| Interested in expanding your camera kit with an | | | | Mirror Lens |
| extra lens or two? Not sure about lens design and | | | | A mirror lens is a telephoto lens but uses a |
| terminology associated with SLR lenses? Here is | | | | combination of lenses and mirrors to achieve its |
| some information that may help in making that | | | | telephoto capability. The main difference between |
| important decision. Good lenses are expensive and | | | | conventional telephotos is its size, generally a lot |
| you need to get the optimum value for your | | | | shorter. This is great for handling and a cheaper |
| purchase. | | | | alternative. The downside is it has a fixed |
| Types of Lenses | | | | aperture and provides less resolution. |
| There are many types of lenses on the market | | | | Shift Lens |
| today, too many to cover in detail here, but here | | | | This lens is also known as a perspective |
| are the most common types you will come | | | | correction lens, and has a rising and falling front |
| across in your pursuit. | | | | panel that corrects perspective distortion and |
| Prime or Zoom? | | | | converging lines. These are mostly used in |
| The first consideration is to decide whether you | | | | architectural photography. |
| want a zoom lens or a prime lens. A zoom lens | | | | Soft Focus Lens |
| has variable focal length so it can function as | | | | These lenses are designed for different formats, |
| several lenses in one package. A prime lens is | | | | are not that common and so are very expensive. |
| fixed in focal length, so it is restricted to | | | | The lens provides varying degrees of softness |
| photography that is related to its size. | | | | and is mainly used in fashion and portrait |
| Photographers will still argue that a prime lens is | | | | photography. |
| always going to achieve a better result than a | | | | Macro Lens |
| zoom. This is an optically sound argument; | | | | Macro lenses are generally prime lenses and come |
| however, there have been some serious | | | | in various focal lengths (not to be confused with |
| advances in optical technology over the past | | | | the macro setting that most lenses come with). |
| decades and the difference is now minimal. | | | | Macro lenses are for the serious macro |
| Normal Lens | | | | photography as they are very expensive. Macro |
| This lens is a prime and has a fixed focal length of | | | | lenses are for extreme close-ups at a ratio of 1:1, |
| 50 or 55mm. It is called a normal or standard lens | | | | 2:1 or larger. |
| as it provides a result the same as our normal | | | | Teleconverters |
| viewing perspective. It is considered to be an all | | | | These lenses provide a cheap and simple way to |
| purpose lens and usually the first choice if | | | | extend the range of focal lengths without having |
| purchasing a prime. | | | | to buy more lenses. These are fitted between |
| Zoom Lens | | | | the lens mount and the lens and increase the |
| A zoom lens covers a variable focal length, the | | | | magnifying power of the original lens. A typical |
| most popular being the 35 to 70mm zoom. This | | | | ratio is 2x and 3x converting a 50mm lens to |
| lens will give the same coverage as several prime | | | | 100mm and 150mm lens respectively. |
| lenses over this range. | | | | These are a few ways to increase the capabilities |
| Telephoto Lens | | | | of your camera that enables you to explore a |
| A telephoto is any prime lens with a focal length | | | | greater variety of photographic subjects. Some |
| longer than 50mm. Lenses greater than 300mm | | | | are expensive, but others such as described here |
| are called super telephotos; these are generally in | | | | are not. There are some cheap alternatives |
| the 300, 500 and 1,000mm range. The greater | | | | available to help you take a further step in your |
| the telephoto focal range, the greater the price | | | | photography. |
| tag. | | | | |