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

[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.