Photography is simple. Gears and gadgets make it complex.
Take camera lenses for example. Look through the lineup of popular Canon or Nikon lenses and it's a rabbit hole -- the decision to buy the right lens gets more tangled. But here's a site that helps to make that choice easier.
Lens vs Lens is a photography tool that helps you compare lenses with actual pictures photographers have taken with those lenses.
Pick Two Lenses and Compare
When you land on the site, a short tutorial takes you through the three-step process. It is a simple site with a simpler workflow. The actual photographs for comparison are picked up from Flickr.
- Add two lenses you'd like to compare.
- Refine your photos and filter by aperture and focal length.
- Compare photos taken photographers with the same lenses. Also, click on the lenses to check their prices on Amazon.
There are lot of ways you can put the web tool to compare photos taken in different situations. For instance, you can compare a lens of fixed focal length with a zoom lens set on that focal length (e.g. a 35mm prime vs 35mm on a zoom). You can compare the maximum apertures of two lenses and see which has better depth of field or is sharper.
When you aren't sure about the style of photography you want to do, pit one lens against another and see the kind of photographs you would also like to shoot. Ultimately, Lens Vs. Lens shows you the lens you need rather than the one you may want.
Make Sure You Get the Right Lens
Flickr photos are not "raw" photos. Most of them pass through Photoshop or Lightroom. But the sheer number of photos that Lens vs. Lens pulls from the pool should help to bring you close to a decision about the camera lens. You can also click on a photo and check out the EXIF data in better detail on Flickr.
Of course, the web tool isn't perfect -- it is slow at times. Plus, the comparisons cater to the major brands like Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Leica, Olympus, and Sony. There is no Sigma or Tamron, two lenses popular with photographers on a budget. Still, it's a great tool for amateurs and shutterbugs alike.
Which one are you? Tell us if this photography web app makes a small difference to your skill.