[Recovered Thread: 98500]

[Morag2]

Hey all, my last question on DSLR lasted 17 posts before I got it right, but this one is a bit simpler, haha.

Anyways, I was wondering how many different kinds of lenses there are. Like I know that not all lenses will work with a certain camera. So are there just 2 different brands of lenses? How do you know which will work with a certain camera?

Thanks, Keilan

[Log]

if you go with canon there are canon lenses if you go with nikon there are nikon lenses... of course there are 3rd party lenses such as tamron and sigma and tokina... there are some cheap worthless ones also like the opteka 800-1600mm lenses...

all manufactuerers have a certain mount for their lenses, so when you buy a lens it must be equipped with the mount of you camera make...

-Logan

PS i hope this answered your question

PSS (edit) just reread your question... their are quite a bit of lenses to choose from... from http://sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all.asp, http://www.thkphoto.com/products/tokina/index.html, http://www.tamron.com/lenses/default-photo.asp

those are the only 3 third party manufactuerers that i am aware of that are generally accepted...

[Morag2]

Thanks Logan, that does answer my question, although you did leave me with another one:lol:

Those Opteka lenses, I googled it quickly and found one, a 650-1300mm one for $300. That sets off some alarms right there of course, that is the furthest zoom I have ever seen in a lens, and that is REALLY cheap, so there is obviously something fishy about that lens, but what is it?

[Log]

poor glass, manual focus, small apertures, t-mount adapters to attach to camera, 'nuff said

-Logan


PS just think about it, any lens this cheap hasto suffer from distortions (barrel, pincushion, chromatic aberations) and to produce a soft image.

[Morag2]

Ya, as nice at that kind of telephoto would be, that lens does sound like crap. I would never take a deal like that without some serious research first anyways.

[eric s]

Another page that has lens info is:
www.canoneos.com

For just a touch more info....
lenses are generally grouped into a few catagories:
less than 20mm = ultra-wide angles
20mm to 40mm'ish = wide angles
40mm'ish to 80mm'ish = "standard" (I think that is the term people use)
80mm'ish to 400mm = telephoto
greater than 400mm = super-telephoto

These are only rough measurements, and they are not hard-and-fast rules. Just sorta what I worked up in my head right now. I don't feel comfortable with calling a 400mm lens a "telephoto" (seems kinda long, should it be super?) but people generally accept that over 400 is clearly "super" telephoto.

What you should really think about them as is what you'll use them for:
something wider than 20mm is really quite wide. This is for buildings, wide landscapes and such.
wide angles can be for group photos, maybe a car up close, smaller buildings.
standard lenses are often for portraits or candids
telephots have a wide variety of uses. sports, portraits at a distance, but also landscapes when you can't physically get closer
super-telephotos are for wildlife, sports... really distant shots.

And I haven't touched on macro or tilt-shit lenses.

Oh.... I don't know what your standards are, mine are quite high. I generally wouldn't consider a lens, other than specific Sigma lenses, that wasn't made by the manufacturer of the camera (I own Canon gear.) Tamron makes a few good wide angle lenses, but that is the exception.

But the reality is that when picking a lens is what you'll use it for and what is a good lens for the money you're willing to spend.

Oh, and of course the crop factor of the sensor changes what a wide angle lens really is. I have the 17-40 f4. I like it a lot, but don't use it often. I got it because I wouldn't take pictures of large trees at 28mm. With the 1.6x crop factor of the Canon 10D, it wasn't "wide" enough. So I went wider. You'll have the same issue with whatever you have... take into account the sensor size.

Eric