n00b question about Nikon Lenses

MJ Stebbings

MJ Stebbings

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Ok, now i know i'm a Canon user, BUT what is the equivilant to the "L Series" in Nikon lenses?
 
Someone, anyone?
 
As "L" is purely a marketing thing there is no equivalent - that would make no sense.
 
I didnt know if there was a "grade" like with Sigma doing the EX and Canon L, didnt know if Nikon promoted a "professional" line in a similar way
 
This might sound trite, but Nikon users know if a lens is good or not. They don't need a handy little letter to tell them ;)

Its a marketing thing - as this post sort of proves. It obviously works :)

In reality there are very few poor Nikon lenses. All the f/2.8 lenses you could infer are "Pro", variable aperture lenses are generally consumer lenses. But no grading per se.
 
puddleduck said:
As "L" is purely a marketing thing there is no equivalent - that would make no sense.
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I fail to see how since Sigma have the same kind of setup.

L series lenses are all EF mount so can be used on 35mm cameras and also on any current Canon body. Advantages over Non-L series lenses include better optics/coatings. USM and depending on the lens, weather sealing.

A marketing ploy? I dont think so, just another series of lens.
 
So why do people highlight thier L glass in RED......:naughty:
 
The "L" on canon lenses stands for "Luxury". This means they are better built and use better quality materials (hence the added expense). It's not just a "marketing thing".
 
puddleduck said:
This might sound trite, but Nikon users know if a lens is good or not. They don't need a handy little letter to tell them ;)

Its a marketing thing - as this post sort of proves. It obviously works :)

In reality there are very few poor Nikon lenses. All the f/2.8 lenses you could infer are "Pro", variable aperture lenses are generally consumer lenses. But no grading per se.
Click to expand...

I was only asking for a mate who wanted to know, i cant stand Nikon rubbish myself ;)
 
Garry79 said:
The "L" on canon lenses stands for "Luxury". This means they are better built and use better quality materials (hence the added expense). It's not just a "marketing thing".
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Selling something as "Luxury" is absolutely a marketing thing.

Otherwise the 18-55 kit lens would be a "S" lens, and you can guess what the "S" would stand for :lol:
 
puddleduck said:
Selling something as "Luxury" is absolutely a marketing thing.

Otherwise the 18-55 kit lens would be a "S" lens, and you can guess what the "S" would stand for :lol:
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The Duck's right, there are no set criteria to be met to make a lens 'L' over another. It's merely a device to rack the percieved level of value up a notch or two. Nikon so have what they class as 'professional' lenses, and they are listed on their web site, but rather than put a meaningless letter against the name, all the letters in a Nikon lens actually mean something.
 
puddleduck said:
Selling something as "Luxury" is absolutely a marketing thing.

Otherwise the 18-55 kit lens would be a "S" lens, and you can guess what the "S" would stand for :lol:
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If you read what I said:

It's not just a "marketing thing"
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If there was no difference between the lenses then it would just be a "marketing thing" but there are, so it isn't.
 
Alright people, keep your hats on. Only asked!
 
MJ Stebbings said:
I was only asking for a mate who wanted to know, i cant stand Nikon rubbish myself ;)
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This isn't just asking. This is an invitation to yet another Canon vs Nikon argument! :clap:
 
Garry79 said:
This isn't just asking. This is an invitation to yet another Canon vs Nikon argument! :clap:
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Hahaha, Nah, its only Harmless banter! I dont care what camera people use, i joke with Marcus about stuff as he is a good mate of mine (and an usher at my wedding). I just want him to get a canon so that we can swap lenses etc.

At the end of the day, both leading manufactures are really good at what they do and produce some top brand stuff.

Mike
 
AIUI, nikon certainly does have consumer lenses and pro lenses, but I don't think it advertises which are which in the same way as Canon do with their L glass lenses. There is no special nomenclature, except perhaps that the pro zoom lenses are constant aperture, and not variable. By and large the fast/heavy/expensive stuff is pro, the rest is not, and I think that nikon expect their customers to work that out for themselves.

That said, Nikon do have an equivalent of the Red circle on L lenses. On Nikon's pro lenses (all of them I *think* although correct me if I'm wrong) they'll have a gold ring around the objective end of the lens, and it's not just a bit of gold coloured shiny plastic, but an actual gold alloy I'm told. None of the consumer grade lenses have this gold ring.

so that's how you can tell a pro lens in the field, but not just by looking at it's name. looking at it's price will probably tell you though ;)

dave
 
The "L" series is a marketing strategy, there is no argument in that. It's not actually necessary, as Canon could easily sell:

85/1.8, 85/1.4 and 85/1.2. They are all intended for different markets, i.e. consumer / semi professional and professional. People would buy accordingly, according to their personal requirements and budgetary constraints (or lack thereof!).

