Originally Posted by
ajax
As an amateur when it comes to photography I’m looking for a little insight from those with more expertise. My experience using real cameras (i.e., dslr capable of producing raw files) is exclusively with zoom lenses shooting outdoor scenes. With respect to this inquiry I think that means what would be called landscape photography. My curiosity was piqued when looking at alternative lenses that might fit this objective. For example, various manufacturers make lenses with similar specifications that, I think, would be candidates for my kind of photography. I’ve done some research on lenses made by Canon, Sigma, and Tamron that would fit my full-frame Canon camera.
When it comes to obtaining the best quality images, I think, that starts with lenses. In that, the optics of the lens used to shoot a scene is a necessary starting point when it comes to creating quality photographs. Zoom lenses appear to be pretty complicated designs which suggests the obtaining good optical quality at all focal lengths is challenging. I’m thinking this has the affect of increasing cost/price. This same logic implies that the wider the range of focal lengths the more challenging it becomes. This would suggest that wider range lenses are going to be more expensive. However, at least in the case I’ve been researching, this does NOT seem to be the case.
There appear to be 2 common designs that fit my situation. The first would be 24-70mm lenses. The other 24-105mm. From what I’ve found both Canon and Sigma make both kinds and Tamron appears to be limited to the 24-70mm. What surprises me is that the 24-70mm designs are significantly more expensive than the 24-105mm in all cases. From a usage point of view I cannot think of any reason why more range would be a problem so there must be some good reason why some people, maybe knowledgeable photographers, would want to pay more money for less range. This presents me with a bit of a dilemma since in my somewhat limited experience I have seldom used more than 70mm for such photos. If there is a reason for spending more for less range I’d like to know what it might be. Maybe superior optical quality? Why? How much better?