The Use and Selection of Lenses
by Gary W. Stanley

Nikon D200 and 80-400VR

With today's computer technology, 35mm and digital SLR lens designs have made a tremendous leap forward.  

The old notion that fixed focal length lenses are much sharper than zoom lenses, while true a few years ago, is not nearly as accurate a statement today.

 

That gap has now narrowed to such a point that it would probably take an optical "bench test" to tell the difference, and as I tell people who attend my seminars, "I don't photograph benches."

 What's the point Gary? Well, as I've told many of you: "If you do what you’re supposed do properly; most lenses will do what they’re supposed to do properly." I happen to be sold on zoom lenses. Many people come up to me at my seminars and ask that same question over and over again. "Are they sharp? Is the quality good? Are you comfortable with the lenses you use?" My first reaction is; how did the images in my program look? "Great Gary, they're very sharp and really looked vibrant." Okay, if they look sharp on your monitor, print sharp from the printer, and project sharp, chances are they are sharp!

I have found any slight disadvantages of zoom lenses like greater minimum focusing distances and slower variable-aperture lenses to be well worth the sacrifice and are very reasonably priced.  There are of course, high quality zooms lenses with fixed apertures from the major manufacturers with f/2.8 or f/4.0 throughout the zoom range.  These same types of lenses from the aftermarket manufacturers such as Tamron, Tokina or Sigma can be quite reasonably priced.

Nikon D200 and 18-200 VR

When I can't physically get any closer to my subject, not having to change lenses to change focal length, or not having to move forward or backward to improve my composition is a real plus.

 
Convenience is the real key here. Years ago, the 50mm lens was the standard lens to come on most camera bodies.

Then you purchased a 28mm wide angle, and a 105mm or perhaps a 135mm lens for portrait or close-up work. Later on, you might add a 300 or 400mm telephoto to your collection for some wildlife work. Today a 18-85 or 18-135mm zoom is standard in many digital SLR camera kits.  Some folks will opt to buy the body only and upgrade to an 18-200mm (or similar) lens as their standard starter lens for under $600. Some of these starter lenses can be purchased for under $250, have five or six year warranties, are optically sharp and well made too. Not bad!

Most of the major lens makers have been very successful with the 28-200mm range and a few with 28-300mm. They have been award-winning lenses with good optics.  Several manufacturers have introduced zooms in the 12-24mm range, the 18-250, and 80-400's. For me as a professional, I thought that was probably stretching things a little. That was of course until I tried them; "Never say never Gary." My favorite two-lens combination from Nikon, for example, is the 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 VR and their 80-400mm 4.5-5.6 VR (vibration reduction) lens. With either of these two lens combinations, a carbon fiber tripod, this old photographer is a happy camper. Probably one of the greatest advantages to many folks has been as travel lenses. When you don't have a lot of room, these lenses can be lifesavers. When you are hiking and trying to save weight, this is a great way to go. When I’m hiking in a place like Zion or Bryce Canyon National Parks in Utah, I’ll carry these two lenses, my D300 Nikon body, and a carbon fiber tripod, and leave my camera bag in the trunk.  One other very important advantage of this two-lens combination to the digital shooter is; you’re not constantly changing lenses so don’t have to clean the sensor nearly as often.
Yes I also own a Nikon’s 12-24 for real wide angle and a 200 micro Nikkor for macro work, but I use these lenses less often.
 

Nikon D200 and 80-400VR

Then there is the issue of shallow pockets verses deep pockets. For my kind of work, a 'slow' lens is not a major problem because I shoot landscapes so I’m generally working at f/22 not f/2.8.  My camera is on a tripod and I'm using a cable release, and as long as the rocks don't move I'm golden. Suppose, however, that you occasionally want to photograph wildlife or your kid's soccer game. Well, you run right out and buy a $10,000 600mm f/4 lens right? Not!  If this is your hobby and you’re on a budget, this obviously doesn’t make sense.  How do we even the playing field? You do it with a slower and maybe a bit shorter lens like a 400mm f/4 or f/5.6, a higher ISO setting and a quality tele-converter.  One more secret; Good Technique!

Today's digital cameras are very good. Selecting a higher ISO of 400 over say 100 will increase your shutter speed from 1/125^th of a second to 1/500^th of a second which is substantially faster and better at stopping action than 1/125th. Yes, people with faster lenses can do the same thing, but that's not the point. You and I are the ones with the budget restraints, not them, and this is a great place to start.

The other solution to the budget problem may be an Image Stabilizer or Vibration Reduction series of lenses. These lenses can help reduce camera shake when hand-held, without the expense of the larger, faster lenses.  Nikon has the VR80-400 and the VR200-400 f/4.  The 80-400 sells for around $1,430 and the 200-400 for about $5,000.  Compare that to a 400mm f/2.8 at around $8500. The Canon 100-400mm IS lens runs around $1,400 while their 400mm f/2.8 is $6,500.

The down side: the Canon lenses only fit Canon, and the Nikkors only Nikon. Bummer! If you own another brand then the other option besides your particular camera manufacturer is to go aftermarket.  Sigma for example has a very nice APO 80-400mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG OS (optical stabilization) for about $950, and the 50-500 4/6.3 APO HSM AF for about $1,000.

Keep in mind that when you put one of these lenses on a tripod, Nikon and Canon tells you to turn off the IS or VR system.  While I’ve used the VR turned on when using a tripod with the ball head fairly loose, it did give me problems with fast moving subjects like birds.  If you’re going to use a tripod like I do, you can go with a less expensive non-stabilized lens like Sigma 50-500 4/6.3 APO HSM AF. You see, there are many ways to approach this issue, and some ways will save you major dollars.

