LENSES

There are lenses for all situations and occasions, from ultra wide to super telephoto. They are produced as Zooms or Prime lenses for Autofocus or Manual operation and, depending on the aperture, can be fast or slow - the wider the aperture the faster the lens. They are constructed from different materials with various lens coatings which can determine weight, quality and price. All lenses are normally interchangeable within their own camera systems and independent manufacturers make lenses to fit most cameras.

The modern Autofocus (AF) systems are noted for their speed and accuracy but most lenses have a manual override should you want the total control that Manual Focus (MF) lenses provide (although you cannot use these on an AF camera without special adapters)

The advantages of Prime (fixed focal length) lenses are that they are usually faster with a wider maximum aperture which is excellent for slower film and lower light conditions. They are also lighter with a more compact build and are invariably cheaper due to their construction. The disadvantage is that you would need to carry a lot of focal lengths that can be covered by only one or two zooms. Prime lenses were always know for their better quality images but the modern zooms can now produce comparable results.

Fisheye: 8mm, 14mm, 15mm & 16mm (Canon,Minolta and Nikon - Sigma for the 8mm)

These are special effects lenses with a usual range of 180 degrees. They distort images and could be used to inject fun into your photography.

Ultra Wide Angle: 14mm, 18mm & 20mm (Canon, Cosina, Nikon, Sigma, Tamron and Tokina)

For exaggerated perspective - used for impressive shots, room interiors and architecture. Allows you to get close up to your subject yet still include a wide area of view. Some distorted images can look quite effective but used incorrectly can produce poor results. The Canon 14mm is the widest optically corrected prime lens currently made. A selection of ultra wide lenses are also available as zooms.

Wide Angle Standard: 24mm to 80mm
(Made by Most Manufacturers)

These versatile lenses allow foreground and background to remain in sharp focus at the short end or can blur a background if used at close range at the longer end. Often called the "perfect travelling companion" they are ideal for general, landscape and group photography and good for low light conditions. Some wide angle zooms can extend into the telephoto focal length range.

Standard: 50mm (Made by Most Manufacturers)

The 50mm was always the first lens to master because it has the same angle of view as the human eye - what you see is what you get! It can be used in different ways to achieve different results - it is a lens to use if you want to express your photographic abilities. It has a close focusing distance and, by clever use of Apertures, can achieve results that you would normally get by using a wide angle or medium telephoto zoom. The 50mm 1.8 is a lightweight, compact, affordable lens ideal for general photography whilst the 50mm 1.00, made by Canon, has the largest Aperture of any SLR lens in the world (and a price almost to match!).

Medium Telephoto: 85mm, 100mm & 135mm
(Canon, Minolta, Nikon and Pentax)

These compact prime lenses offer superb brightness and natural perspective, ideal for ‘head and shoulder’ shots and because of this are commonly known as the "Portrait Lens". These lenses ‘throw’ the background out of focus, thereby making the subject ‘stand out’. To date the Canon’s 85mm 1.2 has the largest maximum aperture of it’s class, but lens technology is constantly advancing.

Telephoto: 70mm to 300mm (Made by Most Manufacturers)

This range of lenses is ideal for nature and sports shots. They compress perspective, thereby producing a shallower Depth of Field, isolating the subject against a blurred background. Can be used for specific or general photography.

Super Telephoto: 300mm to 600mm (Made by Most Manufacturers)

Lenses in this category, either prime or zoom, are extremely useful for any situation when you just can’t get close enough to take the shot you want. Like the telephoto range, they are excellent for nature, sport or fashion, but can also be used for landscapes where you want to isolate an object. They have an even shallower Depth of Field than the Telephoto and will blur the background almost completely and should therefore be used with care. Obviously, because of their size and weight, camera shake could be a major problem but this can be helped by using a wide aperture. A fast film or some kind of support is also recommended. Some lenses (made by Canon and Nikon) have ‘camera shake compensation’ built in, which greatly reduces the risk of accidentally blurred photographs.

Wide Angle to Super Telephoto:

The 28-80mm and 75-300mm are zoom lenses often sold as a package when you purchase an SLR camera. This is because 28mm to 300mm will usually be more than adequate for your general photographic needs. However, there are lenses available that extend from wide angle to super telephoto in a single zoom lens. Being able to use just one lens that will cover such a large spectrum of focal lengths has obvious advantages over using several smaller zooms or prime lenses, although some of these ‘all-in-ones’ can be quite heavy and slower than their individual counterparts.

I have listed below some examples on offer and their makers.

28-200mm	Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma, Tamron
28-210mm	Cosina, Soligar, Vivitar
28-300mm	Cosina, Sigma, Soligar, Tamron, Vivitar
35-300mm	Tokina
35-350mm	Canon
50-500mm	Sigma
70-200mm	Canon, Pentax, Sigma
70-210mm	Centon, Cosina, Minolta, Sigma, Soligar, Tamron, Vivitar
70-300mm	Cosina, Minolta, Nikon, Sigma, Soligar, Tamron, Vivitar
75-240mm	Nikon
80-200mm	Canon, Minolta, Nikon, Pentax, Tokina
80-210mm	Tamron
80-320 mm	Pentax
80-400mm	Nikon, Tokina
100-300mm	Canon, Cosina, Minolta, Pentax, Sigma, Soligar, Tamron, Vivitar
100-400mm	Canon, Cosina, Minolta, Soligar, Vivitar
100-500mm	Cosina
135-400mm	Sigma
170-500mm	Sigma
200-400mm	Tamron

This covers the range of prime and zoom lenses, but there are lenses and fittings available for specific purposes. These include MACRO lenses (having large apertures for close-up photography),TILT &/OR SHIFT lenses (used mainly for architectural subjects), EXTENDERS/CONVERTERS and EXTENSION TUBES

Macro:
(Made by most Manufacturers)

These offer a range of magnification from 50mm .05x (half life size) and the 90mm, 100mm, 105 and 180mm 1.1 (life size), the latter being ideal for close up work where a long working distance is required.. All of these lenses are capable of very close ‘subject to front element’ distance but can also be used for general picture taking. For extreme close-ups, magnifications of 1x to 5x Lifesize can be achieved with the 65mm 2.8 by Canon, a lens used primarily for specialist macro photography. Macro lenses can be costly and a cheaper alternative for increasing magnification is to use ‘close up filters’ which attach to the front of any standard lens.

Tilt &/or Shift: (Canon,Mamiya)

By ‘tilting’ or ‘shifting’ the lens elements, distortions caused by the convergence of straight lines (usually associated with photographing buildings) can be corrected. Another advantage of using these lenses is that they can alter the area of sharpness resulting in a more accurate interpretation of the image.

Extenders/Converters: (Most Manufactures)

These units increase focal lengths when attached between the camera body and lens ie. when fitted to a 300mm lens,a 2x extender/converter will give you 600mm and a 1.4x will give you 420mm. They are a cheaper alternative than purchasing longer focal length lenses but account must be made for the corresponding reduction of F.Stops and on some systems, the loss of autofocus.

Extension Tubes:
(Most Manufacturers)

These hollow tubes come in various widths and are fitted in the same way as extenders/converters. They allow a closer focusing distance by moving the rear element of the lens away from the film plane and the front element closer to the subject. Autofocus is unaffected but the F.Stops will alter due to the loss of light reaching the film.

All of the above are professional or ‘all purpose’ lenses. Please use the logo links to the Manufacturers for comprehensive information on their products.

E & O.E