DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

2017 DIYP Gift Guide – Lenses

Nov 22, 2017 by John Aldred 2 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

In this, the second in our series of gift guides, we’re taking a look at lenses. After all, what good are cameras without them?

We’ve looked through some of our new favourites from the past year, as well as a couple of classics which consistently withstand the test of time.

Canon 50mm f/1.8 – $125

The 50mm f/1.8 is a lens that should be standard in everybody Canon shooter’s bag. It’s just such a versatile focal length, regardless of sensor size and so inexpensive that it’s difficult to come up with a reason to not have one. While it will obviously offer a slightly narrower field of view on an APS-C sensor, it can still be used for everything from landscape to portrait.

Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95 lens for Micro Four Thirds – $399

While this isn’t technically a 50mm lens, on the Micro Four Thirds bodies for which it was designed, you’ll get the same field of view. That super wide f/0.95 aperture means it should be an excellent performer in very low light. It also means that even on a 2x crop sensor, you’ll be able to get a nice shallow depth of field for both stills and video.

Irix 15mm f/2.4 – $475 or $675

This is a fantastic ultrawide full frame manual focus lens for Nikon and Canon DSLRs. If you’re after something wide and sharp, with the least possible amount of distortion, then this is the lens you want. Available in two flavours, both of which offer some degree of weather sealing. The Firefly version is designed for the more casual photographer, who’ll only use it occasionally. Blackstone, on the other hand, has a stronger build quality and is aimed at the hardened pro who’s likely to be shooting regularly in all kinds of hostile conditions.

Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 – $598

Now that Sony have started to turn their attention to offering Sony mirrorless shooters a range of native lenses, this one has quickly become a favourite of many. It’s an impressive lens for portraiture. And despite not being one of their higher end “G Master” lenses, it stands up to scrutiny extremely well.

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 – $1,399

This is a lens I got to try first hand shortly before they were released. I instantly fell in love with it. Both how it feels to use it as well as the images it allows the photographer to produce. On a full frame body, it beats out both the Nikon 135mm f/2 DC and the Canon 135mm f/2 for me. And with an APS-C body, it has a very similar feel to 200mm f/2 on full frame.

Canon 100mm f/2.8L Macro – $749

This is another one of those lenses that’s permanently in demand. While designed as a macro lens, it’s popular amongst wedding and newborn shooters for capturing those details. The wedding rings, the baby toes. It’s also quite commmon to find one of these in the bags of portrait photographers, too. Nikon’s 105mm f/2.8G AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor lens is similarly well regarded, although a tad more expensive at $897.

Nikon 105mm f/1.4E ED – $2,197

This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an inexpensive lens. But it’s one that just about everybody who’s bought one has fallen in love with. It’s the kind of lens you buy for life. It’s the first and only f/1.4 aperture autofocus lens at this focal length, and the images it can produce are just gorgeous. Designed primarily with portraits in mind, the shallow depth of field can easily separate your subject from the background, even when shooting full length.

Overview

The thing with lenses, is that they’re such a personal and subjective thing. While some photographers may love a particular lens, others will find it useless. These were just a selection of some of our favourites over the last year. What are yours?

With cameras and lenses down, our next gift guide is going to be on lighting. After that we’ve got bags and accessories!

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

2015 DIYP Gift Guide – Lenses 2017 DIYP Gift Guide – Cameras 2017 DIYP Gift Guide – Lighting 2017 DIYP Gift Guide – Bags

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: 2017, 2017 DIYP Gift Guide, Canon, christmas, DIYP, gift guide, glass, Lenses, Mitakon, nikkor, Nikon, sigma, sony

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« Facebook now lets you send 4K images in Messenger
Ugly places, pretty photos: a photoshoot at Lowe’s »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • Adobe ordered to pay more than $33 million for patent infringement
  • Hands on with the Kelvin Epos 600 RGBLAC light
  • Hands on with the Godox MG2400Bi LED beast
  • Hands on with the Saramonic WiTalk
  • Another tourist falls off a cliff while taking a selfie

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy