best slr zoom lens image
JW
I'm looking to upgrade my camera from a simple point & shoot to an SLR. The camera I'm looking at comes with a 15-50mm zoom lens, but since I need a larger zoom, I was originally going to buy another zoom lens, but them I saw 2.5x telephoto lens as an alternative. Will that simply increase my original zoom lens to 37.5-125mm? What are the pros/cons of using a zoom vs telephoto lens to increase range & why is a telephoto lens only a fraction of the cost of a zoom lens? Thx for checking my post & appreciate any insight one can provide.
Answer
Zoom is nothing more than the ability of the lens to change focal length. In the dSLR world, talk in focal length terms, not zoom. If you mean you want to make a distant subject seem closer to you, get the longest focal length lens you can find. What you will find are called telephoto lenses and some of them zoom while others do not.
The ability to change focal length or angle of view makes a zoom lens flexible. A non-zooming lens does not change angle of view but optics can be made better. A 70-300mm zoom lens and a non-zooming 300mm lens will magnify a distant object at exactly the same size with the zoom lens set at 300mm.
So why is that 2.5X telephoto lens very cheap? It's not exactly a lens as you know it. It's a telephoto lens adapter, one that attaches to the front of the lens to change it's angle of view. The problem with these adapters is that they have very poor optics degrading the optical quality of your original lens. If you use a converter, one that attaches to the rear of your lens to change the angle of view, it's the same poor quality too.
Zoom is nothing more than the ability of the lens to change focal length. In the dSLR world, talk in focal length terms, not zoom. If you mean you want to make a distant subject seem closer to you, get the longest focal length lens you can find. What you will find are called telephoto lenses and some of them zoom while others do not.
The ability to change focal length or angle of view makes a zoom lens flexible. A non-zooming lens does not change angle of view but optics can be made better. A 70-300mm zoom lens and a non-zooming 300mm lens will magnify a distant object at exactly the same size with the zoom lens set at 300mm.
So why is that 2.5X telephoto lens very cheap? It's not exactly a lens as you know it. It's a telephoto lens adapter, one that attaches to the front of the lens to change it's angle of view. The problem with these adapters is that they have very poor optics degrading the optical quality of your original lens. If you use a converter, one that attaches to the rear of your lens to change the angle of view, it's the same poor quality too.
Which Nikon lens would you recommend to start in photography?
MILE94
I have a Nikon D80 with no lens. I am a graphic designer and would like to start taking my own pics. I need a not-so-expensive but good lens to start of. I found this: 55-200 F4-5.6 G ED DX AUTO FOCUS-S, DIGITAL SLR ZOOM STANDARD ANGLE LENS. Is it good? Any recommendation?
Answer
That lens you mention is a mid-telephoto zoom lens. It'll be good for bringing distant subjects closer. The types of lenses you buy will reflect what sort of photography you want to do (ie landscapes, portraits, street candids, wildlife, macro).
If you want to photograph a wide range of subjects (out of the above list) then you'll need a number of lenses to cover the focal lengths you'll need. Some will double up as useful for more than one thing. The 55-200mm is a good lens to have as part of your collection, but if you really want to shoot landscapes then your better off going for a wide angle zoom (like a 10-20mm).
For example, I have;
10-20mm for landscapes, also sometimes use as a portrait lens
50mm f2.8 macro for macro work & also very good portrait lens
24-70mm f2.8 - this is my main lens for studio portraits
18-200mm - this is a general lens for most everything as it does wide angle (18mm) up to telephoto (200mm)
150-500mm - only use this for wildlife
so you can see there's quite a focal length range there for everything I shoot.
That lens you mention is a mid-telephoto zoom lens. It'll be good for bringing distant subjects closer. The types of lenses you buy will reflect what sort of photography you want to do (ie landscapes, portraits, street candids, wildlife, macro).
If you want to photograph a wide range of subjects (out of the above list) then you'll need a number of lenses to cover the focal lengths you'll need. Some will double up as useful for more than one thing. The 55-200mm is a good lens to have as part of your collection, but if you really want to shoot landscapes then your better off going for a wide angle zoom (like a 10-20mm).
For example, I have;
10-20mm for landscapes, also sometimes use as a portrait lens
50mm f2.8 macro for macro work & also very good portrait lens
24-70mm f2.8 - this is my main lens for studio portraits
18-200mm - this is a general lens for most everything as it does wide angle (18mm) up to telephoto (200mm)
150-500mm - only use this for wildlife
so you can see there's quite a focal length range there for everything I shoot.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
No comments:
Post a Comment