How to Choose a Canon Digital Camera Lens

Choosing a Canon digital camera lens can be really fun and exciting. But at the same time, there are so many camera lenses to choose from, it can be confusing and even frustrating trying to pick the best one for your needs. Perhaps you a nature photographer and desire a high power macro lens. Or maybe you are a wedding photographer and would like a top quality portrait lens. Those photographers who own Canon digital cameras have many excellent lens choices—it’s just a matter of sifting through all the information out there to choose the right Canon digital camera lens.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. 
   Choosing a Canon digital camera lens for macro photography

   The first step towards choosing a Canon digital camera lens involves narrowing your lens search by identifying your needs. How wide of a lens do you need? How much zoom do you desire? Do you want a prime lens? Do you desire to be able to shoot close-up, as in macro photography? Are you looking for an all-purpose ‘walk-around’ lens? What will you be primarily shooting with your Canon camera? Weddings? Family portraits? Wildlife? Landscapes? Your kids?

2. 
   How much are you willing to spend on a new Canon digital camera lens?

   After you answer the above questions and narrow down your search a little, it is time to set a price range you are willing to spend. Digital camera lenses vary dramatically in price, from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Be aware of your upper limit for a new Canon digital camera lens.

3. 
   Read technical Canon lens reviews on Photozone

   You are now ready to begin your research phase towards buying a new Canon digital camera lens. The first kind of research you should pursue is the technical research. You need to read reviews of lenses that have been objectively tested. An excellent website to visit is Photozone (http://www.photozone.de/), where you can read technical reviews of all lenses made for Canon cameras. Simply visit the site, click on Canon EOS Reviews, and you will see an extensive list of camera lenses made for Canon digital SLR cameras by Canon, Tamron, Tokina, and Sigma manufacturers. Choose the lenses you are interested in and read their technical reviews carefully. A link to Photozone can be found below in the Resources section.

4. 
   Visit photography communities for Canon digital camera lens user reviews

   After reading technical reviews and getting an idea for lens performance levels and quality, you can now move on to reading user reviews. Amazon.com sells many of these lenses for Canon cameras and you can read extensive reviews by both pros and amateurs alike. Also try visiting digital photography forums or photography communities to read even more reviews and see examples of pictures taken with the Canon digital camera lenses you are looking at buying. Visit places like Digital Photography School (http://digital-photography-school.com/) and Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/) for starters. With Digital Photography School you can read lens reviews on the blog or read user reviews and opinions of lenses on the forums. With Flickr you can search for the Canon digital camera lens in question and find whole groups dedicated to the lens. Then you can see actual pictures taken using that lens, which is very helpful when making your decision. You can find links to these 2 sites below in the Resources section.

5. 
   Try a lens on your Canon camera before buying it

   The last stage of research for choosing a Canon digital camera lens is to actually try out or rent a lens from your local camera store or an online camera store. Many shops rent lenses so you can try them before buying. This way you can really see how the lens works on your Canon camera.

6. It is now time to buy a new Canon digital camera lens!

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to test your new Canon digital camera lens as soon as you receive it because on occasion lenses are not calibrated correctly and will need to be sent back to the manufacturer.

Resources

• Photozone
• Digital Photography School
• Flickr

[Geargirl113]

on 1/15/2009 This is a helpful article on camera lens. I want to upgrade my digital camera to be able to take better photos.