Monday, December 19, 2011

My TOP 5 Most Wanted Lenses - on a Budget

I did some massive research into 3rd party lenses and some were good for the prices with the quality of image they provide, but some lenses that were 1st party was still a good budget (low) prices I thought wasn't worth to go 3rd party, such as $50-$100 difference. Just note this observation is purely from research, no hands-on and experience of the lenses I'm recommending.




Two lenses I really would love to have are a 24-70mm 2.8 lens for of course portrait (model) photography, and as well a 70-200mm 2.8 lens. I looked at the 1st party lenses for these and they were heavily priced at 70-200mm 2.8 Canon lens (with IS and USM), and the 24-70mm 2.8 Canon lens (with USM). And I would love to invest into the 1st party lenses but I don't see myself being able to afford them or really needing them for another 5-10 years from the level of research I've done I just don't see enough of a difference to paying 3-5x more of the cost than a 3rd party would provide.

From my research I found the counter parts of those lenses with the best image quality as my primary focus, as I'm not looking for durability as my primary as I do mostly shoot (right now) studio so durability wouldn't as important, but if I would need that I would just get insurance on my equipment than paying a few thousand for durable lenses to use on-location shoot.

24-70mm 2.8 counter part for me I found best was Tamron's 28-75mm 2.8 
70-200mm 2.8 counter part for me I found best was Tamron's 70-200mm 2.8, it was Sigma's 70-200mm 2.8 (NON-OS) but its a $100 difference as Tamron being cheaper and with tests in research I have found the Tamron has better image quality which again is my focus in lenses not durability.

Those are my two top budget lenses I would and plan on buying within the year, but there are 3 additional lenses I've found not primarily made to shoot portrait photography which are...

A macro lens thats 100mm and found canon was my best choice Canon's 100mm 2.8 MACRO. And a prime super wide angle and zoom super wide angle lens with 2.8 apertures, which I choose Sigma's Prime Super Wide-Angle (Fisheye) 15mm 2.8 and Tokina's Zoom Super Wide-Angle 16-28mm 2.8

Overall List
  1. Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 
  2. Tamron 70-200mm 2.8
  3. Canon 100mm 2.8 MACRO
  4. Sigma Prime Super Wide-Angle (Fisheye) 15mm 2.8
  5. Tokina Zoom Super Wide-Angle 16-28mm 2.8
I hope you guys enjoyed that and let me know if you own these lenses to share your thoughts, experiences, or even if you're planning to buy any of the above let us know your reasoning.

And no I'm not a "gearhead" I'm just listing equipment I know I will need in the future and will very soon reach my limits with my current lens choices.

Compare lenses yourselves here, read lens reviews and tests here.


UPDATE: After doing some discussion within the dPS forums with more experienced photographers I came to a conclusion that if you're an professional photographer (or aspiring professional photographers) that its best to go invest into 1st party top rated high end gear as the durability will be worth it and I agree. A 3rd party's lifespan will be a lot less than the average lifespan of a 1st party equipment more specifically canon and nikon high end professional level equipment.  But for a person who knows they would never aspire to becoming a professional photographer then stick with 3rd party equipment as you won't need to compete than a professional would be required to compete with a world-wide competition especially for myself where I aspire to getting into commercial photography.

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