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Photography has taken the world by storm in this 21st century, thanks to creative and digital advances. According to a new survey, photography was one of the most sought after careers. Car photography, in particular, has been on the rise because of the classic cars out there and also to satisfy car lovers. That’s where the Best lenses for car photography help.
To get a great shot, one should have a decent lens, some thought, little time, commitment, and a few techniques. Expert photographers say that even if you have the best camera for car photography, not investing in a decent lens can make everything go downhill. So with this in mind, we have reviewed the 15 BEST CAR PHOTOGRAPHY LENSES that should meet your needs and specifications.
Table of Contents
Best Lens for Car Photography
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens
The Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens is the first of the ultrawide L Series lenses launched by Canon and has a feature of image stabilization. The lens also features two impressive ultra-low dispersion elements and a fluorine coating that reduces the flare and ghosting.
The lens comes with a fluorine coating on the front and rear elements, protecting it from dust and water. Some of the other excellent features of the lens are the ultrasonic focus motor, the circular aperture with nine blades, and very silent and high-performing autofocus. With such unique features, the Canon ef 16 to 35 millimeter f/4l is USM is a perfect lens for automotive and landscape photography.
Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM UD: Best Lens for Car Photography
This lens provides you with sophisticated, high-quality pictures. It is fitted with APC-S sensors and is compatible with all Canon cameras. Its focal length varies from 24 to 36 mm. It provides a very accurate, stable image. It also gives a beautiful wide-angle effect on the telephoto.
The image stabilization system helps you to shoot sharp, crisp, 4-stop images in a low-light environment. It gives you an optimum broad angle of focus for convenient shooting even in tougher backgrounds and areas. It also gives you a quiet and superior focus control with the trailblazing Ultra Sonic Motor, which will be the perfect option for car photography as it provides professional reliability and performance.
Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens
The Sigma 100-400 millimeter /f5-6.3 DG OS HSM is one compact and lightweight telephoto zoom lens that works wonders when paired with full-frame DSLR cameras.
The lens increases the focal length effectively and comes with a rounded 9 blade diaphragm. This feature helps to create a blur around the outer focus areas. The lens also includes optical image stabilization and a hypersonic motor that helps with autofocus’s silent functioning.
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens
This lens is from one of the best camera manufacturers in the business Nikon, and it’s also one of the best lenses launched to date. Its zoom lenses give your images a superior feel and make them stand out even in low – light conditions. This gives you an overall productive output and high-definition images. It also has a silent mode that gives you subtle and accurate autofocus that results in maximum efficiency.
As mentioned earlier, the 53 mm lens will deliver you some mind-blowing images, as it captures a lot of details with crisp clarity. Also, the lens is completely wrapped and sealed, giving you optimal protection against moisture and dust. The lens par is wider, giving you double mode for instant switching while you are operating. Highly recommended and one of the best lens for automotive photography.
Tamron AFF012C-700 SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD
If you looking for a decent wide-angle lens you can opt for the Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD. The lens is a good one for beginners who are looking to buy the best lens for car photography as it’s been used and is being used by a number of car photographers.
The Tamron SP 35millimeter f/1.8 lens can be used along with full-frame cameras from brands like Canon, Sony, and Nikon. The maximum aperture of the lens is f/1.8 and uses the VC or vibration compensation technology to provide excellent image stabilization.
Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 Art DC HSM Lens for Canon
This sigma lens is compact and lightweight and will work wonders when combined with a DSLR camera. This professional sigma lens is only recently updated for the DX / APS-C setup. The lens effectively raises the focal length to increase the blur around the focusing area to give you full autofocus control and professional shooting. Also the image stabilization and hypersonic motor aids discreet autofocus operation.
Other features include a zoom lock switch, a manual override option, and a good water repellent covering on the lens. The f/1.8 constant aperture helps you to experience beauty even in low light. The lens is designed in such a way that it gives you absolute dust and splash protection.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens
Compact and lightweight, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens is power-packed with a wide range of features and is a must-have if you’re into car photography.
It is a telephoto zoom lens with image stabilization and includes a special air sphere coating, which reduces flare and ghosting. Both the front and the rear elements of fluorine coatings and the barrel looks great in a pale gray shade. The number of switchable is modes which were to earlier has now been increased to 3 with this model. The Canon lens provides excellent image quality and also has a reduced focus distance.
Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM Wide-Angle Lens
This latest Canon lens is a true masterpiece as it’s power-packed with a wide range of features such as image stabilization, ultrasonic focus, and new optical design, and it’s a must if you’re in car photography. It gives you high-quality images and improved aesthetics with its glass-molded aspheric lens. It’s got an improved ghosting & flaring lens for optimum results. Thanks to USM technology, it has a consistent and effective auto-focus control.
