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Buyer's Guide 2024: Lenses

How to choose the best glass for your D-SLR

By William Sawalich

Page 2 of 5

CODE WORDS

Focal lengths, ƒ-stops and designed-for-digital are all pretty easy to figure out. But when you’re choosing between two lenses of similar focal length and speed, what are you supposed to make of all those code words, like IS, VR, LD, HSM and T*? Even worse, why aren’t those codes universal? The lingo can be confusing, but their hidden meanings usually aren’t.

APO, ED, LD, SD—these terms refer to coatings applied to a lens’ glass surfaces to help improve color, contrast and sharpness. Low-dispersion glass is designed to keep the light in line, improving optical fidelity and frequently resulting in a lens with fewer elements, which can translate into smaller, more compact lenses. Some coatings are also designed for digital, helping to optimize the sensor-friendliness of the light as it enters the camera. Other terms like aspherical and rectilinear refer respectively to the ability to deliver edge-to-edge consistency both in sharpness and color and eliminate barrel distortion—edge curvature of straight lines with wide-angle lenses.

IS (Canon), VR (Nikon) and OS (Sigma) denote that the lens features an image-stabilization system to help eliminate camera shake, making it easier to create sharper handheld images with longer lenses at slower shutter speeds. This feature may add heft and cost to a lens, but it can also save your tail. If you always use a tripod or a powerful flash, these features may not top your priority list. If not, think about how many camera-shake-blurred photos you’ve made, and consider a lens with stabilization.

Terms like HSM and USM refer to the fast and quiet autofocus motors found in many lenses. The faster and quieter a lens focuses, the better. Unfortunately, like all good things, better may also mean pricier. If you’re not an autofocus fanatic or a sports shooter, maybe you could better spend your dollars on a lens with other features optimized for you.

ULTRA-WIDE ZOOMS AND FISH-EYES
Speaking in 35mm-film-format terms, lenses shorter than 40mm are considered wide-angle. They have the ability to open up a scene and allow more image information into a composition. This is particularly useful for architectural photographers or others who want to maximize their angle of view in tight quarters. They’re also ideal for journalists who strive to show context for their subjects’ experiences. When focal lengths drop below about 20mm, a lens may be called ultra-wide. These lenses can easily distort a scene the way a rearview mirror can-some objects may be closer than they appear. What’s worse, in some lenses, the edge distortion is amplified in ultra-wides. This distortion can be beneficial, so many manufacturers make fish-eye ultra-wides—lenses that show as much as 180 degrees without any parallel lines. Some fish-eyes are full-frame, meaning they fill the frame with the scene, while others are circular and create a perfectly round image centered in the frame. These circular fish-eyes are ideal for creating a distorted globe-like view of reality to create effects unlike any other lens.

Tokina’s 10-17mm AT-X 107 AF DX ƒ/3.5-4.5 is a variable-aperture, designed-for-digital fish-eye zoom. Built for APS-C sensors, it uses a super-low-dispersion element to reduce size and weight. Its maximum angle of view is 180 degrees, and the front element incorporates a waterproof coating designed to make cleaning easier. The full-frame fish-eye is ideal for photographers who want to take in massive scenes where curvature and distortion are desirable, so it’s a fun lens for Nikon and Canon shooters on a budget. Estimated Street Price: $525.

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