{"id":161112,"date":"2022-02-28T09:00:45","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T09:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/?p=161112"},"modified":"2022-08-10T11:19:14","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T10:19:14","slug":"beginners-guide-to-lens-types-and-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/improve-your-photography\/beginners-guide-to-lens-types-and-choices\/","title":{"rendered":"Beginners guide to lens types and choices"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the AP Improve Your Photography Series<\/strong> \u2013 in partnership with MPB<\/a>\u00a0– This series is designed to take you from the beginnings of photography, introduce different shooting skills and styles, and teach you how to grow as a photographer, so you can enjoy producing amazing photography (and video), to take you to the next level, whether that\u2019s making money or simply mastering your art form.<\/p>\n\"Improve\n

Each week you\u2019ll find a new article so make sure to come back to continue your journey. The start may seem basic to some photographers, but it\u2019s an important step in making sure you\u2019re comfortable with your equipment and the basics of photography, as it\u2019s part of the foundations that help build into great photographs, and once you know these, you\u2019ll be able to play with them, and understand further articles in this series.<\/p>\n\n

Beginners guide to lens types, and what to look for when choosing a lens<\/h2>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"Prime\t\t\t

Prime lens on the left, zoom lens on the right<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

The lens is the main optical device that brings the view or scene through to the camera\u2019s sensor. It can focus the view to give a sharper view of the scene in front of you, and the camera. Similar to the human eye, an auto-focus lens can be used to focus on a subject, but unlike the human eye, a zoom lens can be made to show you more of a scene, or less of a scene, letting you see distant objects as well.<\/p>\n

There are two main classes of lenses, these are prime lenses<\/strong>, and zoom lenses<\/strong>, and then beyond this there are several different types of lens, such as wide-angle, telephoto, macro and so on. We\u2019ll explain all of these in detail so you can find out which is the best one for you. Don\u2019t worry if some of the words are new to you, these will be explained at the bottom.<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\"Canon\t\t\t

Canon EF 50mm F1.8 STM prime lens<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

PRIME lens<\/h2>\n

A prime lens offers one focal length. For example a 50mm f1.8 lens offers one focal length, 50mm, and this gives one angle-of-view, and as the old saying goes, if you need to \u201czoom\u201d, then you\u2019ll have to zoom with your feet, by moving closer to your subject. Or, if you need to get more into your shot, then you’ll need to move back.<\/p>\n

ZOOM lens<\/h2>\n

A zoom lens will offer a zoom range, and a range of focal lengths, for example a 24-70mm zoom lens will let you zoom from 24mm, a wide-angle view (letting you get more in the shot), all the way to 70mm, a short telephoto view, letting you “see” things further away in more detail.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Why would I want to use a prime, if a zoom can offer more range?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A zoom lens, due to the complicated construction, often offers a slower aperture, in comparison to a prime lens. Prime lenses also tend to offer a smaller size and weight, a brighter aperture (allowing more more light to reach your cameras sensor), and due to a less complicated optical construction, can often give the best image quality possible. However, a zoom lens is handy for a wider variety of shooting situations, and is a good all-in-one solution, if you don’t want to carry additional lenses, or don’t want to risk taking the lens off the camera (for example in a dusty environment).<\/p>\n\n

Different lens types available<\/strong> –\u00a0These are some of the main lens types available, however, this does not go into detail into some of the more specialist lenses.<\/p>\n

Starting with zoom lenses:<\/h2>\n

Standard zoom lens<\/strong>\u00a0– aka \u201cthe kit lens\u201d these are designed to get you up and running with a versatile zoom range from wide to slightly telephoto. Some companies produce high-quality standard zoom lenses, and don\u2019t like them to be called kit lenses, whereas others don\u2019t offer very high quality images.<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\"Zeiss\t\t\t

Zeiss 24-70mm F4 Sony FE lens (for full-frame)<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

A standard zoom lens, such as a 24-70mm f\/2.8 lens is generally considered a good lens, as it features the same aperture, of f\/2.8, whether you\u2019re using it at 24mm or 70mm. The more budget lens, such as an 18-55mm f\/3.5-5.6 for APS-C cameras offers a slower f\/3.5 aperture at the wide-angle end of the lens, and an even slower f\/5.6 aperture at the telephoto end of the lens.<\/p>\n

Good for:<\/strong> A wide variety of situations, but often not great for close-ups or macro work, and may not have enough reach if you want to photograph distant subjects.<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\"Carl\t\t\t

Wide-angle zoom, 16-35mm lens (for full-frame)<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

Wide-angle zoom<\/strong> \u2013 a wide angle zoom lens lets you get more into the photograph, whether that\u2019s more of a landscape, or for large group photos of people, these can be particularly useful in smaller spaces, such as in real estate, or in other indoor locations.<\/p>\n

Good for:<\/strong> Landscape shots where you want to capture as much as possible, plus indoor or tight spaces.<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\"travel\t\t\t

Tamron 16-300mm F\/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro (for APS-C)<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

