Diane Green
There are a lot of budget camera lenses available for under $200, but it's important to manage your expectations. At this price point, you won't be getting a DSLR or mirrorless camera lens that delivers pro-level image quality. However, if you stick to compact camera lenses, you should expect image quality that is better than your mobile phone, and in some cases, the blurring of backgrounds and low light photography is also possible.
- Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM
- Pentax SMCP-DA 50mm f/1.8
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
- Nikon 50mm f/1.8D
- Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM
- Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX
- Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG
- Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di LD
- Canon EF 75-300mm F/4-5.6
- Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type | Compact Camera, Ultra Compact Camera, Instant Film Camera, Waterproof Compact Camera, Ultra Compact Action Video Camera |
| Megapixels | 16, 16.3, 20, 20.1, 20.2 |
| Sensor Size | 1/2.3 inch (6.2mm x 4.6mm), 1/2.3″ (6.17 x 4.55 mm) |
| Lens | 12x zoom (25-300mm eq.) f/3.6-7, 20x zoom (25-500mm eq. f/3.4-6.5), 21x zoom (23-483mm eq. f/2.8-f/5.9) |
| Weight | 147g, 165g, 216g, 127g |
What You'll Learn
Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM
The Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM is a versatile, lightweight, and compact lens. It is compatible with Canon APS-C cameras, where it gives an effective focal length of 38mm, making it a handy all-round standard lens. The lens is about an inch thick and weighs just 125g, making it a great option for street photography.
The lens features an f/2.8 aperture rating, which is faster than a kit zoom lens, and includes an aspherical element, Super Spectra coatings, and a seven-blade diaphragm. The STM autofocus is gear-type, and while it is audible, it gets the job done.
The Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM delivers excellent image quality, with sharp images and great close-ups. It is a good value-for-money option, with many customers praising its quality-price ratio. The lens is also great for shooting in low-light settings, and its compact size makes it ideal for travel.
Overall, the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM is a great addition to your camera kit, offering versatility, portability, and excellent image quality at a budget-friendly price.
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Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM
The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is a versatile lens that's perfect for portraits, action, and nighttime photography. With a 50mm focal length and a maximum aperture of f/1.8, it lets in 8x more light than a standard zoom lens, resulting in sharper images with less motion blur. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 1.15 feet and a maximum magnification of 0.21x, allowing you to capture stunningly sharp images with beautiful background blur.
The lens features a stepping motor (STM) that delivers near-silent, continuous autofocus during video recording and smooth AF for stills. It has an improved exterior design with a metal mount for stability and ruggedness, and an improved focus ring placement for easier manual adjustments. The lens arrangement and coatings help deliver outstanding color balance while minimizing ghosting and flare.
The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is compact, lightweight, and easy to carry around. It's a great entry point into the world of EOS prime lenses, offering excellent value for money.
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Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G
The Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G is a full-frame 50mm prime lens designed for Nikon DSLRs. It is ideal when you need a wider aperture than what's available from your kit zoom lens—perfect for letting in more light or achieving a tighter depth of field for beautiful bokeh.
The lens features seven diaphragm blades, ring-type ultrasonic autofocus with full-time manual override, and an optical path that includes an aspherical element. There's also a weather-seal ring on the mounting plate and a focus distance scale. Even when shooting wide-open at f/1.8, the sharpness and contrast are impressive. Bokeh is nice and smooth, although defocused lights take on a heptagonal shape when stopping down a little due to the seven-blade diaphragm.
The Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G is a great choice for portraiture on DX format Nikon cameras, where the 1.5x crop factor gives a longer effective focal length of 75mm. It is a bargain for a full-frame 50mm prime lens, making it a must-have for any Nikon DSLR photographer looking for a fast prime lens without breaking the bank.
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Fujifilm XC 35mm f/2
The Fujifilm XC 35mm f/2 is a compact and lightweight prime lens that gives photographers an equivalent to a 52mm field of view on a 35mm format. It is designed for APS-C-format Fujifilm X-mount mirrorless cameras and provides a 53mm equivalent focal length.
The lens has a bright f/2 maximum aperture, which benefits working in difficult lighting conditions and offers greater control over depth of field. It incorporates a pair of aspherical elements to reduce spherical aberrations and distortion, resulting in high sharpness and accurate rendering. The stepping motor autofocus system is fast, near-silent, and precise, making it suitable for both stills and video applications.
The Fujifilm XC 35mm f/2 is a great option for beginning photographers looking to step away from their kit lenses and make their first prime lens purchase. It is also ideal for those who want a compact and lightweight lens for travel photography.
The lens has received positive reviews, with users praising its image quality, autofocus performance, and compact size. Some users have noted that the lens feels cheap due to its plastic construction, but overall, it is an excellent option for those looking for a budget-friendly prime lens for their Fujifilm X-mount camera.
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Olympus 45mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital
The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f/1.8 lens is a compact, lightweight, and affordable portrait lens for Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras. With a bright f/1.8 maximum aperture, it is perfect for low-light conditions and producing shallow depth-of-field effects. The lens is constructed with two extra-high refractive index elements, which help to reduce distortion and spherical aberrations, resulting in sharp and accurate images.
The Movie & Still Compatible (MSC) autofocus system ensures fast, quiet, and precise focusing, making it suitable for both video and photo applications. The seven-blade diaphragm contributes to a pleasing bokeh quality, and the lens is also splashproof, dustproof, and freezeproof.
The Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens is a great choice for photographers seeking good bokeh and artistic defocused backgrounds. It is a versatile lens capable of capturing professional-level portraits, stills, action shots, and videos.
The lens measures 1.81 x 2.2 x 2.2 inches and is available in silver or black. It is highly regarded by customers, who praise its quality, size, sharpness, value for money, focusing speed, image quality, and color rendition.
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Frequently asked questions
Prime lenses are a great option for beginners as they are designed for a fixed focal length and perform one explicit function. This means they can deliver superior image quality with perfect sharpness, clarity, and less visible aberrations. A standard prime lens with a 50mm focal length is a popular option as it offers a viewpoint that is closest to that of the human eye. They are also usually reasonably priced, making them ideal for photographers on a budget.
Wide-angle lenses offer a wider field of view, allowing you to capture more of the scene in your frame. Regular wide-angle lenses have a focal length of 35mm or wider on DSLRs with full-frame sensors, while ultra-wide-angle lenses have a focal length of 24mm or wider. The Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM and the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX are two budget-friendly wide-angle lenses that offer excellent image quality and versatility.
When it comes to portrait photography, it's important to have a lens with a fast maximum aperture to create a shallow depth of field and separate your subject from the background. The Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, Sony FE 50mm F1.8, and the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital are great budget-friendly options for portrait lenses. They offer a large maximum aperture, compact size, and excellent image quality.
Telephoto lenses are ideal for capturing distant subjects and offer a long focal reach. The Canon EF 75-300mm F/4-5.6 and the Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G are two budget-friendly telephoto lenses that deliver excellent zoom range, sharp image quality, and pleasing bokeh. They are also compact, lightweight, and easy to use, making them perfect for beginners.
Action cameras, such as the GoPro HERO Session and the YI 4K Action Camera, are designed to capture first-person perspective shots and are usually compact, waterproof, and shockproof. They offer unique angles of view and creative flexibility, making them a fun addition to your camera gear. These action cameras often have a wide-angle lens with a fast aperture, allowing you to capture sharp images and videos even in low light conditions.
