Photography - Types of DSLR Lens

Photography -  Types of DSLR Lens

Photography is all about capturing light on a photographic emulsion or electronic sensor. And as such the lens and film or sensor, are the most important components affecting image quality.

Prime vs. Zoom

Prime (fixed) focal have the advantage of being fast (bright) and very high quality by virtue of the fact that they can be designed just for that focal length. A zoom lens allows a choice from a continuous range of focal lengths. They are useful where you require a range of focal lengths but want the convenience of a single lens, whether for weight (only one lens), always being ready to take the picture or shooting in a dusty environment and you want to keep debris entering the camera to a minimum (you also need to think about how to change films).

This all sounds great but there are drawbacks. Zooms are slower than primes (smaller minimum aperture) and can thus make hand holding and focusing (whether manual or auto) problematic. Also due to their complexity zoom lenses suffer from more aberrations than primes. Lenses from the major camera makers tend to be very good. Third party zooms vary considerably. Like everything else, you tend to get what you pay for.

Zooming is more than just getting closer. It alters the focal length and affects the perspective and depth of field of the picture.

 

Standard Lenses (~50mm)

A standard lens is the usual lens supplied with an SLR. They are good general purpose lenses having an angle of view close to the human eye. They are sharp, compact and lightweight.

Small “standard” zooms have a range of typically 35-70mm (2x), 28-85mm (3x) or 24-105mm (4x). These zooms often replace the 50mm lens.

A typical compact has a zoom lens with a focal range of 35-100mm.

  Wide angle Lenses (<50mm)

The natural choice for landscapes, sweeping panoramas and other outdoor scenes, group shots and generally anything requiring strong perspective. In some situations a wide angle might be the only way to capture the entire scene without excluding an important element in the frame. A characteristic of wide angle lenses is a deep depth of field making constant refocusing less critical. Good when you’re in a hurry or the subject is moving fast such as photojournalism.

Medium Telephoto Lenses (85-135mm)

These lenses are perfect for portraits. Compared to a 50mm lens they isolate the subject from the background more and the increased focal length slightly flattens the image and gives more a natural and flattering perspective. Popular for candid photography.

Long Telephoto Lenses (>135mm)

Used for sports, nature or other types of documentary style photography that requires you to be close to the action but cannot be close physically be it dangerous or timid. Like portrait lenses they are great for picking out the subject from the background.

Kit Lenses – These days the lens that is offered as a package with the DSLR is generally called the ‘kit lens’. It is generally an entry level quality zoom lens. They are usually a fairly general purpose lens designed for everyday shooting. My personal preference is always to buy the DSLR as a body only and to upgrade the lens from the kit lens as they are generally at a lower to medium end of the spectrum of lenses.
 

Fish-eye lenses bend the lines in a photo around the center. Ultraviolet lenses are used for scientific applications. The Lensbaby company makes three lenses (Composer, Muse and Control Freak) that allow for selective focus. This technique is especially effective in close-ups, because the photographer can blur the edges of a photo right up to the subject.

Macro Lenses – these lenses are specifically designed for shooting objects up close. Many lenses and cameras come with a ‘macro’ setting but true macro lenses will produce images that are life size and that enable you to get in incredibly close from the subject you’re shooting.