Appending the "L" gives these lenses a different status among the rest (hence, a marketing strategy). It has worked, people lust the L lenses, and you hear people saying "Red ring, they've got the L!". If I were a canon shooter - I'd want the L lenses, so I'm talking from a subjective perspective of course (which we all are). It's no different from appending XSI or TURBO to the model number of a car; it differentiates it from other similar products in it's class. Again, these classes are marketed (very) differently.

The vast majority of companies do this; it's doesn't need to be a Canon vs. Nikon thing (although the comparison is pretty much unavoidable since they are competitors). The fact that Nikon to not label a specific 'pro' brand is irrelevant. People know what lenses they want, whether it's branded differently or not.
 
rdh said:
It's no different from appending XSI or TURBO to the model number of a car; it differentiate it from other similar products in it's class. Again, these classes are marketed (very) differently.
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Exactly. In this example the cars are actually different; the XSI ot Turbo would out perform a standard model. Same with the lenses. So appending "L" isn't just a marketing strategy. If it was just a marketing strategy they would just paint the standard lenses white and stick an "L" on them; but they don't.
 
MJ Stebbings said:
Hahaha, Nah, its only Harmless banter! I dont care what camera people use, i joke with Marcus about stuff as he is a good mate of mine (and an usher at my wedding). I just want him to get a canon so that we can swap lenses etc.

At the end of the day, both leading manufactures are really good at what they do and produce some top brand stuff.

Mike
Click to expand...

no you dont, you just want to laugh at me for caving in on my beliefs :D
 
i always find it a bit complicated

usually the price,made of metal,heavy and f no is what i look for as a give away

so anything f1.4
a zoom constant f2.8
a big prime f4 or less/more

it would be nice if nikon used a easier identification

i always thought S stood for superior no? :suspect:
 
Garry79 said:
Exactly. In this example the cars are actually different; the XSI ot Turbo would out perform a standard model. Same with the lenses. So appending "L" isn't just a marketing strategy. If it was just a marketing strategy they would just paint the standard lenses white and stick an "L" on them; but they don't.
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Yes it is just a marketing strategy. It makes no difference to the performance of the lens whether you have it labelled 'L' or not so what other function could it possibly have? Cars are labelled GTi etc as a marketing ploy. The only benefit of having GTi labels on a car is to the owner's ego. The 'L' in Canon's range doesn't tell you anything specific, it doesn't let you know whether it has ED glass, or whether the lens has IS, it just groups a disperate group of optics into and elevated clique and thus is purely a marketing ploy.
 
ditchdigger said:
it would be nice if nikon used a easier identification

i always thought S stood for superior no? :suspect:
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Why? What benefit would it give your photography?

Take this lens: Nikon AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED. Reading that I can see that it's a servo assisted autofocus lens, it has Vibration Reduction, I know the zoom range and the maximum aperture throughout that range, the G signifies that it lacks an aperture ring and IF-ED tells me that it has internal focusing and ED glass. If Nikon then added a 'P' on the end to distinguish it as a 'pro' lens, it wouldn't tell me anything more
 
Garry79, I smell "L Lens Envy" from the Nikon camp :lol:

Look, seriously who cares. All i wanted to know was if they did have something that was used in the same way as L or EX.

They dont, so end of story, now lets all play nice and talk about bunnies!
 
Garry79 said:
Exactly. In this example the cars are actually different; the XSI ot Turbo would out perform a standard model. Same with the lenses. So appending "L" isn't just a marketing strategy. If it was just a marketing strategy they would just paint the standard lenses white and stick an "L" on them; but they don't.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's a different product, but again, it's not necessary, as this model would most likely have a different engine capacity.

You could sell cars as "Car - 1.8cc", and "Car B - 2.2cc" (which is exactly what Nikon do with their lenses, as NN has just pointed out). The 'tags' (Turbo, XSI, Quattro, M-Power) are all marketing strategies employed to target - and attract - specific consumer markets that are known to be responsive. Consumers have been unconsciously forced to think this way from years of exposure to brands and marketing campaigns.

MJ Stebbings: for the record, I'm not here for an argument, the debate is an interesting one focused around consumers and their subjective perceptions of advertising/products.
 
NorthernNikon said:
Take this lens: Nikon AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED. Reading that I can see that it's a servo assisted autofocus lens, it has Vibration Reduction, I know the zoom range and the maximum aperture throughout that range, the G signifies that it lacks an aperture ring and IF-ED tells me that it has internal focusing and ED glass. If Nikon then added a 'P' on the end to distinguish it as a 'pro' lens, it wouldn't tell me anything more
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I think perhaps a better analogy would be if Nikon added the "P" on the end and took away a lot of the other letters.

The analogous Canon lens would be the EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM. The "L" in conveys quite a lot of factual information concisely:
* It has ultra-low dispersive glass
* It doesn't have an aperture ring
* It has an ultrasonic focus motor in the lens with full-time manual over-ride
* It is supplied with a case and a hood

(In fact Canon could drop the EF and the USM in this designation because they're implied by the L.)

I'm not claiming that Canon are right to use this tactic, or that Nikon are right to eschew it. Just trying to illuminate the discussion.
 
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