Lens Selection & Why?

I have never thought about lenses before.
From my understanding an all purpose zoom lens like 18-200 does not have the same picture quality as prime lens. Why?

What are the pros and cons of different lenses?
Standard zoom: 18-85, 18-55, 18-135, 18-200, 28-135
Telephoto zoom: 55-250, 70-200, 70-300, 100-400
Standard & Medium Telephoto: 50, 85

Also what would be good multiple lenses to group together?
18-55 & 55-250
18-135 & 70-200
Or whatever you think is best.

I am researching to buy my first DSLR.

I used a SLR from 1987 until I broke it in 1999. I wish to get back into photography
Also, instead of asking me what kind of shooting that I want to do. Instead tell me what kind of shooting a particular lens is used for.

You need to narrow down your question(s) to a more manageable group, but to be brief.... it is harder to build a zoom than a prime. It is harder to build a zoom with a wider range than a narrower range. It is harder to build a faster lens (aperture) than a slower one.

Then you add build, focussing system, image stabilization, and materials used in the optical design.

Ultimately, image quality, all else being equal, costs more money then lesser image quality.

It sounds like you are just venturing into this. There is already a wealth of information on this site. I suggest you start reading and come back when you have more specific, narrower focussed questions.

a prime lens has less moving parts in it than a zoom lens.
also they are optimized for that one focal length.

it is better to give yourself a wide selection instead of overlapping.
18-135 & 70-200 overlap each other, but the 70-200 is a far superior lens to the 55-250.

Hi, welcome to the forum, your comment regarding........... "instead of asking me what kind of shooting that I want to do" ...........it's much easier to do it that way, so folks can recommend a lens that suits your needs as well as your budget. But, that said, check out this site, it has every lens you could want (just about) and what lenses are best for the type of shooting you'd like to do.

http://the-digital-picture.com/

Good luck, welcome back to photography, it's a great time to do so, with so many great choices.

You could do either
17-40, 50, 70-200
or
24-70, 70-200

Most people start with the 18-55 & 55-250 but you'll probably end up upgrading to L lenses eventually anyway, and as you already have experience with photography maybe you'll be more content jumping into the deep (and expensive) end.

First of all choose whether you're getting a crop or not because that factors in a whole bunch when choosing lenses.

It depends what kind of DSLR you're looking to get. For my particular model, I have a Canon 10-22, 17-55, and 70-200. All offer great image quality, very little overlap and very little gap in the focal lengths, and the entire kit isn't too heavy to carry around.

Like others said though, your goal will dictate the method of approach. If you want to photograph birds, you would want a longer lens, like the Canon 100-400. If you were doing indoor portraits though, this would be an inappropriately long focal length, and you would be better off with a 50mm or 85mm prime lens.

You're asking for pros and cons of different lenses...it's hard to answer due to the number and variations of lenses. If you're looking for ultimate portability and versatility, something like the 18-200 would be useful. If you care more about image quality and don't mind carrying around more lenses and spending more money, the 35L, 85L, and 135L or 200L would be good (also costs thousands of dollars).

I got into all this not so long ago, so it is fresh in memory. My advise would be to get your first DSLR with something like an 18-200mm. There is tons of things that you will learn. At some point you may start wondering why you can not get that "look" in your prefered style that some other guys get. You may start to feel that your all-purpose lens is holding you back. This is when you may want to buy your next lens. It may be an ultra-wide, a fast tele zoom, a great portrait lens, whatever.

We need to know how you will use your camera, it helps alot, it is why that same question is always asked, because it is very relevant.

What is a current hobby you have? apply your questions to your hobby and it will help you understand why somethings are better then others and cost more and so on.

Why do people buy expensive vs cheap parts for cars / computers / home theaters
Why do people buy difference things then other people do - because different people have different needs.

More Detail

I learn on the old manual cameras in high school (1983) and their camera where old then. We had one hand on the aperture and the other hand on the speed and an internal light meter, simple and easy.

Concerning lenses, I want to do more than just one type of shooting: Nature, landscape, military training, motorcycle rallies, people, & macro shots.

I want to make a list of (affordable) lenses to use in a given situation:
(Prioritizing quality over convenience)
If you are doing landscape these are good generic lenses =
If you are doing wildlife these are generic good lenses =
If you are doing people these are generic good lenses =
If you are doing action these are good generic lenses =

I don’t want buyer’s remorse with my first DSLR.

Landscape: Well.. landscapes are funny. They can take a wide range of lenses. Wide, zoomed, etc. The Sigma 10-20 is one of the less expensive ulta wide angle lenses if you are into that
Wildlife: You want a nice zoom lens, the Canon 55-250 IS is a inexpensive lens to play around with/
People: I find a nice prime lens is preferable. The Canon 50mm f/1.8 II is a VERY affordable lens to try out.
Action: Action... lens with sharp picture at wide aperture so you can have very fast shutter speed =) (not gonna be cheap)
Macro: Try extension tubes on a lense you already have or reverse lenses together

Now I know many folks will say I just recommended a bunch of cheap lenses that I own, while that may be true, I own them because they are relativly inexpensive and can produce decent results.

