Top 10 Mistakes People Make Buying Camera Lenses

10) Make sure that you know your camera brand and mount before buying. If you get a lens that is not compatible with your camera and does not fit, you just wasted a lot of money.

9) Don't buy a cheaply made lens. The lens is important because it is through the lens that the light passes in order to produce an image. The better quality the lens is, the better your photographs will turn out.

8) Know what your are willing to pay before you go shopping, or else you may pay much more than you set out to. Do your research to find out how much the lens you want is going to cost, and whether or not you can can afford it.

7) Check online reviews. Search Amazon.com and Google for reviews of the exact lens you are looking for.

6) Think twice about buying a zoom lens. Many people want the convenience of zoom and superzoom lenses, but zoom lenses are more likely to result in poor image quality, flare, and image distortion. Additionally, they can be really heavy. Prime lenses are often much higher quality, faster, and cheaper.

5) Don't ask a professional who has ten lenses which lens to buy and then just purchase it without doing any more research. While they do know a lot about photography, they may not know exactly what you are looking for in a lens, especially if you don't know yourself.

4) If you are a new photographer, don't buy too soon. Let yourself experiment to see what kind of lens you will like best, as well as if you even enjoy photography enough to make such an expensive investment.

3) If you can, don't just buy a lens without trying it out first, no matter how many good reviews you have read. If you do not know someone who already has the lens, you may find that if you check around, you will find somewhere that you can rent the lens in order to try it out.

2) Buying new. You can save a lot of money on your lens by buying used. When you are looking at used camera equipment, check the lens carefully for any scratches or marks. It is generally easy to find photographers who have taken good care of their lenses, as long as you are a thorough shopper.

1) Not knowing what you want before you buy. What will you be using the lens for? When you use a long lens, you photos will have a softer look. This is good for family portraits. In contrasts, wide lenses create a more exaggerated look that you may want for other types of photography you are doing.

L.B. writes about digital camera lenses, camera lens accessories, lens filters and everything else you would want to know about the camera lens at www.camera-lens-shop.com. Have a question about lenses? Surf to www.camera-lens-shop.com and ask it.