Everything you need to know about a camera lenses and What Camera Lens to Buy and Not Buy.  Choosing the right camera lens can be a hard decision whether you are a Canon or Nikon user it doesn’t matter…these tips are all for you.

I’m going to share some of my photography tips for purchasing a dslr camera lens, based of course on some of my (embarrassing) camera lens purchasing mistakes. The hope is that I can help you NOT make the same costly mistakes I made while trying to educate you on lens types and so much more.

What Camera Lens to Buy and Not Buy

Starting things off with a photo of one of my two D750s because I love this camera body, and when paired with the right lens, magic seriously happens!! <3

Camera Lens Guide for Beginners

TIP #1
Research, research, research!!

Be sure you’re checking published reviews and opinions of others. Ask your professional photographer or a friend who seems to be knowledgeable about camera lenses. Better yet – stop in at your local specialty camera store and ask the owner or manager some questions. Make sure you’re educating yourself about dslr lenses BEFORE making a purchase (hey, you’re reading this blog post, so that’s a great start!!).

It’s important to realize that you don’t have to buy the most expensive lens in order to be purchasing a good lens for photography (for example, Sigma lenses do an amazing job, while costing half that of a Nikon lens), but do your research first!!

TIP #2
Don’t buy the camera body & lens kit!!

The lens that comes with the dslr camera kit is usually (ahem, can I say “always”?!?) just a mediocre lens with no special features or excellent selling points. It’ll do an okay job, but the focus won’t necessarily be tack sharp and the photos won’t come out super crisp. This is partially because these “kit lenses” have too many responsibilities and cannot be stellar at any of them. They’re just a basic inexpensive camera lens to pop onto a camera body for people who don’t know much about lenses. Also, think about it – there’s a reason nobody really buys those kit lenses individually!!  Let’s move beyond the camera kit lens your camera came with.

What does 18-55 mm on lens mean?

TIP #3
Don’t assume that just because a lens offers a huge zoom range it’s going to be an amazing lens.

Pictured here, my most expensive mistake of a purchase. My Nikon 18-300 lens that cost me $1,000 and about a year later I couldn’t even sell it for $400.

Now, don’t get me wrong – it could be an incredible zoom lens, but chances are that it’s not (unless you paid several thousand dollars for it??). This is the mistake I made most often in my purchases, and it cost me a LOT of wasted money before I realized those lenses were decent, but not the best. Not to go into details, but I started off buying an 18-250mm Tamron lens, and a few years later “upgraded” to a 18-300mm Nikon lens. The glass on the Nikon was a good bit better than the Tamron, but the price tag was bigger, too, and neither lens had that really nice wide aperture (lower f stop). These zoom lenses were nice for traveling with only one lens and getting mediocre photos, but the images aren’t as tack sharp in focus, and they’re often times slower for focusing.

What makes the BEST Camera Lens?

TIP #4
Buy a prime lens.

So, if you’re not buying the kit lens, and you’re not buying a lens with a big zoom, what kind of lens ARE you buying?!? My suggestion would be to purchase a decent 35mm prime (or “fixed”) lens. Or if the prime is out of your budget (it is expensive!), go with the 50mm prime lens, which is usually more affordable. The word “prime” or “fixed” means they don’t zoom at all (so, you zoom in/out by moving YOUR body closer to the subject or father away from the subject – haha!). Prime lenses have one thing that’s really going for them – they are amazing at taking tack sharp, in focus, crisp photographs!

This was my first prime lens purchase for my DSLR and it was such a game changer!! The Nikon 50mm f1.4 (and it’s affordable-ish, too!).

What does the f number mean on a lens?

TIP #5
Buy a prime lens with a big aperture (opening).

If you’ve ventured out of the auto mode on your camera (DO IT!!!), I’m sure you’ve noticed this “f stop” thing also known as “aperture”, which is how wide your shutter opens. Well, learning about aperture is a post for another day, but essentially if you’re ever photographing in lower light situations (ex. indoors) or if you want incredible background blur, the aperture you want to see on your lens should be something like f1.4 or f1.8 (even f2.8 is really good!). This takes me back to the tip about not buying the “kit” lens – they’re usually f3.5 at the biggest, and that’s okay, but not the greatest!

TIP #6
Buy a lens with an autofocus (AF) motor.

Some entry-level digital camera bodies don’t have autofocus motors built in (check your camera body to see if you have a little toggle switch that says “AF” and “M” actually on the body), so they rely on the lens to do the focusing. You want to make sure you’re buying an automatically focusing lens, ESPECIALLY if your camera doesn’t have a built in autofocus. This tip is especially important, too, if you’re buying used or refurbished lenses, as you’ll likely be seeing some older lenses without autofocus capabilities.

You can see the little toggle switch on my lens in this photo, and there’s a similar one sort of immediately to the right actually on my camera. That means both my lens and camera have autofocus capabilities (that’s ideal!).

TIP #7
Buy used or refurbished.

As long as something is in good working order, it does NOT need to be new. You can save lots of money by purchasing used or refurbished gear from an authorized retailer (I make retailer suggestions int he next tip!). Also, buy & sell sites sometimes offer good lens deals, though obviously you have to take some precautions about how you send money or meet up. Safety first, guys!! 🙂

TIP #8
Buy from a reputable company.