AF mode, manual focus, and micro-step drives give you faster overall access when shooting videos. It comes with a natural wide-angle lens and maximum aperture to give you more control over shallow depths. The Canon Optical Image Stabilizer software senses normal shooting and can turn to IS mode automatically.
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G Lens
The Nikkor 50 millimeter f/1.8G is one of the best 50 millimeter lenses launched by Nikon. The lens includes a silent wave motor and uses an all-new optical formula that has seven elements in six groups which include an aspherical element.
The Nikkor 50 millimeter f/1.8G also has the feature of full-time manual auto focus override and a lens mount that’s weather sealed and an iris diaphragm that has seven rounded blades. The Nikkor 50 millimeter f/1.8G weighs around one hundred and eighty-seven grams and as a light weight lens that can be well balanced on the Nikon d700 digital slr camera.
The lens also feels excellent, and the outer barrel and the filter thread are made of plastic. It has a sufficient focusing ring, which is rubberized and ridged. The Nikkor 50 millimeter f/1.8G is a G series lens and does not have an aperture ring. This should not affect photographers unless someone wants to use it on a very old camera.
Sony – FE 24-105mm F/4 G OSS
This regular zoom lens from Sony uses four aspherical and 3ED glasses. It is coated with a Nano AR coating to remove ghosting and flicker as they suppress the inner reflection. The F4 aperture provides a mid-telephoto zoom and high optical efficiency as well as a dust-resistant lens.
The lens is fitted with an optical image stabilization that keeps your image steady even when it is slightly shaken. This makes it the perfect lens for car photography as it shoots brilliant pictures.
It also comes with an instant manual and autofocus through the MF / AF button on the side of the lens. This is incredibly useful when you turn on the camera and focus on the item you want to record, delivering maximum reliability.
Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Canon EF
This Sigma lens is from the Sigma Global Vision Series and is highly respected for its unique quality. It features a solid physical design and an advanced optical layout. It uses SLD and FLD glass to eliminate distortion and anomalies. It is equipped with a separate APS-C sensor that helps you to work with a full framed camera.
They also come with a new and up-to-date standard with an instant-opening and prime-angle lens, which gives a major impact to image clarity and efficiency.
You can continuously configure and upgrade it as it happens with a USB and mount conversion. It also has a multi-layer coat that protects the lens from dust and moist. It’s going to be a good choice for car photography.
Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM FLD
This Sigma lens is a regular zoom lens with a focal length of 17 mm and an F2.8 aperture that improves the zooming techniques and is ideally suited for car photography and other landscape photography, as this lens is fitted with a ton of functionality. The OS feature makes the shutter speed of 4 stops, and also provides an image viewing option.
The HSM function enables it to work with maximum autonomy and integrity. The FLD glass is made of a hybrid aspheric lens, which provides auto-correction to various irregularities.
To provide high contrast images in multiple apertures, it is coated to lessen ghosting and flaring. You can shoot beautiful pictures even in low-light conditions, as the lens is adorned to be perfect. It’s perfectly designed and lightweight, paving the way for professional standards.
Nikon AF S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G Fixed Lens
This Nikon lens is a utopia for photographers out there. It is compact and lightweight and makes people wonder how many of them take mind-blowing images. The credit is to this lens. This lens provides you with a high level of internal focus capability that gives you a great shooting and recording experience with concern.
Thanks to the aperture, it’s even better in low light conditions. This Nikon lens features SWM (silent wave motor) technology paving the way for discreet, effective, and high-speed autofocus.
It is perfect for all-weather uses, as it is equipped with super-integrated multi-layer coating with optimum performance, as it is made of sophisticated design and technology, and gives you a beautiful portrait that captures anything every time.
Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 Lens (SEL85F18/2)
This Sony lens is the most commonly used in the car photography segment due to its lightweight characteristics, compact premium telephoto lens, affordability, etc. The 9 bladed circular aperture is responsible for smooth operation and for providing super-quality portraits.
It ensures that the focus is quick, discreet, and accurate thanks to the dual linear motor system. The emphasis can also be personalized with the Eye AF feature. The ED glass offers you great contrast and high-definition pictures and eliminates total aberrations and anomalies.
The lens is resistant to dust and moisture, giving you optimum performance. If you have a Sony a6000, you can pair this lens with it, making it an invincible pair for car and portrait photography.
Sigma 30mm F1.4 Art DC HSM Lens for Canon
This Sigma lens is one of the versatile lenses designed specifically for the APS-C format of Canon EF cameras. It gives you a maximum focal length of 45 mm on the APS-C camera, which is the normal focal length. It also includes circular aperture blades that give the bokeh effect to the focal point. It is also fitted with the Hyper Sonic Motor, which is crucial to ensuring accurate, discreet, and high-speed autofocus, and also minimizes ghosting and flaring.
