What brand of lenses is the best and why?

Answer 1

I have asked this question of a friend of mine who happens to be in charge of photography at the CDC in Atlanta. In medical photography, you have to have the highest level of resolution and the most accurate color.

He is constantly testing lenses and the lenses that show out the best for the Mamiya lenses. The only 35mm Mamiya lense would be in the old Pentax screw mount type, so most of his research was on 645 and 67 formats.

Leica and Zeiss, he says, don't even come in second.

As for 35mm lenses, again he has tested all of them and the ones that show the best are the Olympus lenses for the OM series of cameras.

As for aftermarket lenses today, I would rank them in this order:
Vivitar
Sigma
Tamron

Quantaray is a coke bottle.

I have shot with all brands of 35mm and to tell the truth, I would say that for all practical purposes, no one can tell the difference, so what does all this research prove to the casual camera user - not much.

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Answer 2

In a perfect world, you probably want to stick w/ same brand as the type camera you have. I have a Canon and prefer Canon lenses. I've used Sigma (which is good if you're on a budget like I was in college) but the Canon just seems to work better w/ the camera. You can check around, find a shop that sells the same brand as your camera and the "generic" and test them out in the store. Notice the speed of the shot and the image captured. The "generic" may be slower on the shot and the quality may be a bit lower, but you may notice little or no difference. Many genrics are pretty good. Often the only differences are the type glass or other materials used in the parts. One may use more metal where the other uses plastics. If you're happy w/ the "generic" and like the lower price, (no matter what a pro tells you) go for it. If cost isn't so much of an issue, go w/ the one that compliments your camera brand.

Answer 3

I have had tremendous luck using Tameron after-market lenses. The test reports indicate a very high quality and I have not been able to discern any loss of quality when matched with the name brand lenses. Price is about 30% less

Answer 4

Usually the lenses offered by the manufacturer of your camera will be the best for your camera.

You might find some really esoteric lenses with special uses, like the Leitz Thambar 90mm f2.2 for approx. $4,000.00 in mint condition or the Dreamagon (you can read reviews of these 2 lenses at shutterbug.com) or the Nikon or Canon or Leica f1.0 lenses (very rare, very very expensive, reviews at shutterbug.com).

Answer 5

I have a canon camera, so generally I use canon lenses. In the past due to money crunches I have used sigma, and I haven't been happy at all. I did buy a quantaray wide angle and it's pretty sharp. I will be selling it soon as I have replaced it with a tokina or tamaron (10-17), I can't ever remember and it is REALLY nice.