In this video, I want to talk to you about lenses and some of the things you
might need to consider before buying a lens. Now lenses are obviously an
essential piece of photographic equipment but with so many options
available it can be difficult to know what it all means and how to choose the
right one so I'm going to run through a few of the points that I can help you to
choose the right lens for you and your needs. Put simply, lenses are pieces of
glass that have been shaped and polished to magnify the light so that they're
usable optical instruments. Now they come in a variety of shapes and sizes with a
number of different features which I'll look at in more detail after. When
looking at which lens is best for you it's worth looking at these features and
considering which are most relevant to you and your photography needs. Now
whether you're shooting food or fashion, you really want the right lens for the
job so it's important to understand the differences between things like prime
lenses and zoom lenses, as well as the various focal lengths and what's best
suited. First of all let's look at prime lenses and zoom lenses. Now prime lenses
are lenses that feature a fixed focal length. Now they're available in a range
of different focal lengths and prime lenses are known for delivering high
quality images they also generally offer much wider apertures compared to zoom
lenses. Size-wise, prime lenses tend to be smaller than zoom lenses which can be a
definite advantage if you're wanting to travel light. Now with less moving parts
prime lenses are also often cheaper than zoom lenses. Further advantages of using
a prime lens is that it encourages you to explore your scene more by moving
around, being restricted to just one focal length means you have to move
around to find the best composition rather than just experimenting with
different focal lengths by zooming. However, you're also limited with prime
lenses, having just one focal length means you may need several different
lenses to cover all your needs which can quickly add up to more in weight
and in cost. Zoom lenses are powerful tools that cover a variety of needs.
Whether you're shooting landscapes or sport, zoom lenses offer a convenient
solution by providing a variety of different focal lengths in one lens. Now,
depending on the range, you could use one lens for anything from landscape to
portraiture. Flexibility is the biggest advantage of zoom lenses, the ability to
zoom reduces the need for multiple prime lenses, instead one lens, one zoom lens,
can serve a variety of purposes, however, you may find yourself sacrificing
quality and cost for convenience. Zoom lenses generally fall within the higher
price bracket yet they fail to deliver the quality associated with the very
best prime lenses, they can also be quite big and bulky and don't always offer the
wider apertures that prime lenses do. Now as you probably already know, lenses come
in a variety of different focal lengths and those focal lengths relate to the
angle of view that the lens can record. So let's take a look at this graphic
which gives a good example of a variety of different lens categories. Starting at
the widest angle we've got fisheye. Fisheye lenses basically record a 180
degree field of view but fisheye lenses have a tendency to distort the content
of the image. Moving up from the fisheye to maybe 14mm we go to ultra
wide-angle lenses and this can range from 14mm up to about 24mm
and these lenses also record a great angle of view into the image but with
less distortion than a fisheye lens. Now moving up from ultra wide-angle we have
wide-angle. This ranges from 24mm up to about 35mm and
you can see that angle of view starting to decrease. Standard lenses are often
focal length of around 50mm, moving up from standard we have short
telephoto 85mm to a 100mm would be considered short
telephoto lenses and the 85mm lens is
particularly popular for portrait photography because it's quite
flattering in the perspective that it offers. Moving up there, we go to
telephoto so anything from a 135mm and up to 200mm
maybe 250mm and then from there we're into super-telephoto, that's in the
realms of 250mm all the way up to 600mm
and beyond and those are the lenses that are used often by wildlife and sports
photographers for closing in and zooming right in on an image. The key thing to
think about when you're thinking about lenses is the angle of view because
essentially what's happening is that the angle of view is just becoming narrower
and narrower which is essentially increasing the magnification of the
subject that's recorded. Now at this point it's also worth mentioning about
the sensor type, or the sensor size because we have different size sensors
for cameras such as crop sensors, full-frame 35mm, or medium
format sensors and the way our focal lengths work, they vary in relationship
to sensor sizes. So an 80mm lens on a full-frame 35mm camera
will not give the same angle of view as an 80mm on a medium format
camera or on a crop-sensor camera. So the manufacturers make lenses they're also
suit the equivalent angle of view for different camera formats. Now before
buying any lens you should find out your camera's crop factor and use it to
calculate the lenses' effective focal length. For example a 50mm lens
will have an effective focal length of around 75mm when used on a
camera with a 1.5 crop factor. Now although the focal length remains the
same the angle of view is reduced by that smaller sensor now I discussed the
different sensor types in my cameras by a guide video which you can find on the
blog here at KarlTaylorEducation.com. The next important thing to consider
with lenses is the aperture, or at least the maximum
aperture that is achievable on that lens. The aperture is what determines how much
light can be captured through the lens and allow that light to be recorded on
the sensor it obviously also controls something called depth of field and how
much we can blur the background so if you often find yourself working in
low-light a lens with a wider maximum aperture may be a better choice for you.
