Photography Masterclass, where we will begin our journey together to gain the knowledge and skills that will help you take control of your photography! The world of digital photography presents so many “tech” options that it can be quite confusing.
Camera Lenses
Next to the camera body, your camera lenses are the second most important part of your camera. Selecting the right lens (or lenses) is essential for getting the shots you want. Selecting a new camera lens requires time and research because you have to consider several factors; desired focal length, lens speed, compatibility with your camera, and budget.
Criteria for Selecting Camera Lenses
You need to take several factors into consideration when selecting a camera lens;
Five apertures and their most common use;
Camera Lens Types
You need to familiarize yourself with are the various types of lenses available for your camera and the various definitions. Before we go any further, we’re assuming you have or plan to purchase a digital camera the accommodates removable interchangeable lenses. There are five general categories of camera lenses;
A prime lens has a single focal length. They are smaller and lighter than other lens. The most popular focal length is 50mm, which is supposed to be a close match to the magnification of the human eye. Prime don’t zoom in and out due to their fixed focal length. But they produce sharper high-quality images than zoom lenses.
Unlike a prime lens with a fixed focal length, zoom lenses have a variable focal length that can be adjusted. Some of the most popular zoom lens focal length ranges are 24-70mm and 24-85mm.
Wide-angle zoom lenses are usually 14-24mm and 16-35mm. Telephoto zoom lenses are typically 70-200mm.
A telephoto lens has a long reach, which allows you to shoot a subject that is far away. A lens is considered telephoto if it has a focal length of at least 60mm. Telephoto lenses come in a number of focal lengths from medium telephoto (70-200mm) to super telephoto (longer than 300mm).
These lenses can be either zoom or prime lenses. Telephoto lenses make your subject appear closer to your camera and they help emphasize a blurred background.
Similar to a Prime lens, a Wide-Angle lens has a fixed focal length. These lenses have a short focal length (usually around 35mm) and a wide field of view.
Ultra-wide-angle lens are about 24mm or wider. Wide-angle lenses allow your camera to capture more of the scene than a normal lens can and are ideal for landscape, real estate, and interior photography
A macro lens is for extremely close focusing distances and are capable of taking highly detailed images of tiny microscopic sized subjects like flowers, insects, products, jewellery, coins, and wildlife. Macro lenses allow you to focus extremely close to your subject so it appears large in the viewfinder and image.
Another use for macro lenses is portraits (especially headshots and studio portraits). It is hard to beat the stunning sharpness of a macro lens.