The rear focus system avoids anomalies that offer you high-definition images. The unchanging length of the barrel of the lens makes it an ideal choice for car photography.
Things to keep in mind for purchasing a Lens for Car Photography
Many lenses are available in choosing the best lenses for car photography. The above list will help you purchase a suitable option for you.
But here are a few things to consider before you get a lens of your choice for a successful purchase. After all, excellent photography does not start before you find the right lens that you’ll need.
Focal length
The focal length of a lens is directly related to how much magnification it provides. It’s a number measured in millimeters. The general rule is that the higher the number in millimeters, the more magnification you get, and the smaller number in millimeters, the less magnification you get. If you’ve previously used a compact camera, a.k.a point-and-shoot, you’ll be used to this being described in terms of optical zoom.
For example, a camera might have 10x optical zoom, which means the magnification between the most zoomed out setting and the most zoomed-in setting is ten times. In focal length terms, each doubling of the focal length results in a doubling of magnification.
Aperture
Inside a lens, there’s a hall that lets the light through to the camera sensor. This hole is referred to as an aperture. An aperture can change in size, with a bigger aperture letting more light in and a smaller aperture letting less light in.
An aperture can be thought of as the pupil of your eye when it’s bright arts on up; it becomes smaller, so less light gets in. When you’re in a darker environment, perhaps at night, it opens wide to let more light in.
Image Stabilization
Camera Lens manufacturers of all kinds of fun terms they use for image stabilization.
These include:
- IS for Canon
- OIS for Panasonic
- VR for Nikon
- OS for sigma
- VC for Tamron
- and the list goes on…
While the names and underlying technology vary, the aim is the same – To compensate for any movement introduced by the person holding the lens, you can help you shoot at slower shutter speeds without getting blurry photos. As a general rule of thumb, the minimum shutter speed you can handhold a lens for is the focal length’s inverse.
Lens mount: you want to buy a lens that will attach to your camera, known as the lens mount. Camera manufacturers generally make lenses with proprietary mounts, with all only for their devices, sometimes having multiple lens mounts for different camera lights. The major exception to this is micro four-thirds lenses, which can be used on respective Olympus and Panasonic cameras. Third-party manufacturers also make lenses with mounts deferred to various brands.
Look for the Right Shots
Every serious photographer has to wait a long time before attempting to photograph anything. Before the photographer can continue, he must reflect on his own achievements. Anyone can go out and click on the photo to serve their wonderful new purpose.
Taking the time to consider your style, tone and message as an artist will help you choose the best lens to make your car photos look much more careful.
Do you think the sunset tells the viewer who you are as a photographer?
Maybe a nice, bright afternoon light tells you how alive you are but that’s not the case when it comes to capturing car pictures. You may need to combine and try out to or more combinations and have a different portfolio. At the same time, you want to achieve your goals. If you never mix and match them, you may never know what tools you will need to get the perfect shot that you had dreamt of.
What’s in your Photography Kit?
Photography is not just about finding the best lenses for car photography. Every prospective photographer should include different tools in the set. The ability to manage the environment significantly improves the ability to present a much more pleasing output. It is recommended to add a fixed tripod when taking pictures of cars.
When you gain this stability, your life will be more comfortable. When shooting indoors, the sharpness of the photos can be distorted. If you are taking car pictures in a garage, always make sure that you have a good set of flashes, reflectors, and defusers. This will change your pictures from just ordinary to a masterpiece.
Everything Lies in the Details
Cutting small details is easy when taking pictures of cars. This information is required both in the subject and in the system. The car photographer should always have the details. Armorall spray for tires and upholstery are essential. Bring the necessary tools to control the camera.
When it’s your time to shoot outdoors, keeping the tires and paintballs reflective and looking good is very painful if you do not have a heavy-duty broom. Do not use a leaf blower if you go by my advice. While they can blast faster on stage, they make it difficult to control the elements. They are much more likely to dust in the air that will degrade the color of your car and in turn your photography.
The Latest Technology
All the devices in the world mean nothing if you do not understand the photographic methods and the lighting well. Before you go out and buy things, you need to do your homework. Even the best camera lenses will only get the results you want if you understand the basic rules of third party providers.
The use of a polarizing lens and diffuser is not important when photographing stiff-legged objects. If you have to increase the ISO because you do not know how to control the light, the image quality will decrease. If you know everything before you click a photo, you already know which lenses are best for car photography.
Conclusion:
If you want to do well in a career, you need to be well versed. Similarly, car photography is one of the many genres of photography. To get on with this interesting and exciting journey, you need to get the right gear in your bag, and everything else will be simple.
I think I’ve covered the best lenses for all your cameras, whether it’s for taking images or videos. The above lenses are affordable and filled with a wide range of features. Please choose an appropriate lens that fits your needs and desires, as each individual is unique, and each of us has different needs.
Happy Shopping! Thank you very much!
