Lenses
You might think that the investment in a DSLR camera is all you need, but without lenses you won’t be taking any photographs. The right lens will be the difference between a dull flat image that is too far away (or too close) or the perfect shot.
Camera Phones
Before we talk about DSLR lenses a quick overview of the lenses on camera phones and pocket cameras. Most phones now come with multiple lenses, the latest iPhone ProMax comes with 3 lenses, each with its own settings. You might think these would match up with the zoom options when shooting, but they’re actually used for different types of photography. The first is an ultra wide angle lens that activates when you select 0.5X zoom and is the equivalent of a 13mm lens. The second is a standard wide lens and is the default when opening the camera app. The third is a telephoto lens that uses some clever optics to allow native 5X zoom, or the equivalent of a 120mm lens. Above 5X the phone will then use digital compression to create the illusion of greater zoom but this will be at a loss of picture quality. There’s also a macro option that uses a combination of lenses to capture close up images. The other advantage of this setup is that it uses multiple cameras to capture images at night or in low light. Other phone manufacturers have also adopted this approach. If you want to extend what your camera phone can do though there are a range of third party addons that can improve your camera phone photography, with fisheye, macro, and zoom lenses available that attach over your camera’s main lens.
Compact and Bridge Cameras
Compact and bridge cameras only have a single lens, but often come with a zoom option. Without any mechanical movement this will be a simple digital zoom resulting in a loss of picture quality, but most will actually have a mechanical component allowing the camera lens to extend out from the camera body. Further zooming is then achieved using the same digital zoom as a camera phone. If you want to do macro photography it’s worth checking if the camera supports a macro option as some do. The choice between compact and bridge is really down to how close you want to get to your subject. If you aren’t too bothered by the zoom capabilities of the camera then compact has the advantage being able to just slip into a pocket. If you require higher zoom capabilities then you go with a bridge camera with its larger lens.
DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras
All DSLR cameras require a separate lens. There are some good general use lenses out there, often termed “kit lenses” because they’re often sold as part of a kit bundle when buying a new camera, but at some point you’ll want to specialize. The only real difference between lenses, regardless of camera, is with the crop sensor DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Due to the smaller crop sensors in these cameras the lenses actually act like a higher mm lens. For example, a 35mm lens on a crop sensor camera will produce similar results to a 50mm lens on a full frame camera, regardless of whether the camera is DSLR or mirrorless. This 7:10 ratio is the same for all crop sensor lenses, making it quite easy to work out the equivalent lens for a full frame camera.
Lens Naming Conventions
Before going into details on each type of lens it’s important to understand what the naming conventions for lenses are. Take for example the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 120-300MM F/2.8E FL ED SR VR. If you’re unfamiliar with lens names that probably means as much to you as reading hexadecimal machine code does to anyone that isn’t a programmer (or even to most programmers if we’re honest). The manufacturer is straightforward, it’s Nikon. Also straightforward is the brand name, Nikkor. The rest needs a bit more work, first the simple bits. F/2.8 is the aperture of the lens, and the E means Electronic aperture activation. Without the E it would be a mechanically activated aperture, operated by a mechanism in the connecting ring of the camera.120-300MM is the focal range of the lens, in this case showing that the lens is a telephoto lens with a range from 120mm to 300mm. The rest refer to specific technologies used in the camera: AF-S means Autofocus with Silent wave motor., FL means Fluorite elements (a lighter alternative to glass elements), ED means Extra low Dispersion elements, SR means Short-wavelength Refractive which is a type of lens that refracts UV wavelengths and reduces chromatic aberration, VR means Vibration Reduction allowing for less motion blur when not using a tripod. Other manufacturers will often have similar technologies built into their lenses, but use different codes to differentiate between them, for example Canon uses the code IS for Image Stabilising, the equivalent of Nikon’s VR code.
Focal Length
The primary characteristic of any lens is the focal length. It defines not only how the photo will look, but also how much of what you see can fit into the photo. There are six types of lens that are determined by the focal length and they are all used differently.
