Lens Reviews

Every year member magazines from the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) gather to consider and vote on the top products of the year in 40 categories, ranging from cameras to tripods to software and printers. This year’s selections represent technological sophistication along with features and functionality that make them leaders in their respective categories.

The decisive moment had decisively passed and I missed another great shot: While framing and reframing my zoom lens the scene changed, the sun slid behind a cloud, and people in the shot moved. I finally realized I was missing shots because I had too much gear. 

A tilt-shift lens can be thought of as a flexible visual tool in the many ways it allows you to image the world. Unlike a standard lens, even a zoom, with a set point of view enforced by stance, elevation, focal length, and, within certain limits, depth of field, the tilt-shift lens opens visual doors a “fixed” lens will not. By tilting the lens within the mount you can enhance or greatly diminish depth of field beyond the “normal” abilities of the focal length and aperture setting. By shifting the lens you can “fix” perspective distortion or exaggerate it for “trick” effects.

Now that you've mastered the standard zoom lens that came with your D-SLR, you have to be asking yourself "what's next?" You bought a D-SLR instead of a compact camera so that you could change lenses. The question is: which lens to buy first? The answer is easy, but it all depends on what kind of pictures you like to take.

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Out of all the telephoto focal lengths, the 400mm is my favorite, so I looked forward to Canon’s updated 400mm f/2.8L. At about $11,499 list price (slightly less on searched street prices) it’s for those who absolutely need a fast, fixed focal length lens in their still and/or video work, and that’s work that pays well.

There was a time when I’d avoid a zoom lens as much as I’d avoid a swarm of midges. But in the digital age, the zoom lens has taken on new purpose, at least for me. Midges, however, are still a pest that is best avoided—especially when you’re changing lenses. And if you’re out in a marsh shooting spectacular scenic views, the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens gives you the needed range of focal lengths so you can reign supreme over any landscape, as you avoid changing lenses while sidestepping concern that those midges will infiltrate your camera.

Back in the day when fixed-focal-length optics reigned supreme, the 35mm lens, along with its wider cousin, the 28mm, was known as the lens a portrait or wedding photographer would use for group or full-length portraits or, especially if it had a fast aperture, the photojournalist would use to grab street candids. Today, with our wide zooms we’re often happy enough with an f/4 maximum aperture and we tend to overlook what faster fixed-focal-length lenses could do to help our photography.