| In the days of my old Nikon F, I had a few lenses | | | | what each of your lens will do , you shouldn't |
| each with a different purpose. I had my favorite | | | | concern yourself with all of this stuff. But let's |
| 105mm telephoto lens, my 43 to 86mm zoom | | | | assume you really need to know for whatever |
| lens which I often doubled with a doubling ring, and | | | | reason. |
| a few more. I couldn't rally afford a macro lens, | | | | In the old days of the 35mm with film, If you |
| so with a reverse ring by Vivitar, I was able to | | | | owned a wide angle lens, you could count on the |
| attach my telephoto lens of 105mm backwords, | | | | fact that it would deliver an end result (a photo) |
| thus allowing me to take awesome macro | | | | almost exactly how you saw it in your camera |
| pictures of flowers, close- ups of raindrops on | | | | viewer. But today, using the same lens on a digital |
| leaves etc..The raindrop shots were so close, that | | | | camera will give you a complete different result. |
| the water acted as a magnifying glass on the leaf. | | | | For example, I'm holding in my hand my wife's HP |
| Awesome! | | | | digicam with a 7-21mm zoom lens. But because |
| Understanding the true function of a lens is | | | | it's a digital, this small lens will give me a result |
| relatively simple. It all has to do with focal length | | | | compared to and up to my 105mm telephoto |
| and field of view. Whether your camera be a | | | | lens, because of the size of the sensor. Still |
| digital one with a fixed lens, or one that allows | | | | confused? Don't blame you. Bottom line is that |
| you to switch lens, most often you're using a | | | | most of you have given up on old 35mm |
| zoom lens. 'Focul length' is better defined as | | | | cameras, and only use digital anyway. And as is |
| follows; | | | | with any camera, just as it was in the 35mm era, |
| The 'focul length' simply determines how much of | | | | you still need to test in many different situations |
| a scene it will capture. A 'normal' focul length will | | | | to get any good at it. |
| capture a horizontal field of about 45 degrees for | | | | For example, I can take a sunset scene and |
| example. While a wide angle lens captures a wider | | | | within 5 minutes get a whole bunch of different |
| field, such as 90 degrees and more. Telephoto | | | | effects just by using different aperture openings. |
| lens are great for close-ups because, it captures a | | | | You don`t need a photography course to be a |
| much smaller field of view. Actually any | | | | good photographer. You just need to read up on |
| background as you focus on your main subject | | | | what all these numbers mean and do, and as you |
| will appear blurry, or out of focus, which makes | | | | experiment take notes. |
| for a really nice effect. | | | | Here's a trick I learned very early in my |
| Most people understand how a zoom lens works. | | | | photograpy years; every time you take a shot, |
| You zoom out to get more of a scene, while you | | | | make a note on the lens you used, the apeture |
| zoom in to get less of a scene. But since the | | | | opening, the scene, and the shot # you're at. In |
| advent of digital cameras, in comparison to our | | | | this way, you can generally repeat the process |
| old 35mm cameras, the relationship between focal | | | | for your favorite shoot. Anyway, if you plan on |
| length and field of view has changed somewhat | | | | entering any photo contest, as you submit your |
| because the dimension of the sensors in the | | | | entry, you usually have to inform them of the |
| cameras are now different, and much smaller. | | | | type of lens you used, the aperture opening, the |
| Confusing? Sure is! | | | | ASA/ISO rating etc., hence the importance of |
| What this means for you is that unless you're a | | | | notes when it comes to serious photography, |
| real photography nut, and really want to know | | | | digital or not. |