| Have a nice, shiny SLR? Happy that you now | | | | The second set of numbers represent the |
| have the ability to change lenses whenever you | | | | "speed" of these, which basically means how |
| want? Have no clue what kind of lens you should | | | | much light the lens lets in. In photography, the |
| get? | | | | more light, the better. This is what the "f" number |
| Welcome to the typical plight of the first time | | | | means, and the lower it is, the better. For |
| SLR purchaser. | | | | example, a 18-70 f4 lens is better than a 18-70 |
| Unless you're a fairly serious hobbyist (in which | | | | f5.6 lens. Sometimes, you'll see two numbers, like |
| was you can probably stop reading this article), | | | | "f4-5.6," which means that the speed gets slower |
| you might be a little baffled at all your lens options | | | | as you zoom out. This is perfectly normal, but its |
| as an SLR owner. You're probably asking yourself | | | | something to be aware of. |
| which types of lenses you need, and what all | | | | So, which lenses should you buy? Well, the easy |
| those crazy letters and numbers in front of the | | | | answer is to buy something with a huge range, |
| name mean. How is a poor consumer to choose? | | | | like 18-300, and be done with it. However, a |
| Let me make it simple for you. I'm not going to | | | | general rule of thumb is that the longer the zoom |
| give you a complete course in everything you | | | | range is, the poorer the image quality. However, |
| need to know about camera lenses, but hopefully | | | | many of these lenses are a lot better than they |
| after this, you have some idea of that you want | | | | used to be, and for many casual photographers, |
| to buy. First of all, let me state that unless you | | | | the image quality trade off is worth the |
| have a good reason to choose otherwise, you'll | | | | convenience. |
| want a zoom lens. As you probably know, a | | | | If you want better lenses, try to get a wide angle |
| zoom lens allows you to change the magnification | | | | zoom to cover the wide angle ranges, and a |
| of your lens (we'll start calling it by its proper | | | | telephoto zoom for when you really need to get |
| name, the "focal length," from now on. These are | | | | up close and personal. Buying first party lenses |
| extremely convenient, and very high quality these | | | | (i.e., Canon lenses for Canon cameras) will almost |
| days, so there really is no reason to choose a | | | | always get you better quality than third party |
| fixed focal length, or "prime" lens. | | | | lenses, though you'll pay more. Also, be sure to |
| So, the first thing you'll notice when shopping for | | | | check up on reviews for a lens before you |
| zoom lenses are the focal lengths. Focal lengths | | | | purchase, it will make for a happier decision. |
| for zoom lenses are designated using the number | | | | I hope this has helped take some of the mystery |
| hyphen number system, such as 18-70. These | | | | out of shopping for a lens for your SLR. |
| numbers represent the focal length in millimeters, | | | | Remember, its not the camera, the lens, or any |
| and the larger the number, the more "zoomed in" | | | | other piece of gear that makes your pictures |
| your picture appears. Assuming you're using a | | | | great. Its you, the person behind the camera. So |
| digital SLR, this particular example would zoom | | | | learn how to take better pictures, get a solid set |
| from a moderately wide angle view (28mm) to a | | | | of lenses, and you'll be on your way to becoming |
| moderately close up view (70mm). This would be | | | | a great photographer. |
| a good, everyday lens to carry around. | | | | |