Like I said in my Facebook post from Tuesday, I HIGHLY recommend investing in a nicer lens instead of buying your DSLR with the kit lens that comes with it. Lenses will stay with you even when you change bodies, so they are a great investment!
**Quick summary of aperture (I'll explain more in depth on Tuesday!): the wider apertures (smaller numbers) produce more of the blurry background effect known as "bokeh" and is better for low light!
Basic Lens Types
Variable Zoom Lens
The standard kit lens is usually an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. What this means is that the widest aperture that the camera can shoot is 3.5 when the lens is zoomed all the way out at 18mm. Meanwhile, when you zoom in, you'll notice that the widest aperture you can shoot becomes 5.6 when you zoom in all the way at 55mm. The changing aperture makes it very hard to learn settings if you are zooming in and out. If you already have this lens, zoom it all the way back and don't zoom in! This way, you can practice keeping a constant aperture.
Fixed Zoom Lens
You'll notice below that I have lenses like this: 16-35mm f/2.8. This means that even when I zoom in, I could keep a constant aperture of 2.8. This makes it easy for settings, and 2.8 gives me much more creative control than having a widest aperture of 3.5!
Prime Lens
These are lenses that are a fixed focal length (distance from you to the subject) and fixed aperture. It'll normally look something like this: 50mm f/1.8. So what is the difference between these lenses and the fixed zooms? Prime lenses can have an even wider aperture (f/1.2!) and just have a different look and feel than the fixed zooms.
Here are the fixed zooms and primes that I use! The cheapest one that I upgraded from would be the 50mm 1.8 for $125, which is a good deal. The only issue with it is that you have to stand pretty far back on a crop sensor lens.
Basic Lens Types
Variable Zoom Lens
The standard kit lens is usually an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. What this means is that the widest aperture that the camera can shoot is 3.5 when the lens is zoomed all the way out at 18mm. Meanwhile, when you zoom in, you'll notice that the widest aperture you can shoot becomes 5.6 when you zoom in all the way at 55mm. The changing aperture makes it very hard to learn settings if you are zooming in and out. If you already have this lens, zoom it all the way back and don't zoom in! This way, you can practice keeping a constant aperture.
Fixed Zoom Lens
You'll notice below that I have lenses like this: 16-35mm f/2.8. This means that even when I zoom in, I could keep a constant aperture of 2.8. This makes it easy for settings, and 2.8 gives me much more creative control than having a widest aperture of 3.5!
Prime Lens
These are lenses that are a fixed focal length (distance from you to the subject) and fixed aperture. It'll normally look something like this: 50mm f/1.8. So what is the difference between these lenses and the fixed zooms? Prime lenses can have an even wider aperture (f/1.2!) and just have a different look and feel than the fixed zooms.
Here are the fixed zooms and primes that I use! The cheapest one that I upgraded from would be the 50mm 1.8 for $125, which is a good deal. The only issue with it is that you have to stand pretty far back on a crop sensor lens.
Canon 50mm 1.4
The slightly upgraded model of the 50mm 1.8! This is a great lens for portrait and detail shots :)
Canon 28mm 1.8
This is actually the lens I use the MOST when I travel because it's lightweight when I'm too lazy to carry my 16-35. This lens is a great wide lens to use when you want to show more of the scene.
Canon 85mm 1.8
This is my newest lens! I love it so much because the longer focal lengths tend to compress the photo more, creating a more distinct bokeh effect. Nadine has lent hers to me a few times, and now I have one of my own :) It is another addition to my travels for nice portraits!
Canon 16-35mm 2.8
I never thought I would love a zoom lens as much as I love my primes, but this lens blew me away. It is part of Canon's L series lenses and I can see why! The colors are absolutely beautiful, and the photos seem even crisper with this lens than my other lenses. I can't wait to upgrade more of my lenses be in the L series someday! Also, the wide angle is absolutely amazing! Clearly I got really excited-- hence all the exclamation marks.
Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
This is one of the first lenses I used in addition to the 28mm 1.8 since Nadine gifted it to me. It's one of my least used lenses now, but is a great lens for its value! Variable lenses can be really expensive, but are great for event photography. This is an alternative to its Canon counterpart. I also used this lens zoomed in all the way to 75mm before I invested in the 85mm, so it can be good for portraits as well :)
Whew! That was a lengthy blog post, but mostly filled with photo examples. I hope it helps anyone who is looking into a new lens :)
What lens is your favorite? Comment below!
See you again (well not see but you know what I mean) on Tuesday at 8pm for my next blog Shooting in Manual Mode!
What lens is your favorite? Comment below!
See you again (well not see but you know what I mean) on Tuesday at 8pm for my next blog Shooting in Manual Mode!