After having your first digital slr it almost certainly will not be long before you start thinking about upgrading your kit lens. The standard 18-55 mm lens you get with most canon digital slrs does a good job. Not only does it provide you with a fairly large focal range but it produces pretty good quality images. It even now come with image stabilization a feature that used to be reserved for canons more expensive lenses.
It can be confusing trying to decide which lens to upgrade to. Not only is there the huge range of lenses from Canon & Nikon but also some equally impressive offerings from third party producers like Sigma, Tokina and Tamron. Below we will discuss some of the most likely candidates that you may want to consider.
A Prime Lens: Canon 50mm f1.8 Mark II
This has to be without doubt the best value lens that canon make. The lens is by far the cheapest lens in Canon’s range, coming in at around $90 (£75) at the time of writing. The best thing about this lens is you get great optics for the money, meaning sharp images as well as incredibly fast aperture of f1.8. All in all this means the 50mm f1.8 performs really well in low light conditions.
The 50mm Produces Stunning Portraits
Canon have kept the cost of this lens so low by keeping the cost low in all other areas, apart from optics. This means the build is almost entirely plastic making this lens feel like a toy. In addition you get a very loud auto focus that can take it’s time to focus when compared to lenses more than three times the price. The image quality however offsets these deficiencies.
The biggest thing you will find strange with his lens when migrating from the kit lens is that there is no zoom. A few years ago no-zoom or primes lenses were the norm for camera enthusiasts. Once you get used to zooming with your feet you will not miss this function and the image quality of this little lens will more than make up for the lack of zoom.
This lens should be a must for any photographers camera bag. If you want to take some stunning portraits that are pin sharp (even in low light) then you will not be disappointed with this lens. In our view it would still be great value at twice the price.
Check out our full review of the 50mm f1.8 for a more in depth test.
A wide angle Lens
If landscapes are your thing then a wide angle lens may be the next logical step for you. Wide angle lenses do what they say they increase the width of view that you can get into your photo.
Tokina 11-16 Lens
A good option for a great quality wide angle lens is the Canon 10-22mm. This lens gives you the benefit of a nice wide 10mm and also zooms all the way up to 22mm meaning that when added to your kit lens in your bag you have a great focal range at your disposal.
Another option might be the Tokina 11-16mm which is what is known as an ultra wide lens which focuses on producing better image quality than the canon at the wider end of the spectrum.
Zoom or Telephoto Lenses
One of the most popular choices for people upgrading their kit lens is the addition of a zoom or telephoto lens. Whether they tend to specialize in street photography or wildlife snaps many people feel the need for much more zoom than the 55mm offered by the standard kit lens.
The most common options are to opt for a lens that zooms to either 200 or 300mm. Such a zoom will satisfy all but the most specialist photographer.
The big thing that increases the cost of zoom lenses is the aperture they deliver throughout their focal range. If you are looking to blur the background, shoot in low light at subjects that are far away you will need to spend more to get a lens with a bigger aperture.
Some common options are:
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS Lens
Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM Lens
Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM Lens
Macro lenses
The other main type of lens many people opt for is a macro lens. If you are I to taking extreme close ups of flowers or insects then a macro lens is for you.
Macro lenses can produce some stunning results
Macro lenses can be bought in a range of focal lengths however they all have one thing in common – they let you focus on objects that are very close to the lens. This can make for some spectacular images that reveal details that are not normally visible to the naked eye.
As the above image shows macros lenses need not restrict you to photographing flowers or insects – all around you are every day items that when seem through a macro lens take on a whole new life. The above shot was taken using the Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro lens and was simply a shot taken in the kitchen sink of the water from a dripping tap falling into the basin. Check out our full review here.
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