There is a saying that good photos depend on the skill and creativity of thephotographer. And it is largely true. You can snap great photos with a smartphone. But at the same time, it is also true that to consistently click good images you need decent photography gear. You don’t need a Rs 4 lakh camera like Nikon D4S because that is suitable only for pro photographers who make their living from clicking images. But you do need some good tools.
A DSLR — even the entry-level — is one such tool. However, getting a DSLR is just the beginning. It is like stepping into the wonderful world of photography. If you want to travel farther into it, explore it with your eyes glued to the viewfinder and click what you see, in the way you want, you will require several more tools. The most important of these are the lenses.
Almost all entry-level DSLR cameras are sold with a bundled lens. This is called a ‘kit lens’. This is a general purpose lens with a zoom range that is neither too big nor too small. The purpose here is to give the photographer a lens that he can use every day. Most of the time this lens is 18-55mm with the maximum aperture of something like F3.5 (lower value denotes bigger aperture).
While kit lens will get you started, if you are keen to click really good images, you will outgrow it in several months. Worse, the kit lens cannot be used in certain circumstances. For example, it is not a good option if you want to shoot in low light or want to click photos of animals in a zoo.
There are tens of lenses you can buy, each specific to one particular kind of photography. But that is too expensive. Instead, to start with, we suggest three lenses (in addition to the kit lens) that a DSLR user should have.
A prime lens
You should buy a general purpose prime lens as soon as you can after getting your DSLR. It isworth every penny!
A prime lens has a fixed focal range. This means no zooming in or zooming out with this lens. However, because the lens manufacturers don’t have to bother with the zoom, they can create a high-quality lens with a wider aperture and yet can keep the price low. Most of the prime lenses have high-quality optics and a big aperture.
Big aperture and high-quality optics are very expenses in a lens. But (relatively speaking) not if the lens is a prime lens.
What prime lens can do for you: When you shoot with a prime lens you will notice that the images it is capturing are sharper and better than what you get with the kit lens, even if you shoot the same scene with the same settings. That is because of the better optics.
But a more important reason to get a general purpose prime lens is its aperture of F2.0 or F1.8. Such a big aperture will allow you to click photos of your friends in a dimly lit restaurant. In fact, once you have the prime lens, you will not have to worry about images coming out dark, whether you are trying to shoot the evening scene on a street or the yummy chicken tikka in a fancy (but dimly lit) restaurant.
Another use of prime lens is to click impressive portrait photos. Have you seen the creamy bokeh (blurred background) that professional photographers capture in portrait photos? They often get this effect by using an aperture of F2.0 or less. A prime lens with aperture of F1.8 will help you click really sharp portrait photos with smooth and blurred background.
Which prime lens: The answer to this question depends on kind of photographer you are. Are you more into street photography or do you capture your subjects up and close? If you like street photography, get a prime lens with 35mm focal length. If you are into portraits and close ups, get the lens with 50mm focal length.
If you are a Nikon shooter, Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35 mm f/1.8G and Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G are good options. If you are a Canon shooter, go for Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II. Sadly, Canon doesn’t have a cheap 35mm prime but if you can spend little bit extra, the company does sell a 35mm F2 lens.
If you have a Sony DSLR camera, you can check out Sony SAL50F18 AF DT 50mm F/1.8 and Sony DT 35 mm F1.8 SAM lenses.
A telephoto lens
We find a general purpose prime lens more useful but if you are into shooting birds and animals, go for a telephoto lens before you buy a prime lens.
You need at least 250mm range for shooting wildlife. Though 300mm is better.
Zoom lenses also serve another purpose. Just the way bigger aperture makes the background soft, bigger zoom too does the same. You can get the blurred and smooth background if you are shooting at a big focal length. This is how you can get images of birds that have only the birds in focus and everything else is blurred.
Shooting with a zoom lens is lot of fun. You should look to add one to your camera kit as soon as you can. Which telephoto lens: If you are a Nikon shooter the cheapest (and best value for money) options are Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55 – 300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR and Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70 – 300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED.
If you shoot Canon, Canon EF-S 55 – 250mm f/4-5.6 IS II and Canon EF 75 – 300mm f/4-5.6 III USM are good choice. The 300mm lens lacks the image stabilisation so you will need to use a tripod, especially if you are shooting at the maximum focal range. Or you can get the 300mmCanon lens that has image stabilization but it costs almost three times more.
If you shoot Sony, you can take a look at Sony DT 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens.
Wide angle lens A wide angle lens will help you fit the Golden Gate Bridge in the frame even if you are just 500 meters away from it. Probably. This makes it a handy lens, especially if you are fond of shooting landscape. But it is not a must have lens like the general purpose prime or telephoto lens. This is also the reason why it is more expensive than a telephoto or prime lens.
Get this lens if you really love landscape photography. If you don’t, you will find that your kit lens with 18mm of focal range is sufficient.
Wide angle lenses come in two categories: Wide and ultra wide. Anything with a focal range of something like 16-35 is a wide lens. Ultra wide, on the other hand, can help you cover something like 10-20mm. Now, 10mm is seriously wide. So before you get this lens, be sure that you will be able to use it.
Which wide angle lens: If you shoot Nikon, you can opt for either AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED or AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR. If you are a Canon shooter, take a look at Canon EF-S 10 – 22 mm f/3.5-4.5 USM or Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM lenses. The Nikon lenses are very expensive. If you want a cheaper option you can also use the Sigma one for your Nikon DSLR camera.
For Sony shooters too we suggest Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM.
Additional points on lenses
*While telephoto and general prime are kind of necessary, you can substitute the wide-angle lens with some other lens that will compliment your photography style. For example if you want to shoot macro photos of insects and flowers, get a macro lens instead of wide angle. If you want to shoot portraits, get a prime lens with focal length of around 100mm. Similarly, if you want to shoot sports, get a quality zoom lens with focal length of around 200mm. The telephoto lenses listed above will allow you to click photos of your kid bowling in the school match but they are not very fast in acquiring focus so you may miss great moments. A fast zoom lens will help you capture better sport scenes.
*Lenses with aperture value of F2.8 or lower are generally better. But they are also more expensive.
*Pay special attention to build quality while buying a lens. A lens usually outlasts a camera. In future you may change cameras but you will probably keep using the same lenses.
*All entry-level DSLR cameras use APS-C image sensor, which has a crop factor of around 1.5. In simple words, this means the actual zoom range that you get with an APS-C camera is always more than what the lens is rated for. For example, a 300mm lens actually has the zoom range of 450mm when used with the APS-C camera. Similarly, the 50mm lens is actually 75mm lens when paired with a camera like Nikon D5100.
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