| Sound like a fantasy? Think again. Lens | | | | - OS stands for Optical Stabilization - the lens has |
| technology, just like camera technology, is | | | | a built in anti shake mechanism to prevent blurry |
| improving all the time. There are now a few high | | | | photos at slower shutter speeds. |
| quality lenses for your DSLR that have wide angle | | | | What all this means is that you can keep this lens |
| AND telephoto capabilities, and they have | | | | on your camera for most normal situations. |
| excellent optics, to boot. | | | | Maybe you can relate to this situation. You go to |
| The Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Zoom | | | | the zoo, one of your favorite places to visit |
| Lens is just such a lens. As you can see from the | | | | because of the wonderfully different photos you |
| numbers, it is an 18mm wide angle lens at the | | | | can take. You attach a lens to your camera so |
| short end. But it will zoom to a whopping 250mm | | | | that you can take pictures at the tiger area. It |
| at the long end. | | | | has to be a telephoto lens because you want to |
| The Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Zoom | | | | get close ups of the tigers. So there you are |
| Lens fits the walk around category perfectly. | | | | taking some great close ups of the big cats, |
| Here is an explanation of the code you see after | | | | when all of a sudden, right next to the tigers, the |
| "Sigma": | | | | elephants line up like they were a circus act. But |
| - 18-250mm is the focal length - 18mm means | | | | you can't get the picture because you don't have |
| you can take a wide shot, like a picture of the | | | | a wide enough lens on your camera. |
| landscape | | | | If you just had that Sigma 18-250, you could |
| - F3.5-6.3 is the aperture value - the lower | | | | have captured all the action without changing |
| number, 3.5, is the aperture at 18mm and 6.3 is | | | | lenses. |
| the aperture at 250mm. Aperture is how much | | | | The same thing could happen while on vacation, or |
| light the lens will let in. The smaller the number, | | | | just about anywhere. You know it has happened |
| the more light. | | | | to you more than once. |
| - DC refers to the type of glass in the lens. | | | | I am not suggesting that you throw away your |
| Dispersion Compensation - better than average | | | | specialty lenses, like the 180mm macro. But you |
| lens glass so that there is less distortion in the | | | | need one all purpose, walk around lens that you |
| photos. | | | | can rely on most of the time. |