The shortest focal length lens is the Fisheye with a focal length of 4mm to 14mm. This tends to be used for more artistic photography, but has also gained a lot of use in music photography, especially when photographing smaller venues where it’s difficult to take wider shots within cramped spaces.
Next up is the Wide Angle lens with a focal length between 14mm and 35mm. These lenses are great for architecture and landscape photography where you have the freedom to adjust your position to get the composition you’re looking for.
The Standard lens ranges from 35mm to 85mm and covers street photography, travel, and portraits. Standard lenses are also great for music photography in small clubs and pubs.
The Short Telephoto lens with its focal length between 85mm and 135mm is another great lens range for street photography and portraits. What you’ll find is that most zoom lenses will sit between these ranges, the standard kit lenses sold with the camera usually sits partway between a wide angle lens and a Short Telephoto lens. The kit lens for Nikon’s full frame DSLR and Mirrorless cameras is a 24mm to 120mm zoom lens and is a great starter lens as it can be used for all of the above uses apart from as a Fisheye lens.
We now start going into the more specialist telephoto lens ranges, starting with the 135mm and above Medium Telephoto lens. This lens is where sports, wildlife, and action enthusiasts start at. Music photographers will also usually start here when looking for a second lens for their camera, especially when they start shooting larger venues or festivals.
Beyond 300mm we get into the range of the Super Telephoto used for distant sports and wildlife photography, as well as astronomy
The final lens type is the Macro lens used for close up photography. These range from 35mm to 200mm
Aperture
The next most important thing to look for in a lens is the aperture. Confusingly the higher the F number, the smaller the aperture. For most personal photography you can get away with the smaller apertures that the cheaper kit lenses come with, but for specialist photography you need to look at the larger aperture lenses that are available. These are predominantly the F/1.8 and F/2.8 lenses that are used in portrait and music photography. That’s not to say that you can’t use an F/4 lens for portraits, but you won’t get the blurred backgrounds that make the portrait stand out with the smaller apertures. The larger aperture lenses are also better for low light photography so come into their own in night and music photography, allowing you to shoot at higher shutter speeds and lower ISO.
Prime or zoom
At some point you’ll hear the name Prime associated with a lens. This doesn’t mean you can buy it on Amazon Prime, it means it’s a fixed lens with a single focal length. Zoom lenses allow you to change the focal length by twisting the lens body, allowing the lens to extend out. You might wonder why anyone would bother with a prime lens given the flexibility of a zoom lens and the answer is quite simply cost. Prime lenses tend to be cheaper and are often used for specialist photography where a zoom lens isn’t required, such as studio portrait photography. They’ll also often have wider apertures available than equivalent zoom lenses. For example, an 85mm prime lens will be available with an F/1.8 aperture. For a zoom lens, such as 70mm to 200mm, the most common fixed aperture size will be F/2.8 which won’t produce quite as much background blur. The Nikon Z 85mm F/1.8 S is currently available for £679 whereas the Nikon Z 70-200mm F/2.8 VR S is now £1,799 or £999 for the basic Z 70-180mm F/2.8 lens.
Which lens for the job?
As the lens requirements are very different for different pursuits here’s a quick summary of what you might expect to need for each job.
Portrait Photography: here you want the largest aperture you can find and a mid range focal length. Look for F/1.4 or F/1.8 to ensure a good bokeh (how much the background blurs). For the focal length you’ll be looking at somewhere between 85mm and 135mm in a prime lens, popular lenses here are the F/1.8 85mm prime and the F/1.8 105mm prime. For those with a bit more flexibility there’s also the F/2.8 70-200mm zoom lens. The key factor here is an aperture wide enough to allow you to isolate the subject from the background and a focal length that doesn’t distort the image too much, making for a more natural looking portrait.
