The lens you take on your next travel adventure will greatly influence how your images turn out. This means it’s important to be intentional when deciding what lens to invest in next.
Travel photography can be unpredictable and requires a lens that will allow you to shoot with confidence. As always, my philosophy is that affordability is key.
I’ve created a guide to choosing an affordable lens for travel photography. This guide was created with several things in mind, including capability, aperture, focal length, reviews, and of course price.
In this guide you will find:
- Types of travel photography
- Important factors when choosing a lens
- Used lens vs new lens
- Renting lenses
- My 5 top lens picks
Types of travel photography
Whether you’re a professional travel photographer or an enthusiast, you likely have a general idea of the type of travel photography out there. But for the sake of opening up the conversation, we’ll explore a few common types of travel photography as this has a great deal of influence on what type of lens you buy.
Here are 4 types of travel photography:
Portrait
Portrait travel photography captures people in a travel setting. Unlike traditional portrait photography, these images aren’t staged. Instead, photographers focus on capturing authentic images that help shape the story of the location.
Best focal lengths: 85mm-100mm
Landscape
Everyone loves a good landscape image. Landscapes can be both beautiful and immersive. Landscape travel photography captures the natural world using a variety of styles and techniques.
You’ll find several types of landscape photography, such as representational (captures overall characteristics with minimal manipulation), abstract (explores subjective interpretations through distort and elements of nature), and impressionistic (intentionally out-of-focus, paint-like look).
Best focal lengths: 16-35mm
Nature
Nature photography focuses on capturing the vast beauty of the natural world. Nature travel photography is similar to landscapes, but focuses more on wildlife.
Best focal lengths: 16-35mm, 24-70mm
Food photography
This photography form focuses on capturing delicious foods. In travel photography, many photographers document food as a way to tie into different cultural perspectives.
Best focal lengths: 50mm, 100mm
Street photography
One of my favorite types of photography is street photography. It captures everyday life in public spaces. These images are authentic, spontaneous, and do a great job of documenting stories as they unfold in the environment.
Best focal lengths: 35mm and 50mm
Important factors when choosing a lens
Getting a new lens is like getting a new toy for photographers, but keeping a few factors in mind will help you make the right decision each time you go to purchase a new lens.
Here are a few factors to consider:
Focal length
One of the first things you should be thinking about is what focal length you’ll need. As you can see, the type of photography you lean into will greatly influence the best focal length.
Certain photography forms are just more visually pleasing with the right focal length. In some instances, a certain focal length is just necessary.
There are three focal length categories: wide-angle, standard, and telephoto. A wide-angle lens captures of a wider field of view and is best for landscape photography.
A standard lens is just about what the human eye can see and is versatile for many subjects. A telephoto lens zooms in on different subjects and is great for subjects like wildlife.
Once you’ve determined what you like to shoot, you can confidently choose the right focal length and this will serve as a guide for what lenses you should be looking at.
Aperture
Another important decision you’ll need to make is what aperture you’ll need for your new lens. Depending on what you like to shoot, will you need a lower or higher aperture?
As a refresher, a larger aperture (low f-stop: f1.8/f2.8) lets in more light, creating a shallow depth-of-field. A larger aperture is perfect for those who like portrait-style photography and want to create a nice blurred background or those who tend to shoot in low light situations.
Even if you don’t plan on shooting in low light, it’s definitely nice having a lens that is capable to produce quality images in any scenario.
A lower aperture (high f-stop: f/8, f/16) lets in less light, creating more depth of field. This means more of the scene will be in focus. This is great for when you’re doing landscapes and street photography.
Prime vs Zoom lens
Ideally, you want to have various lenses in your kit because each one will serve its purpose. With that said, deciding whether to get a prime lens or zoom lens is something I’m often conflicted about.
Prime lenses tend to have larger apertures and are small in size, perfect for my trips. On the other hand, zoom lenses offer me more flexibility to get my desired shot. You’ll need to decide what’s most important to you when choosing a lens.
Right now, flexibility and experimentation is most important to me so I don’t mind toting around a zoom lens if it will help me achieve my creative goals.
Price
You’ll also want to set a budget for how much you’re willing to spend. If your budget is relatively small, you’re more likely to find a quality prime lens with the focal length you need. If your budget is a little larger, zoom lenses are certainly worth looking at. With that said, there are several prime lenses that cost more than zoom lenses so keep this in mind.
