All About Lenses

Standard Lens - A very basic lens, it's similar to perspective of the human eye, therefore it will capture an image the way that our eyes typically see it. Pros: It has a wide aperture and therefore shoots in dark conditions very well Cons: It has a fixed view, meaning it can’t zoom. They typically have a focal length of 50mm

Macro Lens - Typically used to photograph very small things; insects, individual flowers, small objects.

Pros: The construction of the lens makes it so that there is especially good contrast and a sharp image. 

Cons: It isn’t specifically designed to take photos of anything but close up objects. 

Telephoto Lens - a zoom lens that can magnify much more than a regular 

Pros: They can photograph things very far away while still maintaining resolution integrity.  
        Cons: They’re larger and heavier than typical lenses. 

Wide angle lens - A lens designed to be able to photograph a very wide subject. Think “wide screen” vs. “full screen” 

Pros: You can capture a lot within your frame, more than a typical lens would allow. Additionally, they can purposefully distort the image when it’s being captured if you start to use very wide angle lenses like 

        “fisheye” lenses. This can also be a con.

Cons: They don’t have much zoom capability.

Fisheye Lens: A lens with a VERY wide angle, sometimes up to 180 degrees - these are so wide that they distort the actuality of the image, which can be desirable or not. They’re sometimes used for photographing sports or architecture, giving a very distinct stylistic feel.
        Cons: Many times you can see the edge of the lens within your photo 

Tilt/Shift Lens - A lens where you can change the perspective of your shot in the camera, instead of in post editing. When taking a photo of a building, you can correct it so that you don’t see the perspective change from your position below the building. You can keep the actual straight lines of architecture in real life, all within your camera.

Difference between Zoom and Prime
       Zoom Lens: A lens without a determined focal length, meaning it can zoom in and out

       Prime Lens: A lens with a determined focal length, meaning it can’t zoom in and out

Additionally, there are other lenses called “specialist lenses” which have specific functions to the condition they’re being used in, such as soft focus or infrared lenses! 

Focal Lengths:

Focal length is related to the distance to the principal point of focal point, usually measured in mm. The mm does not relate to the actual size of the length of the lens, rather it is the calculation of an optical distance from the point where the light rays converge to form a sharp image of the object to the digital sensor. A shorter focal length wider angle of view and a lower magnification. You can see some examples of the focal distance in the images below.

Crop Factor:

35 mm Camera or " Full Frame" has been an industry standard. Due to the manufacturing of cameras and the popularity on the rise, there are many cameras which have been made that carry a variety of image sensor sizes. This causes image cropping. If compared, taking a photo from the same scene using a full frame camera and a camera that has a smaller image sensor but using the same size lens you will find the image of the second camera to be a smaller area of the scene. This is best shown through the images below.

Angle of view: Another thing to consider when looking at the focal length and crop factor is to consider how this affects the angle of view or "field of view." This viewing angle is measured in degrees and changes as your lens changes. The more angular your lens is the more of the scene you can capture. The more you zoom the less you will capture. Consider these common focal lengths of both full frame cameras and crop sensor cameras and how the angle of view changes.

Full Frame:

-28mm lens = 74 degree angle

-35mm lens = 62 degree angle

-50mm lens = 46 degree angle

-85mm lens = 28.5 degree angle

-135mm lens = 18 degree angle

-250mm lens = 13.7 degree angle

Aps-C/Crop Sensor:

-18mm lens = 74 degree angle

-23.5 mm lens = 62 degree angle

-35mm lens = 46 degree angle

-55mm lens = 28.5 degree angle

-90mm lens = 18 degree angle

-120mm lens = 13.7 degree angle

(This is a rounded example)

(This continues as the lens focal length goes up your field of view and what you can capture goes down)

Works Cited: http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/lenses

http://cow.mooh.org/projects/tiltshift/howdoesitwork.html

http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/images/underwater_olympus.jpg

https://static.bhphotovideo.com/explora/sites/default/files/_olympus-m_zuiko-digital-ed-300mm-f_4_is_pro-lens.jpg

http://assets3.radiox.co.uk/2017/24/arcade-fire-creature-comfort-video-1497612790-article-0.png
https://www.raspberrypi-spy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/fish_eye_lens_example.jpg
https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/7963/7963106_sa.jpg
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/819CuluuYQL._SL1500_.jpg

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/understanding-focal-length.html

https://photographylife.com/what-is-crop-factor

https://digital-photography-school.com/crop-factor-explained/