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Price-no-object lenses
Most of us have a spending limit when we’re buying our photo gear, but there
are a few lenses with the very highest optical construction that might test our
resolve. Of course, you could rent a very expensive lens for the occasional
shoot, but if you’re likely to want to use it on a frequent basis or it enables
you to do something different from the norm, you might be inclined to make
a purchase, especially if you’re a professional photographer who can recoup
the expense through additional work.
With a maximum aperture of f/0.95 and superlative image quality, the Nikon
58mm f/0.95 Noct is very enticing, until you see the price tag of £8,299 and
remember that it’s manual-focus only. It almost makes the Canon RF 28-70mm
F2L USM and RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS seem a steal at £3,029 and £3,219
respectively – well, maybe not quite.
Optically
stabilised zooms
Even if your camera has in-body image stabilisation
(IBIS), using a stabilised lens can help you get
sharper images in low light because many cameras
can now use both types of stabilisation together.
And if your camera isn’t stabilised, then a stabilised
lens is a great addition to your kit that will enable
you to leave your tripod behind more often.
On an Olympus camera such as the OM-D E-M1
Mark III or OM-D E-M5 Mark III, for example, the
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4 IS PRO
(£999) can even enable sharp results from multi-
second handheld exposures, which is perfect for
evening photography, perhaps even shooting
handheld traffi c trails.
A few years ago, only telephoto lenses were
stabilised, but now there are quite a few stabilised
wideangle optics such as the Canon EF-S 10-18mm
f/4.5-5.6 IS STM (£135), which makes up for its
relatively small maximum aperture range with
four stops of shutter-speed compensation.The Olympus
12-100mm
permits
handheld
shots of
several
secondsFancy a lens that
gives you an
aperture of f/0.95?
You’ll have to
pay a lot for it...The Canon 10-18mm zoom promises four stops of IS‘There are a few lenses with the very highest optical
construction that might test our resolve’