SLR Lens systems...

[bovil]

So whatever camera I decide to get, it's going to lock me into a lens system.

Canon, Nikon and Olympus all have very good reputations.

Canon has an insane lens range, supplemented by a ton of really good third-party lenses.

Nikon has nearly as large a lens range, supplemented by a ton of really good third-party lenses.

Olympus went with a ground-up redesign, and the "Zuiko" lens range is getting great reviews. It's not as broad as either Canon or Nikon (but not all of those lenses work well for digital APS-C photography), and the E-series doesn't have as many third-party manufacturers yet.

Opinions?

Comments

[didjiman.livejournal.com]

Besides the thin DoF issues, there is no regret in the ZD lens system. The 12-60 starter lens is as good as any, anywhere. The monster 35-100/2 is incredible. The 8mm fisheye rounds out the short end.

With Nikon lens, there have been reports of front focusing. The flat sensor places higher demand on the lens.

The Achilles Hill of the Canon lens lineup, especially for the full frame models, is that the wide angles are not as stellar as the users would want. Hence some Canonnites use the Leica R lens.

When I have money, I will probably pick up a 14-35/F2. ZD has things like 40-150. 90-200 etc. ABle to satisfy any long lens junkies.

I am biased of course :-)

[johno.livejournal.com]

A long time Canon fan reciently found that many of the wide range of canon lenses don't work on the newest DSLRs. You can get an adaptor ring, but still it's on more thing in your lens stack.

The Nikon line of DSLs and use virtually the entire line of nikon/nikor lenses, so long as it's the right mount. The cameras have the smarts to recognize the capabilities of the lens and will turn off features if the lenses does not support it.

The exception is the D3 which can't use the newer lens meant the smaller sensor used in the current D40-D200 line.

[jadecat9.livejournal.com]

I love the Canon lenses. If you plan correctly, you can use a multitude of lenses for different cameras. That's what I did with my 20D --> 5D

And insofar as wide angles...there are some really very very picky Cannonites about show "sharp" they want things to be. None of the pros I know have a problem with some of the wide angles in the Canon line up.

And, the L series is a nice set of glass.

[howeird]

You know this already, but a reminder that the lens selection depends on how many lenses you want to carry around and how often you like changing lenses. The trade-off between a fixed lens and a zoom is usually an f stop or two in favor of the fixed lens. Lately most one-zoom-fits-all lenses have been within a single f stop, which to me isn't a deal breaker. I prefer my Nikor 18-200 3.5-6.5 to a set of, say, 18-70 and 70-200. I don't believe Canon makes a single lens which covers that range. The less often you change lenses, the longer the camera will last and the cleaner the sensor and mirror will be.

I do keep a 60mm macro, though, for the extreme close-ups.