There Are Too Many Lenses?!?! How Do I Choose!?!?
By Robert Huber, Technical Consultant
Something that confuses many people when entering into the exciting world of SLR photography is the immense task of selecting a lens. There are lots of companies that offer several different types of lenses, and it can be difficult to understand what makes them all different from one another. Don't worry though, I'm here to help!First of all, keep two important things in mind:
1: The lens is the most important part of your imaging system. In most cases, it is even more important than the camera itself!
2: Lenses are designed for shooting different things. Think about what you like to shoot before you buy a lens, and make sure what you buy is appropriate for what you'd like to shoot. Don't worry about researching the lens so much if you don't like; we can help you out with that in the store.
Let's look at what makes some of these lenses different. Just so we're on the same page, let's make sure we all know a few definitions:
Focal length- This is a measurement that gives you an idea of the angle of view that the lens will give. The lower the number, the wider the angle.
Aperture- The aperture is the device that controls both depth of field and how quickly light enters the lens. This number is measured in decimals ( f /1.8, f /3.5 ). When two numbers are shown, the aperture will change as you zoom (We'll cover this a bit more later). When using autofocus, your camera will use the lowest aperture automatically in order to allow the most light in.
These are two of the more important things that make lenses different. There are lots of other things, such as the build quality, image stabilization, and physical size. Some lenses are even designed with elements that move and slide!
While we're covering a few vocabulary terms, let's look at some that explain what type of photography a lens is capable of:
Prime lens- These are lenses with No Zoom. They have a fixed focal length, and many times they have extremely low apertures and are usually pretty small. They are primarily used for portraiture, low light situations and general photography. There are lots of different types of these, even as high as 1000 mm. The larger focal lengths are often very large, and are popular with sports photographers.
Macro lens- These are lenses that are used to photograph things very close up and in great detail. Some have a macro function, but don't confuse these with a dedicated zoom lens. The longer the focal length of a macro lens, the further you must be from your subject. Therefore, longer focal lengths should be used where the subject can not be disturbed (bugs, small animal close ups), and shorter focal lengths where you can get really close (jewelry, flowers).
Zoom lens- These lenses are the most common. They allow you to change focal length without changing lenses. There are several types of these, some shorter range and some longer range. There are some that cover extremely long ranges, such as Tamron's 18-270mm.
Tilt/shift (also called PC-E)- These lenses give you very precise control of focus, allowing you to move and rotate elements in relation to the camera's sensor or film plane. Several manufacturers make them, and they are all very different.
There are a few more different kinds of lenses out there, but these are the most common.
Often, a lens company will make two lenses of different focal lengths with one less expensive than the other. A good example of this would be the Canon 16-35 f /2.8 L and the Canon 17-40 f /4 L. Let's look at both and see what's different about them, and I'll point out which situations would suit which lens.
This lens in one of my personal favorite lenses. It has a graciously wide angle, which when used with a full-frame camera seems to encompass more than you can see with your eye. The 2.8 aperture of this lens allows it to focus extremely well in low light, making it a popular lens with wedding shooters, band photographers, and night time landscape photographers. It is part of Canon's "L Series", which means that it is a professional grade lens. No compromises are made when building a lens of this grade.
It has a weather seal surrounding the mount, the body is made of high grade metal, focus and zoom controls are smooth and dampened with rubber grips. It has a depth of field preview window to allow focusing at night or using hyperfocal distance. This particular lens requires a filter on the front in order to make it completely weatherproof. This lens is much more expensive than its counterpart, mainly due to the low light performance. 
5D MII, 16-35 f/2.8 L II, 3- 580 EX II's, Pocket Wizard, 12-year old kid as a light stand
5D MII, 16-35 f/2.8 L II, 2-580 EX II, Pocket Wizard
This lens is nearly identical in focal length to the previous. It's a little longer, and one millimeter longer on the wide end. The big difference with this lens is the aperture- F/4. Remember what we said before- when focusing a lens, it uses the widest aperture and a wider aperture allows more light. This means that the lens with the widest aperture will focus better when in a low-light situation, making this lens less desirable for low light seekers. This lens would, however, be well suited to hobbyists, daytime landscape shooters, realtors looking to shoot interiors, and anyone with a mid-range budget looking for a wide angle.
What's one more thing that makes lenses very different? Price! Of course. With the two lenses in question, price is a defining factor. The 16-35 is nearly twice the price of the 17-40. Both are very sharp and perform very well. Both would surely be excellent additions to your camera kit. And hey, don't get discouraged if you can't afford to spend $1500 on a lens! There's a lens made for every budget, for every purpose.
5D MII, 17-40 F/4 L
5D MII, 17-40 F/4 L, Pocket Wizard, 1-580 EXII, 1-SB-26
Have fun shooting!
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