Having a wide aperture will allow you to use faster shutter speeds when
photographing handheld or fast-moving subjects lenses with wider apertures
also allow you to increase the bouquet, that's the aesthetic quality of the
out-of-focus area behind your main subject when you're using shallow depth
of field. Image stabilization is another important feature on many lenses, it's
designed to reduce blur and camera shake in our images. Image stabilization can be
particularly useful feature when working handheld or in low-light conditions.
While it's a common feature on the newer model lenses it's worth checking to see
if this feature is available on older model lenses, especially if you're buying
second hand. Image stabilization is indicated differently by each of the
camera manufacturers for example with Canon it's known as IS, with Nikon it's
VR and with Sigma it's OS and with Tamron it's VC for vibration control. So how do
you choose the right lens for you? Well it's worth taking the time to think
about the factors that I've mentioned already, what you'll be using the lens
for is important. Does your lens require a zoom or is
image stabilization important, or would you be better with a prime lens with a
wider aperture. Think about what you'll be photographing, will you be focusing
primarily on portraits or wildlife or product photography and start to think
about the focal lengths that are most applicable to those genres.
Now remember, lenses are an important piece of your kit so it's worth taking
the time to think about those requirements carefully, read reviews and
if possible even rent the lens before you buy it. Now to help give you an idea
of what lenses are best for different genres of photography,
these are some of my most commonly used lenses: So for portrait photography I
generally use my Hasselblad 80mm F 2.8 or my 100mm F
2.2 Now the 80mm lens on the Hasselblad is equivalent to 60mm
in a 35mm format and my 100mm lens on the medium format
Hassleblad is equivalent to about 73mm in the 35mm format. For
fashion photography, I use the Hasselblad 35mm lens for my wider angle
shots which would be equivalent to about 26mm in the 35mm format but
I also use the same 80mm lens and the 100mm lens too. For my
product photography, I often use the 80mm lens which is equivalent to
60mm in 35mm format and I use the 100mm lens equivalent
to around 73mm in the 35mm format and I use those lenses often with
extension tubes so that I can focus the lens closer to my subject. For landscape
photography I tend to use my 28mm lens which would be about 21mm
lens on a 35mm format camera and I also use a 35mm
lens which would be equivalent to about a 26mm lens on a 35mm format.
Now if you're thinking about buying second hand lenses it's certainly worth
investing in the best lens you can afford but if you're on that limited
budget then second hand can be a good option for you and I cover this in much
more detail in one of our other videos on YouTube
but you can find that video in the blog post here on KarlTaylorEducation.comm
Now when we're looking at second hand lenses some of the things I highlight in
that video but I'll mention now as well are things to be careful for. Look for
scratches and dents that may indicate the lens has been mistreated or
mishandled check for mould or any shaking or vibration that might indicate
loose elements inside the lens barrel and see if the aperture blades are
working correctly and not sticking. When you're deciding on
which camera lenses best for you it is worth taking your time, take the time to
consider the points I've mentioned above and if you're struggling to find
something to fit your budget take some time to maybe save a little bit more.
Buying a camera is a big investment but buying a collection of lenses will
probably cost you more than your camera and they'll be with you for longer
because you're going to upgrade your camera further down the line this is why
it's really important to consider your lenses carefully before you make those decisions.
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