| Your lens is an essential element to good | | | | What does this mean for you? It means that you |
| photographs. It's not just your camera. People | | | | won't get as wide angle on a digital camera as |
| spend thousands of dollars on a good camera and | | | | you would on a film camera using the same lens. |
| neglect the lens. | | | | A 35mm lens which gives a medium wide angle |
| Change that around! Make sure you buy a good | | | | on a film camera acts as a traditional lens on a |
| camera lens when purchasing a camera. Buy a | | | | digital camera |
| good camera as well, but don't neglect a good | | | | This is a complex subject, so I can't go into too |
| camera lens. | | | | much detail here. If you need more help, the best |
| Why? Your camera is just the 'holder' for the | | | | person to speak to would be your local camera |
| photograph. The lens is what your camera sees all | | | | store's resident expert. |
| your shots through. A good lens is essential to | | | | Lens Speed |
| clear and sharp photos. | | | | The 'speed' of a digital camera lens also defines a |
| With most compact digital cameras, you can't | | | | lens. The speed is determined in f-stops and is |
| change the lens. So in that case, don't just buy a | | | | similar to the f-stop aperture setting on your |
| good camera, ensure it also has a good lens. | | | | camera. Faster lenses are more expensive and |
| Avoid a plastic digital camera lens because it | | | | usually heavier. |
| doesn't have the clarity of a glass lens. | | | | Focusing Distance |
| What model of lens? | | | | This is the minimum distance from the camera |
| Stick with camera lenses from well known | | | | lens that a subject must be to be in focus. Don't |
| manufacturers like Nikon, Canon and Pentax. | | | | worry about getting a camera with a close |
| Ensure you purchase a lens that works with your | | | | focusing distance. Concentrate on a telephoto |
| camera too. A Nikon camera lens usually won't | | | | instead. |
| work well with a Canon camera. | | | | More Advanced Features |
| There are specialty lens manufacturers like Carl | | | | More expensive lenses have more advanced |
| Zeiss, Leica and Leupold. If you're a beginner, don't | | | | features. |
| worry about these lenses until you are more | | | | - Vibration Reduction. A feature called 'vibration |
| advanced as they come with very high prices and | | | | reduction' keeps images sharper when shooting in |
| it's hard to justify the price for the small increase | | | | low light. They help to counter any vibration in the |
| in quality. | | | | camera. Try to find a digital camera lens with this |
| Types of Camera Lens | | | | feature. |
| The most common lenses are : Wide Angle, | | | | - USM USM stands for Ultrasonic Motor. This |
| Normal and Telephoto. The type of lens is | | | | feature of Canon lenses gives you a high speed |
| determined by the Focal Length of the lens. See | | | | auto focus but the main benefit is the 'motor' is |
| below. A Zoom Lens is simply a lens that can | | | | almost silent, so you don't disturb people around |
| change Focal Length from a Wide Angle to a | | | | you when your camera is focussing. |
| Telephoto (or somewhere inbetween). | | | | - Filter Thread. When purchasing a half-decent |
| There are a number of things to look for when | | | | lens, it should have a filter thread. This is a thread |
| purchasing a camera lens. | | | | that allows you to screw on a filter (such as a |
| Lens Focal Length | | | | polariser) to help when photographing difficult |
| The Focal Length of a lens determines the | | | | situations. Even if you don't need filters right now. |
| amount of magnification and angle of vuew the | | | | it's handy to purchase a lens with a thread so you |
| lens can see. The Focal Length is measured in | | | | can add a filter later. |
| mm. It's the Focal Length that determines if the | | | | You get what you pay for |
| lens is a: | | | | Generally the more expensive the lens, the better |
| - Wide Angle; small magnification, wide angle of | | | | it is. More expensive lenses usually have a higher |
| view. 20mm to 35mm | | | | number of glass elements in the lens, which also |
| - Traditional, or Normal; 50mm | | | | makes them heavier. |
| - Telephoto; high magnification, narrow angle of | | | | Final Notes |
| view; 105mm to 300mm. | | | | While it is important to choose good quality |
| - Zoom; A Zoom lens can change it's focal length | | | | camera lens, for beginners it isn't as important as |
| to zoom in. A Zoom lens might have a Focal | | | | good composition. Don't fall into the trap of |
| Length of between 50mm and 150mm. | | | | thinking you can only take a great picture with an |
| Some lenses are interchangeable between film | | | | expensive top-of-the-line lens. A badly composed |
| cameras and digital cameras, but you need to be | | | | picture won't look great with a great camera lens. |
| aware that the effective focal length CHANGES | | | | I don't mean to discount the importance of a |
| between film and digital. The focal lengths I | | | | good quality lens. A good rule is to only add to |
| describe above are for FILM cameras and need | | | | your lens collection only when you have a specific |
| to be multiplied by 1.6 to get the effective focal | | | | need for a particular digital camera lens. |
| length on a digital camera. So using a film 35mm | | | | Do your research and your homework first, and |
| lens on a digital camera has an effective focal | | | | find the lens that suits both you and your camera. |
| length of 56mm. | | | | |