Creating an image is impossible without a lens, so it wouldn’t be wrong to say that lenses are the most important part of a camera, as they also control the quality of the image (Great lens equals great image quality). The most basic camera body coupled with a quality glass (lens) will produce outstanding images (quality-wise), but the best camera body in the world paired with poor glass will have quality control issues as the lens won’t make proper use of the sensor.
- How Lenses Work:
Light strikes the front surface of the lens and passes through the glass element. Since light rays bend when they enter glass at any angle other than 90, they change direction. The effect is called “refraction.” By employing various glass shapes – forms, really – in their design, lenses are able to channel the light in a specific direction. Focusing occurs because the lens is able to precisely control this direction so that the light rays converge on one point, exactly where the film or sensor is located in the camera, hence producing an image.
- Types of Camera Lenses
There are essentially two types of lenses: Prime lenses and Zoom lenses. Prime lenses have a fixed focal length while Zoom lenses have the ability to shift focal lengths. Further split, there are different subcategories of lenses available for a wide range of photography circumstances. They include:
-Fisheye/Ultra-wide lens (8 – 24mm)
-Wide angle shot lens (24 – 35mm)
-Standard prime lens (24, 35, 50, 85, 135mm)
-Portraits lens (55 – 200mm)
-Telephoto lens (100 – 600mm)
The selection of the right lens is important to capture the perfect photos. There are many lens choices and the expensive lenses minimize the problems of chromatic aberration and distortion. Below is a video that shows the effect of lens on images:
- Attributes of Camera Lenses
Focal Length
It determines the angle of view (how close and how wide) you can get with the lens. Increasing the focal length makes your subject appear closer and larger. More subject area fits in the frame if the focal length is shorter. For example; a 200mm lens will get you very close to the subject while an 18mm lens will produce a wide-angle shot, fitting more components into the image.
F-Stop (Aperture)
It determines how wide the aperture can open and aperture refers to the opening of a lens diaphragm through which light passes. F-stop is generally written as numbers such as 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11 and 16. A lens that can reach f/1.4 will be much brighter than that of f/4.0.
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This article was written by Adekunle Ibukunoluwa. He is a contributor to the BOPNetworks Community, a Poet and Intern Photographer with SORB Pictures. Follow him on Instagram here
