3. 7. The Canon 100mm F2.8 Macro is an update to what was already considered a classic lens. For many DSLR users, the 50mm f/1.8 is still a great choice for excellent sharpness at a bargain price. have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone. Well, first, if it’s out-and-out sharpness you’re after, it’s still better to buy primes rather than zooms. Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS 7. These are the best, they are what I own personally, and what I recommend to my friends who ask. I use the Canon 24-70/2.8 L II; it's the world's sharpest midrange zoom. Some older lenses appear on this list as well: the 50mm f/1.4, 50mm f/2.8 Macro and 100mm f/2.8 Macro are all based on Minolta designs. Getting yourself in a memory card muddle and not sure which card to buy? Higher resolution sensors tend to give higher sharpness measurements, while sensors with no OLPF give higher readings than those without. The wide-angle lens is … Our list of the sharpest lenses under £2,000 is headed by the manual-focus Zeiss 135mm f/2, while Canon’s own top-ranking optic is the stellar, but pricey, EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM. The Canon 24-70mm F2.8 L is one of the most widely-used professional lenses in the world. 2. I can't vouch for ads below. Manual marvel: Samyang 24mm f/1.4Tested on the Sony Alpha 99, 1. Your chance to enter the UK’s newest competition for budding amateur filmmakers. Here's how the 85mm F1.4 Art looks on an a7R III and a7 III. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM lens slots into Canon’s range of fast medium telephoto primes between the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM (£325), and EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM (£1765). While image quality doesn't match the impeccable standards of Sigma's prime / fixed focal length 'Art' lenses, it's still very good, and costs less than Canon's own take on this workhorse lens type. The Tamron 85mm F1.8 isn't just sharp and well-priced: it’s also image stabilized. Users on a budget will be pleased to see both the DA 50mm f/1.8 and the DA 35mm f/2.4, both of which can be found for under £100. It's fast, solidly-built and well-respected for its image quality. These are Canon's best lenses. All the data used for this article can be analysed in more detail on the DxOMark website at www.dxomark.com. Money no object: Canon EF 16-35mm F2.8L III USM. Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM 3. Telephoto lenses start out being fairly zoomed-in, and allow you to zoom in further so you can fill your frame with more distant subjects. Turning our attention to zooms, the Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD edges ahead of Canon’s EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM. However, a couple of Sigma optics sit proudly at the top of the pile, in the shape of the 35mm f/1.4 and the 17-50mm f/2.8. If you prefer a wider lens as your regular lens, by all means get the 24/1.4, but when I go out for the night and don't know what to expect, it's always my 35/1.4 L I'm carrying. With a smattering of third-party options also available from Sigma and Zeiss, enthusiast photographers will find that there’s plenty to choose from without breaking the bank. When it comes to choosing the very sharpest lenses for Micro Four Thirds, two specialist portrait primes top the pile. 8. The maximum aperture drops to a pretty slow F6.3 at the long end but it fits a lot of flexibility into a sensibly-sized package. Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Adorama pays top dollar for your used gear. Panasonic Leica DG 15mm f/1.7 Asph Nikon’s own sharpest DX lens, according to DxOMark’s tests, is the quite inexpensive Micro-Nikkor 40mm f/2.8G, which costs just £200. Indeed, the sharpest lens on DxOMark’s list, the Sigma 60mm f/2.8 DN A, costs a mere £120. Sony 100mm /2.8 Macro Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2 Sony DT 16-50mm f/2.8 SSM, Pin sharp: Sony 90mm f/2.8 MacroTested on the Sony Alpha 7R. However, it follows that if any given lens produces good results on, for example, Canon full-frame models, it should give equally good results on Nikon, Pentax or Sony full-frame cameras. This can still give extremely useful results, but it does have its caveats. The rest are all about as super-sharp. The quality of Zeiss’s contribution is confirmed by the presence of its Batis 85mm f/1.8 telephoto and Loxia 21mm f/2.8 wideangle. Wide-angle lenses are often useful for taking photos of interiors, landscapes and architecture. 5. I recommend them all personally. This may seem surprising, but to a great extent it reflects the fact that while older lenses tend to be less sharp wide open, the difference is less marked when they’re stopped down to their sharpest apertures. 1. 3. Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 EX DC HSM Art These huge ultrateles work great with converters, but these lenses are so big that it's not fun to carry them. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. Read on to learn about our favorite enthusiast long zoom cameras. Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art If you wish to make a printout for personal use, you are granted one-time permission only if you PayPal me $5.00 per printout or part thereof. It costs you nothing, and is this site's, and thus my family's, biggest source of support. In most cases, we've also provided a more budget-friendly option, as well as a choice for those with more to spend. Third-party support includes a few manual-focus Samyang optics, including the 50mm f/1.2 and 32mm f/1.4 that we tested earlier this year and liked very much, and Zeiss’s premium Touit line. 1. Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. Tamron SP AF 60mm f/2 Di II LD IF Macro The 50mm f/2.5 Macro is just as sharp and focuses more closely, but it's bigger, slower and clumsier. The lists of the sharpest lenses for each camera system in this article have also been filtered for some degree of affordability, leaving out any lens priced above £2,000. The large sensor of full-frame cameras makes it difficult to offer lenses that offer a wide range of focal lengths without the lens becoming unfeasibly large. 6. However, it’s clear that the Pentax 15-30mm f/2.8 and 24-70mm f/2.8 zooms are strongly related to Tamron designs that test very well on other full-frame cameras, so the omens are very good for these. Best zoom: Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8Tested on the Canon EOS 5DS R, 1. APS-C users should also look at some wider options, for example Nikon’s and Sony’s 35mm f/1.8 optics, the Pentax 35mm f/2.4 or Canon’s 24mm f/2.8 STM. Sony FE Zeiss Sonnar T* 55mm f/1.8 ZA It's better made than many of Canon's other L lenses today, with a metal filter ring. Most of Canon's ultrawide lenses aren't very sharp if you're counting pixels. 1. Zeiss Distagon 25mm f/2 ZF.2 Much the same as with Canon, the full list of the sharpest lenses for Nikon’s full-frame DSLRs is dominated by expensive primes. However, some of the firm’s more recent lenses, including the highly regarded 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO, haven’t yet been tested by DxOMark. Travel zooms are like your standard zoom lens but taken to the extreme. As this page is copyrighted and formally registered, it is unlawful to make copies, especially in the form of printouts for personal use. The 55mm f/1.8 that follows it is barely less impressive. Its stunning 18-35mm f/1.8 ultra-fast zoom deservedly comes out on top, with the 30mm f/1.4 fast normal prime a close second, and the versatile 17-50mm f2.8 optically stabilised zoom also acquitting itself highly. However, all of the same design and manufacturing advances that have enabled this advance have also been applied to primes, allowing them to maintain their optical edge. When I expect to need anything longer than 400mm, I simply drop my 1.4x and 2x extenders in my bag and use them with my 100-400mm II. Also on the rarefied list of premium ultra-sharp optics are Canon’s 600mm f/4 and 400mm f/2.8 telephotos, and Zeiss’s ultra-premium Otus 55mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4 – none of which counts as affordable. This week on DPReview TV, Chris and Jordan test Sigma's latest macro lens, the 70mm F2.8 DG Macro Art. 3. Without a doubt the canon L lens. 2. Some people will choose the Canon 85mm F1.4 over the Sigma because they want to stay on-brand, while other people will appreciate that it’s a touch smaller and lighter. 2. Two more Zeiss manual-focus primes – the Milvus 50mm f/1.4 and the Distagon 25mm f/2 – complete a wide, normal and telephoto trio alongside that top-ranked 135mm f/2. Even the fast Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN C can be bought for less than £250. It helps me keep adding to this free website — but I receive nothing for these efforts if you take the chance of buying elsewhere. The Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro is another well-loved lens that's had image stabilization added to this later version. Money no object: Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS III USM. But how about lenses you might actually be able to afford? However, enthusiast photographers will perhaps be more interested by the presence of Sigma’s f/1.4 Art-series primes, which currently sell around the £600 mark. Tamron AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II XR VC LD Pentax HD DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited Sony 50mm f/2.8 Macro, Fast & sharp: Sony DT 50mm f/1.8 SAMTested on the Sony Alpha 77. Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art As a result, there are some exceptionally sharp lenses available, benefiting from all the latest advances in optical design. If you want a camera that you can pick up and use without having to page through the manual first, then this guide is for you. A question often posed by photographers is: ‘What’s the sharpest lens I can buy for my camera?’ In reality this can only properly be answered by examining lens tests that have been carried out in a reliable and repeatable way. We’ve analysed DxOMark’s sharpness scores for each major camera system to see which lenses come out on top. 4. Right in the middle: Tamron SP 90mm F2.8 Di VC USD 1:1 Macro. Samyang 16mm f/2 ED AS UMC CS Thankfully Canon now makes two really sharp ultrawides, and that's it. What’s your budget? Sony E 20mm f/2.8, Super fast: Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.2Tested on the Olympus E-M1. This new 100-400 focuses much more closely than any pro 70-200mm or 70-300mm lens, and zooms all the way to 400mm. Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD We’ve chosen cameras that can take great photos and make it easy to get great looking video, rather than being the ones you’d choose as a committed videographer. Never carry two lenses which duplicate anything or overlap. Sony’s APS-C E-mount lens range may not be the largest but it covers all the main bases and includes a good selection of high-quality small primes. Sony Zeiss Planar 85mm f/1.4 ZA 10. I own an original 300mm f/2.8 L, on which I can use my 1.4x and 2x extenders with excellent sharpness and autofocus speed, but my fast 300mm is so big and heavy I don't use it because I don't want to have to carry it. It focuses fast enough for sports shooting and offers a classic, flexible telephoto range. Sony FE Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f/2.8 ZA The 24-105mm F4 strikes a nice balance, though. The 100-400 II focuses ultra-fast, and focuses super-fast even with my 1.4x II teleconverter, bringing it to 560mm. 5. Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM Art 3. My 100-400 II works great with the 1.4x to go to 560mm with fast autofocus, but will not autofocus with the 2x extender at all. Zeiss Milvus 50mm f/1.4 ZF.2 Canon's latest 70-200mm F4L comes with a five stops of image stabilization, a new coat of paint and impressive sharpness. Do you want a wideangle or a telephoto, a zoom or a prime? We consult DxOMark’s comprehensive optical test data to find the sharpest lenses for each camera system. Nikon’s 300mm f/2.8 and 400mm f/2.8 professional telephotos are also up there, along with the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4 primes. Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS Two highly regarded standard zooms, the 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 and 16-50mm f/2.8, essentially tie with each other in terms of sharpness. This tiny, relatively inexpensive lens may be one of the oldest still available for Micro Four Thirds, but it’s also one of the best in terms of image quality. We list some of the options for entry…, AFOY Amateur Filmmaker of the Year competition. Among Sony’s own optics it’s no great surprise to see the premium Zeiss-branded 24mm f/1.8 topping the list, but at £679 it’s difficult not to feel it should do even better. Canon does not seal its boxes, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, dropped, damaged, returned, store demo or used lens. Quite simply, this allows the optical designers to make the fewest compromises. Fujifilm’s lens range is extensive and unusually coherent; indeed it’s probably the best thought-through of all APS-C systems. But if you take on board everything else covered in this issue, it should get you well on the way to making the sharpest pictures your camera is capable of recording. And while the premium 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master optic only comes in tenth, this simply reflects the excellence of the other lenses. Because of this, it’s still possible for enthusiast photographers to get excellent results from some comparatively inexpensive primes. 2. Sigma 60mm f/2.8 DN Art 5. Adorama pays top dollar for your used gear. The 50/1.2 L and 85/1.2 L II will have nearly nothing in focus wide-open. 5. If you find this 7. 6. It's an extraordinary lens. 9. Despite a couple of quirks, we think it's a camera that photographers and non-photographers alike will find fun to use. 1. 24-70 is a great focal range, and even at 38-115mm on a cropped sensor camera, it’s a very useful lens that can remain on your camera all day long. Its sadly discontinued 50-150mm f/2.8 zooms also scores highly. 10. These are honestly the only lenses you need. Sony 50mm f/1.4 So users of Sony’s DSLRs and more recent electronic viewfinder DSLT cameras still have plenty of good lenses to choose from. At one time, lens testing used to be carried out using specialist (and expensive) optical benches. In addition, we’ve only included lenses that are available for sale as new. 7. Prime lenses are just a single focal length; removing the complexity of a zoom often allows for these lenses to be smaller, lighter and sharper, while letting more light through and being more useful in dimly lit situations. AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G ED VR 2. The biggest help is when you use any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Andy Westlake is your guide, Sigma’s 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art and the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4: two of the sharpest lenses currently available. Find out in our selection of the best compact cameras of 2016, A kit lens is a great starting point, but what should you be looking to buy next? 2. Thousands of test exposures can be made at essentially no cost, and the raw files analysed to measure sharpness. Its performance and build quality are as impressive as that demands. 9. Meanwhile, Zeiss’s autofocus Batis and manual-focus Loxia ranges both feature premium optics. Again, the obvious choice for hand-held low-light shots is the superb Canon 35mm f/1.4 L, which is a bargain today because it's been in Canon's catalog for so long. It includes updates to Panasonic's DFD autofocus system, creative photo modes, and video features that come close to matching the more expensive S1H.