FallGuy2005 wrote in post #9165310
I have never thought about lenses before.
From my understanding an all purpose zoom lens like 18-200 does not have the same picture quality as prime lens. Why?

What are the pros and cons of different lenses?
Standard zoom: 18-85, 18-55, 18-135, 18-200, 28-135
Telephoto zoom: 55-250, 70-200, 70-300, 100-400
Standard & Medium Telephoto: 50, 85

Also what would be good multiple lenses to group together?
18-55 & 55-250
18-135 & 70-200
Or whatever you think is best.

I am researching to buy my first DSLR.

I used a SLR from 1987 until I broke it in 1999. I wish to get back into photography
Also, instead of asking me what kind of shooting that I want to do. Instead tell me what kind of shooting a particular lens is used for.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/

FallGuy2005 wrote in post #9169390
I learn on the old manual cameras in high school (1983) and their camera where old then. We had one hand on the aperture and the other hand on the speed and an internal light meter, simple and easy.

Concerning lenses, I want to do more than just one type of shooting: Nature, landscape, military training, motorcycle rallies, people, & macro shots.

I want to make a list of (affordable) lenses to use in a given situation:
(Prioritizing quality over convenience)
If you are doing landscape these are good generic lenses =
If you are doing wildlife these are generic good lenses =
If you are doing people these are generic good lenses =
If you are doing action these are good generic lenses =

I don’t want buyer’s remorse with my first DSLR.

Without knowing what would be affordable to YOU it's difficult to make recommendations. But more than that you covering a really range of what your aiming to do. I don't see you being having buyers remorse unless you get to caught up in buying too much gear too fast, too early. I'd keep it simple at first and add later on add lenses to fill you needs. If you can hold off buyin and read the forums for awhile you'll be able to find lots of posts that will help you make a solid choice on what to buy first and avoid that buyers remorse.

FallGuy2005 wrote in post #9169390
I want to make a list of (affordable) lenses to use in a given situation:
(Prioritizing quality over convenience)
If you are doing landscape these are good generic lenses =
If you are doing wildlife these are generic good lenses =
If you are doing people these are generic good lenses =
If you are doing action these are good generic lenses =

I don’t want buyer’s remorse with my first DSLR.

To summarize things, you can categorize lenses based on focal length:

Ultra Wide (<24mm) : landscape, scenic
Wide (24-35) : landscape, street, people groups, environmental portrait
Standard (50) : general purpose, indoor, portrait
Short Tele (85-135) : tight portrait, indoor sport
Tele (200-300) : candid portrait, outdoor sport, landscape details
Long Tele (400-800) : wildlife, birds

These focale lengths are for a FF camera: you need to multiply everything by 1.6x on a APS-C DSLR.

Apart from the focal length, it is important to choose the lense based on its maximum possible aperture. Typical values are:

Fast (< f/2) : allows indoor shooting without flash
Quite Fast (f/2.8 ) : bare minimum for indoor without flash
Normal (f/4) : requires flash indoor
Slow (f/5.6+) : avoid whenever possible (except for ultra long tele)

The maximum aperture is also important for background isolation using shallow depth of field : this is an important point to consider for portraits.

And obviously, a zoom is a lot more versatile than a prime lens, but this is at a cost.

A good kit could include one walk-around zoom covering the most common focal lengths as well as 2 fast primes. If you want a general purpose kit, you should probably choose a standard or moderately wide prime (35 or 50) and a short/mid tele (135 or 200). You can add a lot of versatility to your kit by adding a 1.4x TC and a 25mm extension tube.

Canon 24-105 f/4 + Canon 50mm f/1.4 + Canon 135L f/2 + 1.4 TC would be for example an excellent general purpose kit. But I don't know if you would consider it as "affordable"

If I were starting over, I'd give Nikon a shot at my business, the D700 would be my body...I'd grab the 14-24, 24-70, 70-200, Sigma 50/1.4 and if the 200mm wasn't long enough I'd grab the Sigma 150-500...No remorse, no regrets

FallGuy2005 wrote in post #9169390
I learn on the old manual cameras in high school (1983) and their camera where old then. We had one hand on the aperture and the other hand on the speed and an internal light meter, simple and easy.

Concerning lenses, I want to do more than just one type of shooting: Nature, landscape, military training, motorcycle rallies, people, & macro shots.

I want to make a list of (affordable) lenses to use in a given situation:
(Prioritizing quality over convenience)
If you are doing landscape these are good generic lenses =
If you are doing wildlife these are generic good lenses =
If you are doing people these are generic good lenses =
If you are doing action these are good generic lenses =

I don’t want buyer’s remorse with my first DSLR.

Wow, you are asking a lot of questions there.

If you are just beginning, or re-beginning, I would suggest the 18-55 and 55-250 combo. Also get an external flash unit. If you haven't picked up a camera then a 20D would be a good starter.

If you decide to go further into photography, then hang out on these boards for a year or so and you will have a good idea of what, if any other equipment you might want.