One more thing: There is a bit of confusion over the difference between a lens made for film cameras and a lens made for the digital SLR.  I’m really not sure it is as big a deal as we are led to believe but, anyway; most early digital cameras started with a sensor that was smaller than the actual size and coverage of film.  When a standard lens was mounted on a digital SLR the smaller sensor was cropping a smaller area of glass than that used by film.  Most folks in the know claimed that the smaller sensor was in fact taking advantage of the sharper center area of most lenses.  Canon started making full-sized sensors and folk complained that the outside edges were soft.  Nikon continued to make the smaller sensors and we started the full-size verses the smaller so-called APS-C or DX 1.5X cropped sensor.
 

Nikon D200 and 80-400VR

Now, here is food for thought:  if you compare a full-frame 12 megapixel digital camera, with a DX sized sensor with 12 megapixel camera, the DX sensor is a true telephoto, since the resolution is the same, but the subject is occupying more of the 12 megapixel sensor in the DX format. The full-frame sensor is wider, but has the same resolution. So, here the 1.5x DX sensor really does magnify the image like a telephoto, since the resulting image will be bigger because it covers more pixels.


However, if you compare the full-frame sensor of a 16 megapixel camera with a DX sensor of a 12 megapixel camera, the 1.5x factor is a true crop, and with some resolution loss. In spite of what you might think, the smaller 12 megapixel sensor will hold up extremely well against the larger 16 megapixel camera.  Both of these cameras are capable of producing 3’x4’ prints that would put 35mm film to shame, and compete well with most any medium format print.  I have 2’x3’ prints hanging on my wall made from my 10 megapixel Nikon D200.  Are they sharp?  Let’s just say I can look at them with a magnifying glass inches from the print and it still blows me away!

Well as you might expect, lens manufacturers jumped at the opportunity to make the so-called digital lenses designed specifically for the 1.5X sized sensors.
When the Nikon D1 came out with the small 1.5X DX sensor, many folks were disappointed that their previously ultra-wide 14, 16 and18mm lenses took on the appearance of comparatively narrow-angle 21, 24 and 28mm lenses, but thrilled with the effect it had on their telephoto lens.  Nikon and others solved the problem by introducing the wider 12-24mm, 14mm lenses, which was followed by even wider 10.5mm lenses accentually recreating the approximate perspectives of a16, 18 and 20mm lenses that we used with our film cameras.  They claim as well to better control distortion by matching the lens to the smaller format.

You now have a better idea with regard to getting the most bang for the buck. As far as understanding what lens is right for you, base that decision on your individual needs. Faster lenses and more money or less expensive lenses and slower shutter speeds are the basic difference.  Keep in mind though that good light will allow you to continue using a low ISO setting with that slower lens, thus increasing shutter speed while retaining image quality.

With regards to what lenses do, remember that wide-angle lenses expand the apparent distance between objects, and telephoto lenses will compress the apparent distance between objects. Wide-angle lenses are most often used to help create that 4x5 look, for two reasons one, as I just said, they expand the apparent distance between objects and two, they allow you to get close to your foreground subject, yet have enough depth-of-field to keep everything sharp from front to back. Look for a foreground subject to compliment the scene or your main subject; flowers, rocks, trees, people, etc. Use it as an anchor to your photograph or to balance the overall shot, leading your eye comfortably through the composition.

Telephoto lenses on the other hand, compress the apparent distance between objects creating those stacked mountain views that you see so often.  Frequently, I will shoot more than one composition from a particular vantage point using my 18-200mm to give me both a wide angle and a compressed telephoto look while using only one lens.  A strong telephoto in the 300-400mm range will give a more compressed look as in the case of a layer of mountains.

Another great use for a telephoto lens is that it allows you to compose on very specific parts of a scene, to view just that small portion of your composition. I try to challenge myself to photograph something other than just the grand landscape when I'm in great locations like Zion or Bryce.
 

Nikon D200 and 200mm Micro Nikkor

There are, of course, specialized lenses like macro and tilt-shift perspective lenses.  Again, you can spend big bucks on the manufacturer’s macro or save a little money on those from Tamron, Tokina or Sigma.

For those of you either on a budget or those who need to travel with minimal  equipment, I have another suggestion. I will frequently use a zoom lens in the 70-200 range or 70-300mm as my close-up lens. I will add Nikon’s or Canon’s (depending on filter size) close-up screw-on lens to the front of this lens to increase its close-focusing capability and use the zooming feature of the 70-300mm to control image size. Nikon makes two different filter-thread sizes, and in two different strengths. The 3T and 4T close-ups are 52mm thread size, and the 5T and 6T are 62mm in thread size. The 3T and 5T are the weaker magnification, and the 4T and 6T are stronger. These are two element screw on filters, and are of much higher quality than those cheaper close-up sets in the +1,+2, and +4 strengths.  Canon makes a high quality Canon 72mm 500D close-up filter for about $120, and a 77mm for $150.

The results are very good as long as the primary lens is sharp. These filters cost about $55 for the 3T and 4T, and $65 for the 5T and 6T. This is only about $500 less than a good 105mm macro. The great thing about using these close-up lenses with say the 70-300mm, is the increased working distance from your subject, an advantage over the 105mm macro when trying to photograph moving objects like bugs or butterflies.

Be sure to check out Gary's New eBook: "Image Preparation: The Key to Success."  This new PDF downloadable eBook is based on my popular seminar and soft cover book of the same name.

The eBook will be available mid July on the USPhotoGroup website through PayPal, for $16.95 plus shipping.

www.usphotogroup.com

 

Photography inspires because nature inspires.

Info: gary@light-chasers.com

Thank you!

Gary W. Stanley

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