Why You Should Buy Cheap Camera Lenses Over Expensive Ones
Reading Time: 4 minutesOwning an expensive camera lens is not what will make you a better photographer. Here’s why you should opt for cheaper ones.
Photography is a great, artistic hobby to get into that can give you a presence on social media and may even open up the opportunity to turn your skills into a business. After taking photos for a while, you may notice that the lens makes an even bigger difference than the camera body. Lenses can range from under $100 to well over $1,000 even for the same focal length.
Here’s why you should consider purchasing cheaper lenses over expensive ones.
1. Cheaper Lenses Allow You to Experiment With Different Focal Lengths
The first reason to buy more affordable lenses is that you can try out various focal lengths to see what you like the look of better. This is mainly for those just getting started with photography, but can also be true for those who have been shooting the same types of photos for years.
If you don’t have the option to rent from a company such as BorrowLenses, buying more affordable lenses could be a way to see what you like.
Companies such as Rokinon sell high-quality lenses at an affordable price; it provides wide-angle lenses, portrait lenses, as well as telephoto. These lenses are also all primes, so they’re lightweight and sharper than their zoom counterparts. Wide-angle lenses, such as 12mm to 24mm, are great for shooting landscapes and architecture, while the 35mm to 85mm lenses are best for portraits.
If you don’t intend on buying multiple cheap lenses, having just one has its benefits, too. Sticking to one focal length can make you a better photographer due to it forcing you to move yourself to find the best composition.
Learn more about zoom vs. prime lenses to see which is best for you.
2. Try Out Vintage Lenses
Those who want to get a more unique, artsy look with their photography may opt to try vintage lenses. Many that you’ll find were made for older film cameras and do not have any modern conveniences such as autofocus; this is a great excuse to practice manually focusing on your subjects. Plus, vintage lenses are fairly cheap.
They may also not be as sharp as modern glass—vintage lenses can have a very interesting effect on bokeh in photos. The Helios 58mm f/2 lens, for example, gives your photos a swirly bokeh effect, making them look very dreamy. Others may make the bokeh balls look more hexagonal or affect them in a way you didn’t intend.
The unpredictable nature of vintage lenses can make photography fun. They’re also fantastic to use for videos for the same reasons.
3. Resale Value
Purchasing cheaper lenses is less risky when it comes to selling them once they need to be replaced. Although all lenses, both cheap and expensive, hold their value much better than camera bodies, it can be heartbreaking when your $1,000 lens is worth $700 or less on the used market. It’s a much less risky investment to buy cheaper lenses for this very reason.
Take the Rokinon AF 35mm f/1.8 for Sony E-Mount for example. At the time of writing, this lens, brand new on B&H, retails for $339. The same lens in like-new condition retails for around $270 on reputable sites like MPB. On the other hand, Sony’s official full-frame FE 35mm f/1.8 lens retails for $749, and resells for around $550 to $600 on used photography gear sites.
In this example, you lost $70 on the Rokinon lens, but about $200 on the Sony branded lens. Both lenses held their value fairly well, but if you want to be as financially savvy as you can, cheaper lenses are still the way to go.
4. The Law of Diminishing Returns
Especially for those who are just getting started in photography, it can be very confusing why Canon’s 50mm f/1.8 lens retails for around $100, while its 50mm f/1.2 L lens retails for well over $1,000. Simply because the f/1.2 lens is ten times as expensive doesn’t make it ten times as good; it may not even be three times as good in your eyes.
Some professional photographers can defend the high price due to it having weather sealing, but so does several affordable Sigma and Rokinon lenses.
When shopping for a focal length you’re interested in online, remember to think about your interests and needs rather than comparing yourself to photographers who can afford the more expensive L-series lenses. Their needs and wallets are not the same as yours.
Still unsure what to get for your first prime lens? There are several reasons to pick up a 50mm prime.
5. Create Unique Looks With Various Focal Lengths
As explained in our first reason to buy cheaper lenses, having multiple prime focal lengths in your bag is a much better use of your money and skills than one expensive lens.
Buying cheaper lenses means being able to have multiple in your camera bag at once. This could be a 24mm lens as an everyday carry for landscapes and street photography, a 35mm lens for traditional portraits, and an 85mm lens for a more unique look.
Lenses with around a 24mm focal length tend to have a more natural look to them; they’re also helpful for getting shots in confined spaces, such as a coffee shop. Lenses like the 35mm and 50mm are great for getting traditional portraits with a good amount of background blur and playing with various types of composition in a single location.
Lenses with focal lengths between 85mm and 135mm are bokeh masters; the backgrounds are compressed beautifully and create a dreamy look that is perfect for portraits at formal events such as weddings. In fact, there are a whole lot of benefits to shooting portraits with an 85mm focal length.
Having this sort of trifecta of camera lenses in your camera bag is much more important than owning any single expensive prime or zoom lens.
Affordable Lenses Keep Photography Fun
Purchasing expensive camera lenses may lead to buyer’s remorse or make you think about how you can sell enough photo sessions with clients to pay off your new toy. Buying cheaper lenses is a better use of your time, as you’ll be solely thinking about what type of creative shots you can get with them.
Reference: https://www.makeuseof.com/reasons-buy-cheap-camera-lenses-over-expensive-lenses/
Ref: makeuseof
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