How to Buy the Best DSLR and Mirrorless Camera Lenses for 2022
If you use an SLR or mirrorless camera to make photos, but haven't yet moved beyond the starter lens, you're missing out. Bundled lenses, often referred to as kit zooms, are useful, covering the angles you'll use for most images and delivering very good quality.
Today's kits zooms are, generally speaking, sharper and better made than those from decades past. But they've still got some limitations. Most don't gather a lot of light, so you'll need to use a flash or get grainy images in dim light.
There are different ways to go when shopping for a new lens, though, and you'll need to take a bit of care to get one that fits your camera. We're here to help.
Each camera system has its own lens mount, so there's no cross-compatibility. It's not a simple matter of matching the brand name, either. For example, Canon sells cameras with three separate lens mounts and you can't freely swap lenses between them. Conversely, multiple brands make Micro Four Thirds cameras, so you can use an OM System M.Zuiko lens on a Panasonic Lumix camera if you please.
We've put together guides for many mirrorless and SLR systems. If you're not sure of your camera's lens mount, a quick look at the user manual or web search will help you answer the question. We list the lens mount in our review specs, so you can check there too.
Our guides cover the following systems:
Canon EF-M for EOS M Mirrorless
Canon EF and EF-S for EOS SLRs
Canon RF for EOS R Mirrorless
Fujifilm X Mirrorless
Nikon F for SLRs
Nikon Z Mirrorless
L-Mount Alliance
Leica M for Rangefinders
Micro Four Thirds Mirrorless
Pentax K for SLRs
Sony E and FE Mirrorless
There are still some wrinkles to note. Third-party lens makers, brands like Sigma, Tamron, and Venus Optics to name a few,
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