When it comes to desert driving photography, having the right equipment is essential to capture the action from far as well as the cuteness of your ride from near. At the same time, you would also want to capture the vastness and unique beauty of these arid landscapes. Super zoom lenses offer a versatile solution, providing both telephoto and wide-angle capabilities in a single lens. We need the wide-angle for capturing photos of own cars that we love and cherish and telephoto for distant subjects like other cars while doing sidees or being recovering as well as ancillary subjects like the wildlife or other interesting details in the landscape.
In this article, we will delve into the basics of super zoom lenses, highlight their benefits and drawbacks, and provide a selection of models available from popular brands.
Understanding Super Zoom Lenses:
Super zoom lenses, also known as all-in-one or bridge lenses, are designed to cover a wide focal range, typically ranging from wide-angle to telephoto, all within a single lens. Typically, you will find 18-300 mm in the APSC or crop sensor models and 28 mm - 200mm for the full frame models. These lenses offer convenience and versatility, eliminating the need to carry multiple lenses while driving.
Benefits of Super Zooms for Desert Driving Photography:
Versatility: Super zoom lenses provide a wide focal range, allowing you to capture various perspectives and subjects. Whether its photographing distant cars doing their things or your own vehicle up close during breaks, a super zoom lens has you covered.
Compact and Lightweight: Compared to carrying multiple lenses, a super zoom lens simplifies your gear setup and reduces the overall weight, making it more comfortable to handle during drives or even on hikes.
Quick Adjustments: With a super zoom lens, you can swiftly switch between telephoto and wide-angle focal lengths. This enables you to adapt to different photography opportunities on the go, ensuring you don't miss any crucial shots.
Cost-Effective: Investing in a single super zoom lens can be a cost-effective option, saving you money compared to purchasing multiple lenses to cover the same focal range.
Great Travel Companion: Even when you are not driving, and you are on a break, it is still a great lens to take with you. Super zooms are typically listed in the Travel Category of the manufacturer page. They offer better clarity than the phone you have up close as well as taking those faraway landmarks.
Cons of Super Zooms:
Image Quality: Super zooms do not match the optical performance of specialized prime or high-end zoom lenses. But the difference in quality is often negligible for the intended use in forum or in Instagram.
Aperture Limitations: Super zoom lenses have smaller maximum apertures compared to prime or high-end zoom lenses. Plus, they are most often variable as well. This can affect low-light performance and limit depth of field control. But when we drive in the desert, we most often have ample light, and the smaller apertures are not necessarily a problem.
Distortion and Chromatic Aberration: Super zoom lenses most often than not will exhibit distortion, vignetting, or chromatic aberration, especially at the extreme ends of the focal range. However, these shortcomings can often be corrected during post-processing. When I import my photos into Lightroom I import them with lens correction, and Lightroom is smart enough to apply the necessary lens specific corrections to all the photos automatically.
Here's a small list of compatible Super Zoom lenses:
APSC Super-zoom Lenses for DSLRs
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR (I bought mine second hand for my D5100)
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Sony E 18–200 mm F3.5-6.3 OSS APS-C
Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD
Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD MACRO
Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM Contemporary
Full Frame DSLR Lenses:
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR
Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM
Sony FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS Full Frame
Mirrorless Camera Lenses:
Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR
Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM
Sony E 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS LE
Sony FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS
Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD
Fujinon XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR
Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD MACRO (available for Fuji)
Note: Some lenses could be discontinued but listed here because they can be bought secondhand.