A Beginner's Guide to Camera Lenses: What to Buy First?

Camera lenses are incredibly fun, but they can also be incredibly confusing. This video breaks down what to look for in a good lens, the different functions of lenses, and gives some specific recommendations of where to focus first on your lens journey!

•Intro Camera Recommendations (B&H):

•Intro Lens Recommendations (B&H):

•My 3 Most Used Lenses:

📼 How to Use Canon Lenses on Sony Cameras:

📼 My Playlist of Lens Videos:

💡Learn Something Awesome:

⏱ Chapter Markers:
0:00 - Camera Lenses Are Confusing
0:22 - The 3 Most Important Things To Look For
4:39 - Lens Mounts
5:08 - Focal Lengths & Crop Factors
9:58 - Aperture
12:57 - My Lens Preferences
15:06 - Camera Recommendations
15:58 - Lens Recommendations
20:05 - Are Expensive Lenses Worth It?
21:14 - Extra Tidbits

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– Who Am I? –

Hi! My name is Tom Buck, a lifelong A/V nerd and former high school Digital Media teacher. I started this channel in 2017 as a project to share my enthusiasm for everything related to audio and video production.

•My channel is open and welcoming to people of all races, ages, genders, and orientations. I’m glad you’re here.


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#cameras #lenses #filmmaking #videoproduction
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Episode 342: How to Choose the Right Camera Lens

[Tkibbs]

Vintage lenses are so underrated for beginners!! They’re cheap and great to help you understand what everything does, and some of them look absolutely gorgeous!!!

[chaosfrogs]

I appreciate that you mentioned Portal.

[Ballantin]

Very comprehensive explanation on what to look for in lenses. I wish someone had explained it to me like that when I started (film era). Also yeah those exposed sensors made me nervous xD. One thing you did not mention is that with the more expensive and prime lenses usually clarity and sharpness is better so it may make sense to spend a little bit more, and that sharpness is usually worse at the extremes of the aperture range. Overall a great video that I am pretty sure will help a lot of newcomers.

[PixlByPixl]

I enjoy your content because you're a great host/content creator.

There's nothing in this video I needed to learn but the way you make content is always so entertaining and you make learning fun and easy. If I had something that was like this when I started out I'm sure it would have been a bit easier. I hope you continue to grow! Also I really enjoy your Microphone content.

[thehaughtcorner]

Well-done tutorial! I had to learn a lot of this on the fly years ago when we changed from film to digital for work. I would add that perhaps the biggest factors in all this are 1) the quality and performance of the sensor and 2) the quality of the glass in the lens. Without either of these, the rest doesn't matter much. And for years, the case against zooms was that they did not deliver the sharpness of fixed-focal-length lenses. I don't believe that's as much the case now as it used to be, but it can still be a factor. You just can't skimp on lenses!

[Moustafa]

I always enjoy how entertaining while still being informative your videos are! Btw, Canon APS-C crop is 1.6x as you said, while Sony/Nikon/others is 1.5x.

[crystalkewe]

Wow Tom! This was so helpful. I just went from scratching my head wondering why I should choose the sigma 16mm 1.4 over the sony 35mm 1.8/sony 85mm 1.8, among other endless sony e-mount compatible lenses. Phew! You just helped me finally have the understanding to decide what the best lense for my youtube and podcasting setup is to go with. Thank you so much mate!

[dadvswildpodcast]

This was absolute gold! Saved and will definitely be coming back to reference the info shared here. Thank you Tom!

[seanjantz]

Love your videos, Tom 😊. Been an iPhone power user for many years and finally just bought my first big boy camera, (Lumix S5ii). Thanks for all the great work you do! 💯

[NateNakao]

This video brought me back to my first-year college course on photography, but so much more fun!

[SimplyAubs]

Tom, this is a fantastic video! Thank you so much for taking the time and explaining things!
You introduced and cultivated a prime lens fixation. I’m obsessed!
(Don’t worry, I’m still sticking with my 2 ZV-E10’s)

[AndreSjoberg]

Great walkthrough of the basics, wish I had this video, umh, 30 years ago ;)
The way I got around the whole "understanding aperture" thing in the beginning was the "smaller number, shorter focus depth" and "larger number, longer focus depth" since that kind of makes sense in the "real" world - and *then* I started to tacle the "focus depth is relative depending on the distance between the lens and the subject, and focus depth is longer the further away the subject is"-thing

[elcamino]

Because you haven't really touched on the Micro Four Thirds side of things, I'd like to give out some recommendations for my fellow MFT beginners based on my own experiences with a Lumix G7 as well as the GH5 and GH6. Of course you can adapt Full Frame lenses using a Speed booster, but I like to stick to native lenses for the ease of use as well as the weather sealing.
I find that I really only need 3 lenses to cover basically everything: My main lens is the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 (fixed aputure, FF equivalent would be a 24-80mm f/5.6). It's very versatile and although it doesn't give you the shallowest depth of field, it's pretty good. Zoomed all the way in it's almost at that ideal 85mm portrait focal length and looks beautiful.
The second Lens I really like is the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 contemporary (FF equivalent of 32mm f/2.8). This one is perfect for talking head shots or interviews as well as outdoor low light situations.
The final lens I use is the 25mm f/1.7 (FF equivalent of 50mm f/3.4). This is the "Nifty-Fifty" for the MFT mount and is great for portraits as well as some street photography.

The only thing you may need beyond these three is a Tele Lens for sports/nature photography. You could get a 45-150mm Lumix for that.

[gardengraffiti]

Dude. Super helpful video. Thank you my brother

[MortyMizrahi]

The new format is so fun! I feel like the music is way more present than in the past, could be my imagination.
Also super happy that you are liking the 20-40, i have been meaning to ask how it was going with it, I think thats the first Zoom i want to get.

[NaqibullahSadat]

Thank you! You are one of the few people whose reviews I can trust. I couldn't decide on the zv e10. But since it is on your recomend list I will buy one.

[PaulAmlin]

Thanks for this, you make it a lot easier to understand. That said, I still need to watch this again and take notes. 😊

[markdonnery]

the way I explain aperture to students is small number 1.4 gives you smaller area of focus large number gives you more area of focus

[kelvinsakala]

You Speak Very Good English. Some Of Us We Are Based In Areas Where We Cant Rent Lenses, Great Video.

[NerdAffiliated]

Loved this. Wish it existed when I started. Funny, I use to be confused as to why my m50 glass didn’t work on my R. So I thought only small cameras could have that wide field of view. Lol