In the old days, zoom lenses were scoffed at by professional photographers. Zooms were the choice of amateurs and photojournalists, serious pros shot primes and that was that.
Fast forward a couple decades and zoom lens technology has made some amazing advances. Computer designed optics and advanced optical coatings combine to deliver astonishing clarity and color at price points unheard of a few years ago. Complete with high speed focusing motors and image stabilization, the zoom ranges are just insane. 18mm-200mm, 50mm-500mm, you start wondering why you need to pack a lot of glass around with you anymore. In many cases, you don’t.
Here are just a few examples of what’s out there and there are new ones coming out all the time.
On an APS-C or APS-H chip yields a comparable zoom range of 27.5-305mm. Fantastic range that can take you from a wide angle to right up close and personal. The 11.1x zoom range and silent wave focusing makes this lens a favorite among Nikon shooters.
Designed specifically for APS-C chips, this 15x zoom by Tamron has a reputation for delivering sharp images through out the zoom range. It has internal vibration compensation features and is a great “single lens” solution when you only feel like taking one.
Called the “Bigma” Sigma just might have come up with the perfect all around outdoor sport shooting lens. Fast focusing and sharp throughout the zoom range, the Sigma 50-500 gets 4.5 stars from Amazon users. It gets dinged for being a little heavy to carry around as a “single lens” solution.
Getting high marks from wildlife photographers and bird watchers, the Nikon 80-400 is a solid performer at distance. It gets some criticism for not being wider on the low end.