Pro v Consumer Lenses Pt. 1

What is the difference between a consumer lens and an expensive professional lens? I’m not talking tech stuff like number of elements etc, I want to know what I'm getting for my money and if it’ll make a difference where it matters - ­ in my images!

There are advantages and disadvantage to both lenses. I can get a wider aperture with the pro lens which I can use to separate my subjects from their surroundings, but it’s bigger and heavier.

The f2.8 pro lens also has a two stage image stabiliser which can take account of sideways panning for motion blur shots as well as ordinary stabilisation for ordinary shooting. It also has two stage focusing which can be set for the full rage or just for 2.5 meters to infinity.

The consumer lens is lighter and less expensive but doesn’t have the wider aperture so a shallow depth of field 'Bokeh' effect is not quite as pronounced. However it's lighter and easier to carry. Most consumer lenses have some form of image stabilising on them (if it's not a feature of your camera body).

With a £1200 price difference between them - this lens test series will help you choose if the higher investment is right for you.

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