Consumer vs Pro lenses

When the owner of a DSLR decides to purchase a new lens, one question often arises:  “Is it worth paying 2 – 3 times the amount for a ‘Pro’ lens verses a ‘Consumer’ model?” The kit or consumer lenses that come with new digital cameras are far better than many of the pro lenses manufactured five to ten years ago.  The software used to design the latest versions of lenses as well as the glass and coatings used to control flare & provide color correction have improved over the past few years to the point that even the least expensive lenses match the abilities of most consumer DSLR sensors.

So, why pay more? An example – the AF-S DX VR 18-200mm F3.5-5.6G IF-ED Zoom-Nikkor pictured on the left is a popular “kit” lens that is available with the purchase Nikon D200, D300, that if purchased separately lists for $899.00 with a street price of around $650.00.  Expensive, but a very good quality lens that has over 11X zoom range, Vibration Reduction, fast Silent Wave focusing (the focusing motor is built into the lens so that you can use it with Nikon’s D40, D60, etc, cameras that do not have focusing motors built into the camera body). Nikon also makes the AF-S VR Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF lens pictured on the right, with a list price of $1,700.00 & a street price around $1,625.00.

The advantages of the “Pro” lens:

1. The 18 – 200 lens is a variable aperture lens while the 70 – 200 is an f: 2.8 at any focal length. At 200mm, the 70 – 200 has a two stop advantage.  No only does this allow faster shutter speeds, but it can provide a shallower depth of field, helping isolate the subject from the background, it provides a brighter viewfinder, and faster autofocusing.  Speaking of faster autofocusing, the better build of the lens also helps speed focusing.
2. Although subjective, I feel the VR (vibration reduction) is better, although it does not claim as many improved stops (3 vs 4 for the 18 – 200mm).
3. The 70 – 200mm is a full frame lens (although the review at dpreview finds fault with this lens on full frame cameras) so if you decide to switch to a full frame digital camera or want to drag out an older film camera, it will still cover the full frame.
4. A last advantage is the optics are better. Nikon is willing to spend more time, research & quality control building a $1700.00 lens than on a $700.00 lens.

As to disadvantages, and there are a few:

1. The 70 – 200mm lens is much heavier. Although the VR makes it a useful hand held lens even at 200mm, you are going to get tired of holding it over long periods of time.
2. Another disadvantage is the more limited zoom range. All things being equal, decreasing the zoom range of a lens increases the quality, however if your want to cover the same total range as the 18 – 200mm lens, you are going to need at least 2, and maybe 3 pro zoom lenses.  They are available – for example you could purchase an AF-S Zoom-Nikkor ED 17-35mm f/2.8D IF (an excellent lens) & an AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED to cover the same range, but together these two lenses are going to cost you another $3200.00!  Again, all three of these lenses are considered some of the best available in their focal lengths, but we now have a total investment of $4900.00, vs $700.00 for the 18 – 200mm lens.
3. The time it takes to change lenses to obtain the focal length you need for a shot, and the dust that will end up on your camera’s sensor during the lens change are both disadvantages.
4. A disadvantage of both the 18 – 200mm & the 70 – 200mm lens is they are both “G” lenses – they do not have aperture control rings so the cannot be used with manual cameras.  This is not a problem with any DSLRs, or owners of modern film cameras, but will be if you want to use either lens on an old F2 or other manual camera.
5. If you are trying to be subtle, is isn’t going to happen with the 70 – 200mm lens.  Although smaller in the photograph above, it is a big lens – 3.4″ X 8.5″ vs the 18 – 200mm at 3″ X 3.8″ at 18mm.  Although I don’t often do “Street Photography” if you do you will rarely get a chance for natural images with the 70 – 200mm on your camera.  If you bring your camera to a concert or other performance, you will be pegged as a pro, whether or not you are, and often not allowed to bring the lens into the venue.  You may get away with the 18 – 200mm lens since it is not much bigger than a normal lens.

I can speak from my own experience – I have the advantage of working with all 4 of these lenses, and, in fact own all but the 24 – 70mm, which is available when I am taking photographs for our local theatre department.  I purchased the 18 – 200mm after the 17 – 35mm & the 70 – 200mm, a bit backwards from the typical order of things.  I use the less expensive lens on occasions where I know there will be plenty of light, changing lenses may be difficult or impossible, and situations where I’m uncomfortable exposing the more expensive lenses (or the insides of my camera) to the surroundings.  For example, the 18 – 200mm zoom is great on a sandy beach.  If I’m going out for a jog, I’m unlikely to take along 6.9 lbs of lenses (the combined weight of the three f: 2.8 lenses), but occasionally I am willing to put up with the 19.8 oz weight of the 18 – 200mm. It is also a great “walk around” lens – I take it when I want the camera along, but have no planned photographs.

On the other hand, I tend to do quite a bit of low light photography, often working with subjects that don’t stand still.  I have found the 18 – 200mm very difficult to work with, both because of the slower aperture forcing the use of shutter speeds too slow or ISOs too high, and slow or even non functioning autofocus under low light. If you must work under those conditions, particularly if you can talk someone else into paying for the lenses, the faster pro lenses are by far the better choice.  If it is your money, it is a tough decision.  I guarantee you will miss images with the slower lens that you could have captured with the pro lenses.  Of course, you will also probably miss images while changing the pro lenses, but all in all, the faster lenses are necessary for many types of photography particularly when you can plan ahead for the proper focal length choice.  It is a little similar to the switch from point & shoot to DSLRs.  Everyone using a point & shoot camera has missed a shot due to shutter lag and found the move to DSLRs eliminate most of the problem.

One possibility – in many cities it is possible to rent pro lenses.  They are also available for rent using the internet from companies such as LensProToGo, or Pro Photo Rental. If you have a one time need or simply want to see for yourself the differences between a “Consumer” lens & a “Pro” lens, this is a good solution.  One warning – check your bank balance.  Once you have used a pro lens under difficult lighting conditions, you will want to own it. Don’t say you haven’t been warned!