John Fares sent in a question via the Ask a Question page in which he essentially asked why some photographers recommend buying the expensive high-end lenses when there are cheaper lenses of the same focal length available. Â What’s the difference between cheap lenses and expensive lenses? Â You can read the full question at the end of this article.
First of all, I would NOT recommend that a beginner buy a high-end lens. Why? Â Because you probably won’t see any significant improvement in your photos. Â Think of lenses as a bottleneck. Â If the photo is otherwise compelling, the photographer has the skill to shoot with proper technique, and the photographer is skilled in post-processing, then the lens can add to the sharpness, color, and contrast of the photo. Â HOWEVER, even the sharpest and best-built lens will produce blurry photos in the hands of an amateur.
But if you feel like you are skilled enough to take advantage of a pro lens, here is a list of some of the advantages you’ll seen in the professional grade lenses, and why they are different than the cheap kit lenses.
Benefit of Professional Lenses #1: Â Maximum Aperture. This is probably the most important benefit of an expensive lens. Â Most low-end lenses have max apertures of f/5.6 at the long end of the lens; however, professional lenses often have max apertures of f/2.8 or even lower. Â The large apertures offered by professional lenses aides in creating shallow depth of field and light-gathering.
Benefit of Professional Lenses #2: Â Constant Aperture. Most cheap lenses change the max aperture as you zoom out. Â For example, the popular Canon 75-300mm lens can achieve an aperture of f/4 at 75mm, but when you zoom out to 300mm, the lens can only achieve an aperture of f/5.6. Â On many professional lenses, the maximum aperture available on a lens is constant throughout the focal length range. Â For example, the 70-200mm lens by both Canon and Nikon can achieve an aperture of f/2.8 at the 70mm or 200mm ends.
Benefit of Professional Lenses #3: Â Focus Motor. More expensive lenses use a silent wave motor, which produces faster and quieter focusing.
Benefit of Professional Lenses #4: Â Weather Sealing. While all lenses have a certain amount of weather sealing, high-end lenses have loads of it. Â This makes the lens last much longer without problems. Â I have rarely seen a kit lens or cheap telephoto lens that doesn’t have dust (or even mold…) inside the lens after a year or two of use. Â This happens much more rarely in professional lenses as long as they are taken care of.
Benefit of Professional Lenses #5: Â Sharpness. Kind of self-explanatory, but pro lenses are almost always sharper. Â However, this won’t make a bit of difference if you don’t use proper technique.
Benefit of Professional Lenses #6: Â Internal Focus. On cheaper lenses, the physical length of the lens extends as you zoom in. Â On many professional lenses, the lens focuses without changing the length of the lens. Â The only reason this matters is when using filters. Â This creates problems when using certain types of filters.
Benefit of Professional Lenses #7: Â Contrast. Professional lenses often produce significantly more saturated colors than cheaper lenses.
Benefit of Professional Lenses #8: Chromatic Aberration. Professional lenses produce less-noticeable fringing around edges. Â This really isn’t a big deal unless you’re printing or displaying photos large.
Benefit of Professional Lenses #9: Â Color. The difference in color reproduction is slight, but professional lenses do a bit better.
John’s full question:
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