At one point in my life, I bought all my camera gear from Amazon (AHH, do NOT follow my example there!!). Don’t get me wrong – Amazon is great – but for camera gear, you really want to make sure you’re buying an authentic piece of gear from a reputable company. This is firstly so you have warranty coverage, but also so you actually have an authentic piece of equipment, and not some “grey market” knockoff that looks a lot like the original but doesn’t do the job like an original.

Some of the places I utilize to purchase my photography gear include B&H Photo Video (www.bhphotovideo.com) or Henry’s Canada (www.henrys.com) for my fellow Canadian shoppers! Also, there are many small local camera shops that are authorized retailers for photography gear, and typically the staff at such shops are photographers and therefore know a decent amount about cameras, lenses, etc. It’s definitely worth the trip to your local camera store to gain their expertise – trust me!! Plus, often times you can actually try out the gear you want to purchase to ensure it’s exactly what you want!

Also, I suggest NEVER to buy from Best Buy or Walmart type stores, simply because you can’t really count on the reps knowing anything much about photography.

Camera Lenses Explained for Dummies

TIP #9
Ensure you’re buying a lens compatible with your camera.

Did you know that Canon lenses don’t attach onto Nikon camera bodies (and vice versa)? And did you know you can buy a Sigma, Tamron, or Zeiss lens for your DSLR camera, even if you have a Nikon or Canon camera body? Most lenses will advertise right away whether they’re for Nikon or Canon, so just be sure you’re double checking if you’re going with a different brand of lens. You definitely want to make sure the lens is built for your specific type of camera body because it will be very disappointing otherwise!!

TIP #10
Know whether you’re buying a DX or FX format lens.

Essentially, if you have a full frame camera (FX), you want to be sure you’re buying a full frame lens (otherwise everything you see in your viewfinder will NOT be in your photo, which is super frustrating!!). If you have a crop sensor camera body (DX), you can buy either type of lens, but keep in mind that a FX lens on a DX body will make the image you see in the viewfinder seem almost “zoomed in” (so a 35mm FX lens on a DX body is going to make it feel more similar to a 50mm lens). I’d definitely recommend buying the FX lens right away if you’re ever planning to upgrade your body to a full frame body. Dealing with the zoomed in feel is definitely tolerable if you have a 35mm or 50mm lens (I did that for probably about a year!)!!

A camera body will have FX written somewhere on it when it’s a full frame camera. Notice on this Nikon that it’s written on the cap covering the shutter, as well as on the bottom right of the camera. Likewise, it will say DX somewhere if it’s a crop frame camera.

Camera Lens Filter Explained:

TIP #11
Buy a lens filter.

It’s a matter of personal opinion, but in the photography world, I’ve heard of (and known!) several photographers who say their lens filter has saved their camera’s lens when they’ve dropped it. If nothing else, a lens filter prevents against dust, scratches, and even moisture hitting your lens directly. Some good places to start would be with a UV filter (typically less than $50) or a polarizing filter (around $100). There’s not a huge noticeable impact on your photos, and if anything it can enhance them (sometimes reducing haze, reflections, glares, etc.). You simply need to be aware of what size filter threads your lens utilizes, and then it’s something you easily can purchase online. If you’re ever planning on resale for your lens, being able to say you’ve always had a filter on the lens is a bit of a selling point for some people!

I don’t necessarily recommend this exact type of filter (secret – I don’t know a TON about filters, but bought what I thought would work best for me!), but this is an example of a filter that could be used.

TIP #12
Use/buy a lens hood.

Again, matter of personal preference, but I suggest to keep your lens hood on (and buy one if it didn’t come with your lens purchase)!! This is for similar reasons as the above tip, but I also find that it makes me feel comfortable keeping my lens without a lens cap (eek, maybe don’t follow that tip… but as a professional photographer, I don’t have time to be messing around with taking a lens cap off all the time or storing it when I’m shooting an all day wedding).

This is a photo of a lens hood – the one that came with my 50mm lens. It should be pointing outward when in use, though when storing the lens, I turn it backward so it is no bigger than the lens itself.

TIP #13
Upgrade your lens before your camera body.

This is actually one area where I felt like I did things “right” – woohoo!! I started off with the Nikon D7000 (DX) and used that as my primary camera body for years and years. I tried a bunch of lenses (all kinda silly purchases now that I look back), but finally decided upon upgrading to the Nikon 50mm f1.4 (FX). I used that FX lens with my DX camera and it made a HUGE difference in the quality of my photos. Of course, upgrading to a full frame camera with a full frame lens is the best, but if you’re strapped for cash, you can make a drastic improvement on your photos by upgrading to a nicer piece of glass.

TIP #14 (actually just a FUN FACT):
It might make you feel super professional with a massive lens on your camera body, but the pros know that typically the smaller lenses are prime lenses and will yield better, more professional-looking results (unless you’re a wildlife photographer, in which case you definitely need like a 400mm lens!). So rock that baby lens and show off all it can do! <3

So my opinions might be completely biased toward what I love and use and do, but at the same time, I feel as though most photography professionals would agree on most (if not all) of these tips! Follow them for your next lens purchase and you’ll end up with a fantastic lens that you’ll absolutely love and that will last you years and years and years!!

Guest Post: Athena Marie

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