Photography Lessons: The Beginner’s Guide to Camera Lenses
When we talk about digital photography we think about stunning photos full of color, emotions and art. When professionals talk about photography, they talk about ISO, image noise, megapixels shot per second speed etc. Professional photographers are not just modern day artists, they are real tech nerds. Every photographer will tell you that every part of the equipment matters, but they will also tell you that the camera and the lenses are the essentials. Now, I don’t think we’ll need any further explanation on why the camera is important, but we’ll definitely talk about the significance of camera lenses.
If you’re an amateur with a big desire to become a professional photographer, take this post as an introduction to the essentials of photography. The most simplified definition of the lenses is that they are your camera’s eyeball because the film and the image sensor can only record what comes through the lens. Every camera lens has two main attributes: f stop and focal length. The f stop determines how wide the aperture can open and the focal length determines how close or how wide you can get with the lens. But it’s not just that. There are many types of lenses on the market. The normal lens is the one with a perspective that has the perspective of the human eye. That’s the standard, essential lens that every beginner in photography needs and if you don’t have it, stop right there and look for some camera lenses for sale and buy the cheapest you can get, because you’re still learning the basics so you don’t need an expensive device just yet.
Once you get to know your normal lens, you can start learning the secrets of the wide-angle lens. These lenses have a focal length that’s way shorter than the focal length of a normal lens, so they are perfect for panoramic photography for example. The zoom lenses on the other hand are the ones you can adjust the focal length on and zoom in and out so you can shoot a lot of things with one single lens. There are many types of camera lenses out there, it all depends on what you are looking for in photography. Portrait photographers for example normally choose the shooting prime lenses, or commonly known as “the lenses that do not zoom”. They fall within the 85-200 mm range, they have very fast f stops, focus pretty fast and are one of the sharpest lenses available on the market.
Good lenses will allow to pass enough light through them and that way they will produce properly illuminated and sharply defined images. But of course, every photographer has their own favorite type of lens, so we can’t really be speaking generally when it comes to these devices. However, all of them agree that sharp lenses that are very fast are really good and are a must for every photographer’s professional kit. That’s because a fast lens has a very wide maximum opening and that allows more light to pass through the lens, therefore it offers the photographer to use faster shutter speeds or to shoot in dimmer light.
Before you fill up your shopping cart with camera lenses for sale, think about what kind of photographer you want to be. Do you like portrait or do you prefer landscape photography? Are you maybe a traveler or a family person who wants to freeze every moment of your kid’s life with an image? Depending on your needs and desires, you’ll find out what lens is best for you. Buying new lenses doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune, especially not for starters. But remember, lenses can often last way longer than your camera because they will continue to work without a problem on the next generation of cameras.
