Telephoto

This is a beautiful portrait lens, and it’s defocus control system allows for it to have beautiful bokeh. If you need a lens for headshots or midrange portraits, this is the lens for you. It’s also very good for indoor sports or anywhere you have to have a fast shutter speed in low light conditions.

This is a very special purpose lens for those who need to have f/2 at 200mm. Portrait and Indoor Sports photographers will love this lens despite it’s price.

f/2: At this aperture, you’re going to be able to shoot in much lower light than the 70-200mm f/2.8, and you’re going to have some incredible bokeh.

The 200mm f/2L IS USM is for sports and portrait photographers who absolutely need to be shooting in low light conditions such as an indoor volleyball court. This is a very specialized lens for very specialized use, but it’s incredible so if you think you need it and you can shell out for it, this is an incredible piece of glass.

This lens is a brilliant macro and portrait lens. So, if you need an excellent medium range telephoto for portraits and want the added flexibility of being able to focus incredibly close, this is a great lens for you.

Macro Capabilities: It’s a macro lens so this lens will focus very closely.

This lens is a beautiful portrait lens, but it’s something of a special purpose lens as it has the ability to produce a soft focus effect while still remaining technically sharp.

Softfocus Feature: This will appeal to some and be a little strange to others, but if you want to make photos with a sort of dreamy glow without having to do any post processing, this is definitely the lens for you.

This is an older lens from Nikon that was announced back in the days of film, but it’s still a great lens to this day, and at just under $900, this is a solid medium range tele. It’s built like a professional lens too so don’t worry about light damage, it’ll stand up to the task like a champ.

Build Quality: As I said above, it’s built like a tank.

This is Canon’s newest all purpose lens. This lens will have a better range than the standard kit lens for most Canon’s and will have better build quality as well. So, if you don’t want the kit lens and want to spend a little bit more money for better range and better build quality, this is the lens for you.

This is Nikon’s longest professional zoom lens that’s a very special purpose lens for working professionals. It’s big, it’s expensive and it’s absolutely brilliant, but it’s definitely a special purpose lens so if you need it, you’ll love it, but unless you do, it’s a little overkill.

Range: This lens has a huge range from 200mm to 400mm that will take you from telephoto to super telephoto.

This is for the person who doesn’t want to carry a bag of lenses around, if you only want one lens, and you have a DX camera, this is that lens.

Incredibly Zoom Range: The 11x zoom range of the 18-200 is the highest of any zoom lens I’ve encountered. If you’re looking for an all in one lens for your DX camera, this is it.

This is a professional grade standard zoom lens from Nikon and is one of the three lenses almost any professional photographer will have (along with the 17-35mm and 70-200mm) It’s expensive, but it’s built for heavy use and is optically brilliant.

Silent Wave Motor: This lens is incredibly quiet while focusing unlike some of the older D lenses

The Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM is a professional telephoto lens and one of the three lenses that any professional photographer with a Canon camera will own (Along with the 16-35mm and 24-70mm). It’s expensive, but it’s tack sharp and built like a tank and ready for years of heavy use. 

Sharpness: This is one of the sharpest 70-200mm lenses we’ve seen.

The Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is a professional telephoto lens and one of the three lenses that any professional photographer with a Canon camera will own (Along with the 16-35mm and 24-70mm). This lens has been updated by the IS II model, but this is still a great lens and can be a bit of a bargain.

Sharpness: This is one of the sharpest 70-200mm lenses we’ve seen.

This lens is for photographers who need a medium telephoto lens with a very wide aperature for indoor sports. This is also an exceptional portrait lens.

Weight: This lens is very light at only 1 pound.

Build Quality: This lens feels very solid

This lens is great for portraits as well as indoor sports.

Very Wide Aperature: At F/2, this lens will be brilliant for low light photography as well as headshots.

USM Focus: Focus is fast and very quiet

Sharpness: This lens is incredibly sharp and a beautiful portrait lens

This is a beautiful portrait lens, and it’s defocus control system allows for it to have beautiful bokeh. If you need a lens for headshots or midrange portraits, this is the lens for you. It’s also very good for indoor sports or anywhere you have to have a fast shutter speed in low light conditions. It’s not quite as long as the 135mm f/2D AF DC, but it’s smaller and cheaper.