Wildlife Photography: There’s no easy way to say this, if you want to get serious with wildlife photography you need to spend a lot of money on your lenses. You’ll be looking at distant subjects so need quality lenses with a high focal point. For prime lenses you’ll be looking at 300mm or 400mm lenses. For zoom lenses you want the top focal length between 400mm and 600mm. A popular lens is the 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 which can be found below £2000. If you want a bit more reach then the 180mm-600mmm F5.6-6.3 can be found below £1500 but you do sacrifice a bit of aperture. But if you’re going for the absolute best lenses then start saving, the 400mm F/2.8 can set you back over £10,000 and a 600mm F/4 can be found for £13,000.
Street Photography: For street photography you are looking for versatility and weight. This is where low focal length prime lenses rule the roost. Go for a 35mm F/1.8 or 50mm F/1.8 prime lens or a 24-70mm F/2.8 zoom lens. These can be found for just a few hundred pounds new, and sometimes for under £100 second hand. Your choice of lens here really depends on your own shooting style and they’re all well suited for low light making evening and night photography relatively easy.
Wedding Photography: if you’re looking at photographing weddings then you need to be versatile, which means not only carrying more than one camera, but having a range of lenses at your disposal. There’s no room for error in wedding photography, the job spec is quite simple, take the absolute best photos possible to capture the special day. It’s one of the few jobs where having a mix of lenses isn’t desirable, it’s essential. Most of the time you’ll be photographing indoors and taking portrait shots, so wide apertures are a must. The primary lenses for wedding photographers will be the 24-70mm F/2.8 zoom (for the majority of your photos) and the 70-200mm F2.8 zoom (for when you need to stand back and be less intrusive). Alongside these you may also want the 50mm F1.4 or F/1.8 prime or an 85mm F/1.4 or F/1.8 prime lens for individual portraits.
Product Photography: it may not be the most glamorous side of photography, but it is one of the few areas, like weddings, where you get a guaranteed pay cheque. The key here is capturing detail, so a macro lens is essential, 60mm to 100mm lenses do the work here. Alongside this consider 50mm to 85mm prime lenses or a 24-70mm or 24-105mm zoom lens. For more advanced control you might even want to consider a tilt-shift lens.
Music Photography: music is an art, and so is music photography. At its most basic you’re looking for a 24-70mm zoom lens and a 70-200mm zoom lens. When starting out you’ll be shooting small venues with poor lighting, so a 24-70mm F/2.8 zoom lens will be your first choice. If you can’t afford a F2.8 lens then get the best lens for your camera. The standard kit 24-70mm F/4 zoom lens works absolutely fine on a mirrorless camera. If you find that your kit lenses aren’t up to the job on a crop sensor then consider supplementing your lenses with a 35mm F1.8 prime lens for the darkest venues. Once you’ve got your core lenses down then you can look at other lenses to add more artistic elements to your photography. A fisheye lens is a popular addition to any concert photographer’s equipment. Lastly, if you get the chance to photograph some of the larger festivals and arenas you may be restricted to shooting from the sound desk, in which case a 400mm prime or zoom lens could be handy.
Lens Adaptors
There are two main types of lens adaptors. The first is the zoom adaptors. Quite simply these extend the range of you lenses and can be a cheap way to turn your 70-200mm into a 100-280mm or even a 140-400mm lens. Be aware though that this comes at a cost, and not a financial one. If you’re thinking of using an zoom adaptor in low light you will have to compensate for the loss of aperture. The adaptors lose about 1 F/stop so aren’t recommended for fast action or low light photography. The second kind of adaptors is one for someone looking to swap camera brand or making the move from full frame to mirrorless. They’re a great way to extend the lifespan of your old lenses, but again they do have their drawbacks as some autofocus lenses can’t trigger the autofocus mechanism in the lens when using an adaptor.
When looking at your budget for lenses remember, your lenses should be a lifetime investment. Even if you make the switch from full frame to mirrorless with adaptors your lenses will still work, so buy the best you can afford when you can. Your cameras will be upgraded as time goes by, but your lenses can last decades.
