Okay... sooner or later, I will have to touch on this topic, might as well be now.
There are basically a few category of the lens available in the market...
Classified by Focal Length,
UWA - Ultra-wide angle lens - this type of lens normally had a focal length of less than 21mm
WA - Wide angle lens - this type of lens would normally had a focal length ranging from 21mm to 35mm
General Purpose Lens - this type of lens would normally had a focal length ranging from 35mm to 70mm
Medium/short telephoto lens - this type of lens would normally had a focal length ranging from 70-135mm
telephoto lens - this type of lens would have a focal length of more than 135mm
Classified by types
Normally there are a couple of type of lens most used in the market.
1) Close-up/macro lens - this type of lens allow you to take close up shots of your subject, many people would use this type of lens to photograph insect, gems, coins, etc. An actual macro-lens would have a magnification of 1:1 and above, which mean the subject is capture at a 1:1 or more ratio on your sensor. There are special macro lenses like the Canon's MP60mm which actually had a ratio up to 5x of the object you are shooting.
2) Prime lens - this is a general name for lens with a fix focal length. Which mean you cannot zoom in or out using this type of lens and that the focal length don't change. This type of lens are normally simpler in construction, sharper than her zooming cousin and had lesser elements. The only thing is that it is not easy to use, and not flexible. But many professional photographers would swore by them.
3) zoom lens - this is the general name for lens with variable focal length... in simpler word, you can zoom in and out. It had lots of elements and is not as sharp as good prime lens. However they are very flexible and so was favour by hobbyists and professionals all over the world. If you get a good one (something like a 24-70mm f2.8, 17-55mm f2.8, 17-50mm f2.8, etc) lens, sharpness can even be comparable to some of the prime lenses.
4) Special Purpose lenses - there are a few of them, and normally you won't need to use them, they are specially build for special effects... the most popular type are fisheye lens (a lens that give you a wildly distorted view) and tilt-shift lens. Normally I would keep away from this type of lenses, they are expensive, you use them once in a blue moon and keep them in your dry cabinet most of the time.
So what are different category or type of lenses normally used for?
1) General Purpose
When I say general purpose, I mean usual walkabout lens, or a lens that most people normally leave attached to their camera. It is pretty inaccurate though for some... because at times, many photographers would develope their own styles and I have seen someone with a 300mm lens attached almost permanently to their camera.
Anyway, what I listed here is generally for normal usage though,
The most popular lens for walkabout was a 18-55mm kit lens. They are quite sharp, had image stabilization in it and very small and light. I love my kit lens alot when I was using it. For some people who wanted more range, they would have gone for a 18-135mm or even a 18-200mm lens. However with such a wide difference in the focal length, there are bound to be some trade off with the image quality.
The next most popular walkabout lens was the canon's EF 15-85mm lens and the (expensive) EF 17-55mm or Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 lens. Well the 15-85mm is a wildly popular lens because it covered the entire useful range, giving you a UWA lens and a telephoto lens all in one. The only problem I had with it was the variable aperture. Well... I desire a fix aperture, so I can shoot at the same speed throughout my entire zoom range... but unlike real professionals... this are not a deal breaker for me.
Third party lenses such as the Tamron 17-50mm lens and the 18-270mm lens are also gaining popularity amount all supporting camera brand user, because they are normally (much) cheaper than the brand's own lenses and provide decent picture quality. I myself had a few of the third party lenses... and had lots of fun with them.
(Note: in my case, my general purpose lens is the 70-200mm f4L lens which was almost permanently attached to my camera.)
2) Wildlife, birding
Many lenses can be use here... even short one... but for wildlife and birding, my choice of lens is beyong 200mm. I want plenty of distance between myself and my subject... and for some of the more nervous subjects... you need much longer distance... hence the 500mm and above lenses (I don't have any of these though... it cause almost as much as a car in Australia).
So in this category, I would suggest having the 70-200mm f4L or better still f2.8L with a x1.4 teleconverter or a x2 teleconverter... a 300mm f4 or f2.8 lens and anything higher than 400mm would be the best.
3) Macro/ closeup
Well... you can use a 18-55mm lens here... reverse it and get a good macro lens. However I will not touch on all these yet... leave it for later.
Macro lens - 100mm f2.8, 150mm f3.5, 180mm f3.5 are a few of the lens that normally people use for macro shots... they provide you with long enough a working distance between yourself and the critters so that you will not scare them off. However you must be sure that the lens are dedicated macro lenses - well most would tell you that their lens is macro lens by denoting a MACRO behind or somewhere in the lens. However do note that some of the lenses such as Sigma's 17-70mm f2.8-4 OS MACRO lens... was not macro lens. It is more of a closeup lens whereby it allow you to focus pretty close to your subject. But the magnification is not 1:1.
4) Portrait
Well... for this type of photography, there are a few definitive lenses available (although in theory or practicality, you can use any lens for this type).
a) 85mm f1.4/ 85mm f1.2L
b) 105mm f2
c) 100mm
d) 24-70mm
e) 24-105mm
f) 50mm
g) 70-200mm f2.8
Okay what I have listed down are the most popular lenses for portrait shots... but for me to choose? I would go for the 24-70mm lenses.
Okay, these are the few type of photography that most people are interested in. And the lenses that are associated with them.
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