lenses designed specifically for APS size sensor cameras, and these lenses only project an image onto the sensor that just covers the sensor itself. This is why the Tamron 18-270 lens will vignette your images if used on a Full Frame sensor.

I hope this helps!

[ckcheng]

Hello Allan-BBY

I was wondering if you can give me any input on this lens?  I had posted this on 1/11/10 on the forum.

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II

http://www.forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Cameras-and-Camcorders/Nikon-70-200mm-f-2-8G-ED-VRII/td-p/88431

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hey,

As I said in my initial post in this thread Fixed Focal Length lenses have become less and less popular over time, and I believe this is mainly due to the fact that they are generally much less convenient than a Zoom lens. With that being said convenience is not everything when it comes to photography, and in fact making decisions as to what equipment to purchase based upon it’s convenience factor will often hurt your end results rather than help you take better images.

The four types of photography that benefit the most from the use of certain Fixed Focal length lenses are low-light photography, macro photography (close-ups), sports and wildlife, and portraiture.

Because of the simplified design of a Fixed Focal length lens they are able to have much larger apertures than equivalent Zoom lenses. This is very handy for almost any time of photography, but I believe low-light photography benefits the most from this feature. Obviously having a large aperture allows you to set faster shutter speeds, which allows a user to shoot with much less available light while still being able to hand-hold the camera.

Any professional macro photographer will tell you they exclusively use fixed focal length lenses that are specifically designed for close-up photography. These macro lenses are designed in a way to allow them to focus much closer on a subject than a non-macro lens could. If you intend on taking a lot of close-up images I would definitely look into purchasing a dedicated macro lens. Some zoom lenses state that they have macro capability, but this is actually not completely accurate. These zoom lenses do focus closer than a typical zoom lens, but they don’t provide true 1:1 close-up capability.

If you’ve ever watched a pro sports event on TV you’ve seen the photographers on the sidelines with their enormous lenses. These lenses are almost always Super-Telephoto Fixed Focal length lenses. A sports or wildlife photographer has a very challenging job when it comes to capturing the perfect image, and this is mainly due to the fact that their subject is moving in a low-light environment (at a great distance). This means they require a lens that will fill the frame with their subject, but also allow them to set the shutter speeds necessary to stop the action. In order to achieve this goal they need a lens with a long focal length (typically 300mm or longer), and a wide aperture to allow them to set fast shutter speeds. A zoom lens with the equivalent focal lengths and aperture would be much more expensive (and heavy) than a fixed focal length lens. The standard sports and wildlife lens is a 300mm f/2.8 lens, and even these are very expensive.

Much like low-light photography portraiture really benefits from the large apertures of Fixed Focal length lenses, but unlike low-light photography it has little to do with the amount of light available to you as a photographer. Portraiture usually involves some type of artificial light source (like a flash or studio strobes), which means you don’t usually have to worry as much about how much light is already present; you will be adding to that light as your needs, and creative vision dictates. A large aperture provides a very shallow depth of field. Depth of field is how much of the foreground and background will be in focus in relation to your point of focus. A shallow depth of field will render only your subject in focus, which is often times advantageous for portraiture since it isolates your subject. This isolation of your subject immediately brings the viewers attention directly to your subject without them being distracted by other things in the frame.

This brings me to what I believe is the most important advantage of Fixed Focal length lenses. Fixed Focal length lenses require you to move around as a photographer. Why is this important? The more you move around as a photographer you start seeing your subject in ways you hadn’t seen before, and this almost always results in much better images. You will rarely see any professional photographer stay in one place when capturing their subject.

Happy shooting!

[Frankd7]

Hi; I have a question on which way I should go, camera or lens. I am a sports photographer, I have only been in the business for a year. I have a Canon EOS XSI. My problem is when I should inside, basketball, wrestling, etc. I have a 70-200 2.8is lens which is no good for close up underneath the basket, or any close-up shot for that matter. My other lens is a 18-35 3.5-5.6 which is terrible in low loth. My shots become grainy or put of focus because of to much iso and not enough shutter. My question is, which is a better choice, going with the 7D and using the 18-55 or staying with the XSI and getting a 24-70 2.8L lens? I need better results in low light because now I will be inside for track, and the before mentioned basketball and wrestling.What do you think.

[Frankd7]

There is not to many places i can go in a High school gym. I am usually in one spot or I can go from on end of the court to the other, It is usually just off the basket underneath. I would need a zoom to catch half court action and then come back to get underneath the basket. that is why I asked about the camera or the lens. It would have to be a wide angle or a better camera. I cannot afford to get both so I was wondering 7D or 24-70 2.8L 

[Frankd7]

sports photographers who are indoor the basket usually have two cmeras with them and a partner on each end of the floor. I do not have the luxury of either.

[Rrrrrrr]

I would try either a Tamron 28-75 2.8 or Sigma's 28-70 2.8 and look for a used 2nd body on Craigslist or POTN's classifieds to use 2 cameras. Most likely would be alot cheaper than a 7D or 28-70L. And after a while you can upgrade when it becomes more affordable for you to do so.

[ocabj]

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Frankd7 wrote:

Hi; I have a question on which way I should go, camera or lens. I am a sports photographer, I have only been in the business for a year. I have a Canon EOS XSI. My problem is when I should inside, basketball, wrestling, etc. I have a 70-200 2.8is lens which is no good for close up underneath the basket, or any close-up shot for that matter. My other lens is a 18-35 3.5-5.6 which is terrible in low loth. My shots become grainy or put of focus because of to much iso and not enough shutter. My question is, which is a better choice, going with the 7D and using the 18-55 or staying with the XSI and getting a 24-70 2.8L lens? I need better results in low light because now I will be inside for track, and the before mentioned basketball and wrestling.What do you think.

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When you're shooting under the hoop, what focal length do you need on your crop body? I've never shot basketball, but assuming I'm on the base line and am trying to get stuff on the glass, I'd figure that 3/4 body shots are about as good as I'll get without going ultra-wide, so I'd be looking to shoot 50mm effective, maybe 35mm effective at the shortest. The 24-70 f/2.8L is definitely versatile, but I'm thinking you might be able to get away with the less expensive Sigma 30mm f/1.4 prime (48mm effective on APS-C). f/1.4 is two full stops larger than f/2.8 which is going to be huge for indoor gym lighting.