Choice of Lenses

me — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:05:41 +0000

Interchangeability of lenses opens up a vast array of options and is probably the biggest single factor in improving photographic creativity. Having chosen a camera and standard lens, ft is advisable to consider purchasing two other lenses at the same time or very shortly after. These would probably be a wide angle lens in the focal range of 28—35 mm, and a telephoto lens in the 85—135 mm range.

Wide Angle Lenses

A wide angle lens gives a wider angle of view, so more of the area in front of the camera will appear in the shot. Like any piece of equipment there are disadvantages as well as benefits; the most common in the case of the wide angle lens occurs in landscape photography where the foreground may lack interest so the eye is not naturally led to the central point of the picture.

On the other hand, a wide angle lens allows subjects to be photographed much closer to the lens than usual, while at the same time keeping the background in focus. In some cases this effect can greatly enhance a composition.

Telephoto Lenses

A medium telephoto lens has many advantages. As well as bringing distant objects closer, it is a superb lens for portraits. It has definite advantages over a wide angle lens in this situation as, when used straight onto someone’s face, a wide angle lens will add an unflattering, albeit at times amusing, bulbous quality. A telephoto lens in the region of 100 mm enables the photographer to stand some distance away, making the subject more relaxed and allowing an unblocked light source. The lens will very slightly compress the image, making for a far more pleasing portrait. The depth of field will be less, so the background can be put out of focus and a part of the subject’s face, such as the eyes, can be highlighted.

Zoom Lenses

Many photographers find these lenses very convenient; they give the benefit of being adjustable to an infinite variety of focal lengths which can make composition of pictures much easier. Although in a technical sense a zoom lens will not produce the same quality as a prime lens of a given focal length, under most conditions the difference will be apparent only to an eagle eye.

Depending on the type of photography that is of interest, wide angle and telephoto lenses that are of a very extreme range have limited applications and can easily be underused; their purchase should therefore be considered very seriously.

Shift or Perspective Control Lens

The shift or perspective control lens allows photography of a subject that is very tall, without the problem of converging verticals; this occurs when the sides of the subject taper toward the top of the picture. The conventional rule for preventing this from happening is to ensure that the film plane is parallel to the vertical plane of the subject and then all vertical lines will remain straight in the final shot. With a fixed lens the top of a very tall subject is usually cut off, but with a shift lens the axis can be altered, allowing the camera to remain straight while the lens is moved upwards: the top of the building will then come into view.

Using Wide Angle Lenses

me — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:22:32 +0000

Additional lenses are the accessories that will probably do the most to improve your photography. A wide angle lens offers you a completely different perspective on a traditional view. Not only will its wider angle of view get more into the picture, but it also has a greater depth of field than a normal or telephoto lens, so that more of the shot will be sharp.
You can have an object relatively close to the lens and still keep the background in focus. If the object is close enough it will look much larger in proportion to the rest of the picture than it really is. With extreme wide angle lenses, distortion can be a problem and you should not photograph people from too close in, to avoid unflattering results. For instance, a 21 mm lens pointed directly at someone’s face will make the nose look enormous, the cheeks puffed out, and the ears as if they have moved round towards the back of their head. This might be fun at first, but the novelty will soon wear off and it will be time to turn to more serious applications.

Using Telephoto lenses

Telephoto lenses do much more than just bring distant objects closer. They can greatly enhance general composition. Their shallow depth of field can blur the background in a portrait to isolate and emphasize the subject. In contrast to wide angle lenses, going in close to people has a positively flattering effect. This is because a telephoto lens slightly compresses the picture so that prominent features such as the nose and ears stay in proportion. Careful use of a telephoto lens can also help to cut out unwanted foreground clutter, allowing you to get to the heart of the picture.

Exposure and Aperture Settings

Some compensation has to be made in settings when using a telephoto lens, especially a long one. This is because the magnifying effect of the lens spreads the available light out more thinly, and the longer the lens the greater the effect. With cameras that have TTL metering this is no problem, but a manual camera will have to be adjusted.
Telephoto lenses also tend to have smaller apertures than normal or wide angle lenses, so that exposure must be longer. There are exceptions: some of the latest telephoto lenses have apertures as big as f2.8, but these lenses are very expensive, and few amateur photographers will consider that their usefulness justifies the price. If you need a fast long lens for a particular shot it would be more sensible to hire one

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