This article is part of a larger series on lens buying options.

Choosing the right lenses is still hard, even with all the technical facts at our disposal. How do the lenses behave in real life and why are lenses from some manufacturers cheaper?
 

Third Party Lenses

The same company that builds the camera, builds first party lenses for that camera. Third party lenses are built by another company. Often they are touted as being of lesser quality, but is this really true? There are three major vendors for third party lenses, Tokina, Tamron and Sigma.

Price: Third party lenses are often more affordable, yet offer similar quality.

Selection: With third party lenses, we have a wider selection than with camera brand lenses alone. Certain specialty lenses are only available as third party options.

Quality: Many photographers believe that third party lenses are of lower quality. Maybe third party lenses cannot match a Canon L lens or a Nikkor lens, but top of the line camera-brand lenses are very expensive. When you cannot afford these, a third party lens can offer better quality than a camera brand lens of similar price.

Compatibility: Camera brand lenses may work better together with the cameras of the same brand since the same company is responsible for the interface.

Conclusion: Third party lenses are a sensible choice for the budget conscious shopper. They offer a good value for your money or may even offer options not available through the camera brands.

Digital Lenses

Many Nikon and Canon digital SLR havecrop factors of either 1.5 or 1.6. The crop factor translates into a focal length multiplier, making it harder to get true wide-angle formats. The sensors are also smaller, requiring a smaller image circle from the lens (the circle of light the lens projects).

Many lens makers have introduced digital lenses that project a smaller image circle. You cannot use these lenses on cameras with full frame sensor.

You can recognize digital lenses by their identifier number.

Lenses I own and love

I shoot with Canon Cameras with 1.6x crop factor.

Tokina 12-24mm (AT-XAF124DXC) – Super Wide and Fun

my favorite wide lensThis is a digital lens. It will not work with Full Frame Cameras.

Positive:

I absolutely love my ultra wide Tokina lens. Wide-angle photographs are very pleasing. They have tremendous depth of field and offer a completely different perspective, emphasizing the foreground and deemphasizing the background. The Tokina is a perfect lens to cover this area.

Despite its super wide field of view, I was positively surprised how little barrel distortion this lens showed. I barely ever correct the distortion. For most photographs, it will be usable straight from the camera, with the exception of architecture photography.

Negative:

This lens has lots of chromatic aberration. I correct most of it in the RAW converter through profiles automatically. If you shoot jpg straight from the camera, this may become an issue for you.

Sometimes my camera has trouble correctly focusing with this lens. I have seen similar issues with a Sigma wide-angle before. I am not sure whether this is due to the tremendous depth of field, which results in a shallow maximum for the sharpness (especially with the relatively small maximum aperture of f/4) or whether it is a result of the lens not being Canon.

Conclusion:

For this range, there is not much choice. I picked this lens, as it was cheaper than Canon’s 10-22 mm and just as sharp. You can set the lens to 2m and f/8 and everything from right in front of your lens to infinity should be sharp. The focusing issue is not a major drawback.

Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM – The workhorse

workhorse lensI use this lens a lot. It is very sharp when you stop it down to 5 or 5.6. Even at the maximum aperture the pictures are sharp.

The zoom range is perfect for everyday situations from very modest wide to very modest telephoto. I used to have this lens on my camera most of the time until I started doing a lot of wide-angle photography.

The lens does not show any distortion or aberrations. The focus is precise. I recommend this lens, as I have never had any trouble with it. It still is my main workhorse.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM - Cheapest L wonder

Great ValueThis is still the only L lens I own. It is the cheapest L glass you can buy and you should buy it.

This lens still costs as much as it did when I bought it a few years ago and I think it will retain its value for a while. It is the sharpest zoom lens I own. The lens records excellent photographs even at the widest aperture.

The bookeh (appearance of out of focus areas) looks excellent as well with no distracting sharpness.

I often use this lens as a reference point for comparisons.

If you have the money, I would recommend going for the version with image stabilization (IS) and if you can afford it buy the f/2.8 model with IS. It will be bulkier though.

While I can still take this lens with me on most trips, I would probably think twice about the f/2.8 version.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II – The plastic fantastic

sharp primeThis is the cheapest, sharpest and fastest (f/1.8) lens I own. As a prime lens, this lens is sharper than all my zooms, maybe even the L lens. It is quite a fast lens as well. It is the perfect candidate for indoor candid shots.

Taking candid birthday or wedding photos without flash and with no distracting background elements will get you some admiration from your friends who otherwise couldn't care less about your photography.

Shooting your children and portraits of your friends and family is pure fun with this lens. Set it to f/1.8 and prepare to be blown away by how well your photos will be rendered with this cheap glass.

Sure, the lens feels cheap, but lightweight plastic construction is a blessing in today's air travel craze.

Sigma AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS - Superior Superzoom

best universal lensThis is a Digital Lens.

We bought this lens for Dani, so she would not have to change lenses anymore. I was skeptic about the quality of a lens with such a large zoom range, but I was positively surprised.

The Sigma lens covers the entire range from wide angle to telephoto. It is a perfect choice if you do not want to change lenses in the field or if you are trying to keep things simple.

The optical stabilization works quite well.

It is heavier than my 24-85 but for a lens of these specifications, it is still a relatively compact package.

The lens has a 72mm filter thread and you can lock it in the 18mm position to carry it around.

It is the first Sigma lens I bought after my disaster with the 18-50mm f/2.8. The 18-200mm really works well.

Tokina 24-200mm AT-X 242 AF - Travel Lens

This was Dani's old lens. Its optical qualities are very good. I will keep it if I need to keep my weight down for travels. It pairs nicely with my 12-24mm Tokina. Unfortunately, they are not built anymore, but if you can snatch one of these babies, you are getting some excellent glass.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

This is a Digital Lens.

I have a bunch of these, with and without IS. Canon ships them with all their 1.6x crop cameras in a bundle for around $100..

This lens is my first choice for street photography. It has a decent zoom range and I like its unobtrusive look. With its small size people seem to get much less nervous when this lens is looking their way.

I also do not mind putting this lens at risk. It is cheap and I have more of them.

Other good Lens Choices:

Some good Nikon Lenses

Conclusion

New developments in lens technology enable us to buy better technology at a cheaper price.

Image Stabilization and fast, yet compact, designs paired with high ISO range of modern cameras make new photographs possible that we could not take before. Lenses do not depreciate as fast as camera bodies do. I have the majority of my budget invested in lenses, as the glass is at least as important as the rest of your camera system. Many people pair subpar lenses with excellent bodies, thus wasting the possibilities.

I often recommend buying a cheaper camera and spending some of your budget on better lenses.