Used vs New Lens
There are so many lenses on the market both new and used, but which one is really best to get. This is another question I ask myself when I’m on the hunt for new gear.
There’s no real way to determine which is best so I’ll go over some pros and cons and let you decide for yourself.
Used lens: Pros
- Significantly lower price
- Can access higher-quality older lenses
Used lens: Cons
- Possible hidden damage
- Reduced resale value
- Possibility of malfunctioning features
New lens: Pros
- Improved image quality (sharper details, better low-light)
- Latest technology
- Advanced features
New lens: Cons
- High cost
- Possible compatibility issues depending on camera body and mounting system
Renting lenses
If you’re undecided on what lens to get, renting a lens may be a great choice. There are many benefits to renting vs buying, such as the fact that it is cheaper. Photographers can save thousands of dollars just by renting.
It’s also beneficial because it gives you the opportunity to test out a lens before making a big long-term investment.
One thing to keep in mind is that renting lenses can become costly over time, especially depending on where you go. After awhile, it may make sense to purchase. Additionally, you’ll need to be mindful of how long you can rent equipment and the business’s operating hours.
5 Best Affordable Lenses for Travel Photography
In no particular order, here are five affordable lenses best for travel photography:
1. Canon 50mm f/1.8 (new)
You’ll find that the Canon 50mm 1.8 lens makes it on the list as one of the best lenses for photography in general. This lens is particularly great for travel photography because of its versatile focal length, wide aperture, and incredibly affordable price.
You can purchase this lens brand new for $125 on Amazon, making this an easy staple to keep in your list.
This was actually the first lens I ever purchased and I always talk good about it if someone asks me. Regardless of what type of travel photographer you are, this one is a must-have.
2. Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 (used)
A 24-70mm focal length has been a staple in the photography world for a long time.This versatile focal length is perfect to shoot landscapes, street photography, food photography, portraits, and more.
When you’re out on your next trip, you can feel confident that this lens is more than capable of capturing your subjects.
I chose Tamron simply because this brand has a solid reputation in the photography industry and their 24-70mm lens is a more affordable option.
The price for this lens does range depending on the camera body, but you can expect to spend around $300.
3. Canon 28-135mm f/3.5 (used)
This is a new lens that I’ve added to my collection but has quickly become a staple for me. Like the 24-70mm lens, this one is versatile, allowing me to shoot a variety of subjects.
For the price, this lens operates exceptionally well. I plan to use it for street photography, landscapes, hotels, and more.
The Canon 28-135mm is the most affordable lens on the list at around $100. But I was able to purchase mine locally in Atlanta for $85.
Overall, I would say that this lens has the best value for me overall. To get a quality zoom lens at such a low price point is a steal for me. Feel free to check out my current favorite lens here on Amazon.
4. Canon EF 35mm f/2 (used)
Canon’s 35mm lens is yet another great lens for travel photography. This prime lens has a wide aperture, perfect for low light situations and has a great general focal length.
In my opinion, 35mm is wide enough to get a few landscape shots but is also great for various other subjects. If I were to get this lens, I would definitely use it for street photography, restaurants, food, hotels, and so much more.
I think the 35mm lens is one of the most versatile prime lenses since it’s wide enough field of view to capture context while still allowing for closer framing of your subjects. As the most expensive lens on our list today, you can get the Canon 35mm for around $350.
5. Rokinon 16mm f/2 (used)
This lens is a great option for landscape lovers. At 16mm focal length, this small lens shoots wide and can provide you with some great landscape shots. What’s even better is that this lens has an excellent aperture for the price. At f/2, this will be great in low light situations.
You can purchase this lens for $265, which is a great price considering its capabilities.
Best places to Shop
Luckily, there are plenty of places to purchase lenses today. But I wanted to share some of my favorite places to shop for lenses, especially when purchasing used.
I’m always searching for websites that are reputable, focus on providing quality, has great customer service, and a wide selection of lenses to meet my needs.
Here are a few great places to shop:
- B&H Photo: large stock of quality lens equipment
- KEH: many used lenses at the lowest prices due to varying lens conditions
- Amazon: great selection of lenses with fast delivery if you have prime
I hope this guide has made it a little bit easier to narrow down your next lens so that your next investment is worth it. Let this guide structure your lens search and give you the confidence that you’re choosing the best lens for your needs. Happy shopping!
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