Super zoom lens<\/strong> \u2013 The super zoom lens attempts to cover a wide range, from wide to telephoto, often these aren\u2019t as wide-angle as a wide-angle zoom, but let you get a lot in the frame, whilst also letting you zoom into more distant subjects. They can be a good all-round lens, but due to compromises made in order to offer such a large zoom range, the image quality is often not as good as other zoom lenses.<\/p>\n

Good for:<\/strong> Travel, or situations where you know you can’t carry any additional lenses, but want more reach than a standard zoom lens.<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\"Canon\t\t\t

Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 lens for full-frame<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

Telephoto zoom lens<\/strong> \u2013 These lenses give you a longer zoom, letting you see distant objects, and with the ability to change the zoom amount, you can more carefully frame your subject.<\/p>\n

Good for:<\/strong> Wildlife, distant birds or animals, and other subjects such as sports.<\/p>\n\n

Common prime lenses:<\/h2>\n

Wide-angle prime lens<\/strong> \u2013 The typical focal length of a wide-angle lens is 28mm, and if you go as wide as 21mm, then you\u2019re entering ultra-wide-angle territory.<\/p>\n

Good for:<\/strong> The wide-angle lens is good for landscapes, and where you want to get a lot more into your shot.<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\"Wide-angle,\t\t\t

Wide-angle: 24mm equivalent, 1\/220sec at f\/1.8, ISO 50<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

Standard prime lens<\/strong> – The 50mm lens is considered to be the \u201cstandard\u201d prime lens, as it\u2019s considered as giving the same view as the human eye (although this is often debated).<\/p>\n

Good for:<\/strong> The 50mm lens is a good general lens, and is often one of the first lenses purchased after the standard zoom lens, giving a brighter aperture, making it better for low-light. It can also be used for portraits and people photography.<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\"Short\t\t\t

Telephoto: 72mm equivalent, 1\/460sec at f\/2.4, ISO 50<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

Telephoto prime lens<\/strong>\u00a0– beyond 50mm, you have \u201cshort telephoto\u201d lenses, such as an 72-85mm, beyond 300mm these are considered \u201cSuper telephoto\u201d lenses. These give excellent image quality, but it can sometimes be more difficult to frame a subject, in comparison to a telephoto zoom lens.<\/p>\n

Good for:<\/strong> Telephoto lenses let you see things that are further away, and this makes them good for portraits (around 85mm), and for wildlife at the longer end, with a 200 or 300mm lens letting you see more distant subjects in more detail.<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\"Long\t\t\t

Telephoto: 240mm equivalent, 1\/110sec at f\/4.9, ISO 50<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

Macro lens<\/strong> – designed specifically for close-up and life-size reproduction of subjects, they can be designated with 1:1 giving 1:1 reproduction of the subject. Some offer an even closer view such as 1.25:1, or more. There are a wide range of macro lenses available<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Good for:<\/strong> Macro lenses are well suited to close-up photography, such as insects, or other small wildlife, but can also be useful for other things such as product shots, and portraits.<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\"Macro\t\t\t

Macro image captured with a dedicated macro lens, the Canon RF 100mm. Canon EOS R6, 1\/1000sec at f\/11, ISO 25,600<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n

Lens mounts<\/h2>\n

Another very important thing to know is what lens mount the lens uses, as it is the part on the back of the lens that lets you attach the lens to the camera. For example, a Nikon Z 50mm lens uses a Z-mount and will only fit on Nikon Z-mount cameras, such as the Nikon Z6 \/ Z7 \/ Z9, and other Z-mount cameras from Nikon.<\/p>\n

It’s important to make sure you match your lens to your camera, making sure the lens has the same lens mount as your camera.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\"Lens\t\t\t

The Olympus lens uses a Micro Four Thirds lens mount, and the Panasonic camera also matches, with a Micro Four Thirds mount<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

There are multiple lens mounts available, multiple lenses, and multiple cameras, but a good place to start, if you don\u2019t already have a camera, is to look at what type of photography you\u2019d like to do, and see if the type of lens you need is available.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not sure what you\u2019re going to be more interested in, then the standard zoom lens is available for all camera mounts, and the majority of camera systems also have a number of prime and macro lenses available.<\/p>\n

Good to know:<\/strong> You’ll find that most lenses will say the lens mount as part of the name, for example Canon will include the lens mount in the name, such as EF (full-frame), EF-S (APS-C), or RF (for Canon’s mirrorless cameras).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Sensor size and crop ratio \/ crop factor<\/h3>\n

All previous mentions of focal length, such as 50mm, has been in reference to using these on a \u201cfull-frame\u201d camera, with a full-frame sensor, that is roughly the same size as a 35mm film frame.<\/p>\n

With some cameras that use smaller sensors such as APS-C or Micro Four Thirds, there is a crop factor that needs to be taken into consideration. For example, the most common APS-C sensor size is a 1.5x crop of full-frame, and therefore gives a 1.5x crop into the lens used on the camera.<\/p>\n