Lenses


I‘ve got a number of different lenses in my gear bag and each serves a different purpose. Are there lenses out there I would like to have? Sure, but the trade-off of having “the best of the best” and going into debt is something that as a non-professional photographer, I just cannot justify. Until I hit the lottery, I will have to merely sustain my interest with the following collection of lenses:

 

Canon 18-55mm kit lens

Canon 18-55mm kit lens

 

The kit (18-55mm) lens from Canon was my first lens, and while I may hold onto it for sentimental reasons, I also hold onto it because it’s really not that bad a lens.  Sure, it’s got a limited zoom, sure it gets soft around the edges, and sure, it’s not very fast.  But, get this puppy between f 8 and f16 around 30-50mm and it’s pretty good little puppy.  If you want to get the current generation one, it includes Image Stabilization and only runs a mere $100).

 

Sigma 70mm Macro

Sigma 70mm Macro

 

The Sigma 70mm Macro is an awesome lens.  This guy is used a lot, for everything ranging from macro work, to portraits, and much more.  It’s super fast at f2.8 so I can work in low light, and it’s also a solid performer.  With the standard non-slip textured grip, it also just feels at home in my hands.

Canon 70-200mm

Canon 70-200mm

 

The Canon 70-200mm is my longest lens, but when coupled with the 1.6 crop factor of my camera, and the 1.4 Teleconverter, it can extend out to almost 450.  It’s also got a great range for its sweet spot, ranging from down to f4 and all the way up to f16.  It’s not the fastest lens in my bag, but when it comes to zooming in on detail that’s far away, retaining high image quality, and even some portrait work (long glass compresses your subject which is good for portraits), this is definitely a go-to lens.

Canon 10-22mm

Canon 10-22mm

 

The Canon 10-22mm is my latest love – wide angles can change your perspective on things, and for landscapes, the wideness can’t be beat.  This is the widest non-fisheye lens I know of, and the quality of images is just superb.  There is distortion at the outer edges, but that’s to be expected in wide angles, and I wouldn’t trade this for anything.