Digital Home Thoughts: More Glass for Less: A Simple Guide to Inexpensive Lenses

Short telephoto primes and macro lenses:

Usually many photographers buy a macro lens and use it as their short telephoto or portrait lens, since modern macro lenses can perform quite well even when focused at long distances. Plus everyone loves making big photographs of tiny things. I therefore have lumped the two categories here. The advantage of a non-macro short tele is its maximum aperture: They tend to be at least a stop faster.

Canon or Nikon 50mm f/1.8: Dirt cheap, damn sharp, damn fast. Thanks to the 35mm film legacy, it means that the normal lenses from that era double up as a short telephoto on APS-C cameras. They are even cheaper than the normal lenses for APS-sized sensors due to not needing to design around the mirror box to cater to their 35mm focal length. If you want a short telephoto of sorts, it is hard to go wrong with them. They are also useful as a secondary lens in a low-light environment. Canon and Nikon are the only ones left making them new. For Sony/Minolta/Pentax users, their respective 50mm f/1.7s being discontinued means they are only available used. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

Sony 50mm f/1.8 DT: I have put this in its own entry because it is a bit of an oddity; this is a DT lens, which means it is only for APS-C-sized sensor cameras, so it is not quite the same as the above. Still, the effect is the same, and the price should not be too far from the above. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

Canon or Nikon 85mm f/1.8: Canon and Nikon are the only ones left still making a cheap 85mm f/1.8 prime. It is hard to go wrong if you want a longer mid-range telephoto, and the Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 is better than the 85mm f/1.4 in many areas, save for that 2/3 stop advantage in maximum aperture size. As for the Canon, the alternative is the even more expensive 85mm f/1.2L that is also quite a bit heavier than many 85mm f/1.4 lenses. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro: This is a classic lens, and is one of those that propelled Tamron to be a major third party manufacturer. I am not sure what has changed since the MF version, but the current AF version does not disappoint. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

Tamron SP 60mm f/2 Di II LD Macro: This is a unique lens; designed for use on an APS-sized sensor camera, it has a maximum aperture of f/2, while being able to achieve 1:1 magnification setting (ie. an object at one cm long will be captured at one cm long on the sensor itself). Like the Tamron 90mm, optical quality is good, and boasts a better AF system. For those looking for a macro lens to do double duty, this is a very good choice. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

Tokina AF AT-X 100mm f/2.8 Pro D Macro: Another affordable macro, this is an alternative to the Tamron 90mm f/2.8. Despite the 10mm extra focal length, the working distance at 1:1 magnification is similar to the Tamron 90mm, so do not let the extra 10mm be a factor for macro work. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]