Photography can be an extremely fun and rewarding hobby, but camera lenses can often be quite expensive. This is especially true of highly specialized lenses. Therefore, knowing what your choices are before you go shopping can help you narrow down the particular lens that you need and can prevent you from accidentally duplicating the ones that you already own.
There is a large difference between the popular point and shoot camera which has a fixed lens and a single lens reflex or SLR camera. This second type of camera is much more expensive because it has high performance features intended for a serious photographer. With any lens, the image is formed when light is allowed in through the end of the lens. That light then either strikes a digital sensor or a film plane. There are many excellent film based SLR models on the market but these are rapidly being overtaken by digital cameras.
Your first choice of lens should be one with a focal length which can range between thirty five and seventy millimeters. Keep in mind that this measurement is for the standard film based camera and digital cameras may have focal lengths which differ from this measurement.
Why this lens? Because it allows you to get pictures which include a substantial amount of background and surrounding scenery. The image is reproduced faithfully with very little distortion. This is important if you are taking pictures of friends and family or are just shooting general scenery. The range of light that you can shoot in is also much more extensive than it may be with other focal lengths.
If you are shooting sports or taking pictures of birds or wildlife, you will need a different type of lens. Often, people who are shooting these things use a lens that has a longer focal length. Often, photographers will choose a focal length of between 150 and 300mm or more. This allows them to get close up images of the items they are trying to shoot.
You will find that because the focal length is so long, the picture you get is going to be limited to what you were pointing the camera at and not much else. Think of looking through your camera like looking through a cardboard tube. The shorter the tube, the more you can see through the end. The longer the tube, the more focused the image is.
If you want to shoot images of things like buildings you may want a wide angle lens. Buildings may call for a very small focal length and landscapes can have a longer focal length. This is because you want to get a lot of the scenery in but not get a lot of distortion. The balance between perspective and the amount of an image you can capture with a lens has been a bit of a balancing act for many years.
Once you start collecting camera lenses you may find it difficult to stop. However, despite the fun things you can do with your collection you will often find that there is one to which you return time and time again.
There is a large difference between the popular point and shoot camera which has a fixed lens and a single lens reflex or SLR camera. This second type of camera is much more expensive because it has high performance features intended for a serious photographer. With any lens, the image is formed when light is allowed in through the end of the lens. That light then either strikes a digital sensor or a film plane. There are many excellent film based SLR models on the market but these are rapidly being overtaken by digital cameras.
Your first choice of lens should be one with a focal length which can range between thirty five and seventy millimeters. Keep in mind that this measurement is for the standard film based camera and digital cameras may have focal lengths which differ from this measurement.
Why this lens? Because it allows you to get pictures which include a substantial amount of background and surrounding scenery. The image is reproduced faithfully with very little distortion. This is important if you are taking pictures of friends and family or are just shooting general scenery. The range of light that you can shoot in is also much more extensive than it may be with other focal lengths.
If you are shooting sports or taking pictures of birds or wildlife, you will need a different type of lens. Often, people who are shooting these things use a lens that has a longer focal length. Often, photographers will choose a focal length of between 150 and 300mm or more. This allows them to get close up images of the items they are trying to shoot.
You will find that because the focal length is so long, the picture you get is going to be limited to what you were pointing the camera at and not much else. Think of looking through your camera like looking through a cardboard tube. The shorter the tube, the more you can see through the end. The longer the tube, the more focused the image is.
If you want to shoot images of things like buildings you may want a wide angle lens. Buildings may call for a very small focal length and landscapes can have a longer focal length. This is because you want to get a lot of the scenery in but not get a lot of distortion. The balance between perspective and the amount of an image you can capture with a lens has been a bit of a balancing act for many years.
Once you start collecting camera lenses you may find it difficult to stop. However, despite the fun things you can do with your collection you will often find that there is one to which you return time and time again.
About the Author:
For the beginning photographer with a point and shoot camera, the choice of camera lenses is often not an issue. This is because the average digital or film camera does not allow the photographer to change the camera lense.
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