Starting a photographer's career, or simply buying a mirror for home for the first time, you should know that for the desired quality of photos it is important to acquire not only good technique, but also the lens. How to choose the lens that is optimal for your query is not a simple task.
The device of a lens of a specular camera
Before moving on to the question of how to choose a lens for a camera, let's talk in detail about what the lens is, why it is needed, and why it should be approached with all seriousness to its choice. The main objective of the lens is to collect light, to focus and project it onto the mirror of the camera. Why do we need a whole design of a multitude of lenses, if one convex is enough to accomplish this task?
When light passes through the lens, we get a large number of optical aberrations, which will adversely affect the quality of the photo. Therefore, in order to correct the light flux, a lot of additional lenses are introduced, giving the lens the necessary parameters - aperture, focal length. The number of optical elements can reach two dozen or more. Modern lenses include auxiliary mechanisms that provide focus, sharpness, and control of the diaphragm. The case serves to connect all the elements and mount to a SLR camera.
What is a removable lens for a SLR camera?
Mirror camera is a kind of universal soldier, which, as far as its characteristics, can cope with many tasks - portrait shooting, studio, landscape, dynamic. It is worthwhile to put a fixed high-speed lens, and your camera will make incredible portraits with high definition and depth of field, the "fisheye" lens will make it possible to make picturesque panoramic photos. That is, in order to engage in another type of shooting, you do not need to change the apparatus, you need to know which lens to choose for your purposes.
Types of lenses for SLR cameras
Depending on the model class and technical capabilities, there are the following types of lenses for SLR cameras:
- Whale lens . This lens, which by default is supplied with a new SLR camera. Most of the beginning photographers with him begin their acquaintance with the world of photography. It is enough for amateur home photographs, but it can not be used for professional photography.
- A lens with a constant focal length . These luminous lenses, which give a huge depth of field and are used mainly for portrait photography, are known as "portraits" or "Fix".
- Macro lens . Most modern lenses have a "macro" function, but for professional photography of small objects, precise detail is needed, and the best results can be achieved only with the help of a macro lens.
- Telephoto lens . Due to the large focal length, such lenses are used for shooting animals and birds in the wild, and also objects that can not be approached closely. Some models are equipped with an image stabilizer so that the photographer's hand trembling does not spoil a picture taken at a very long distance.
- A wide-angle lens , known as the fisheye, allows you to capture a large viewing angle, making it ideal for capturing landscapes, architectural objects or interiors. Even with their help you can get stunning shots with original perspective distortion.
Characteristics of lenses to SLR cameras
With a small general classification, the question of how to choose a lens is not easy. It is not advisable to buy the best lenses for SLR cameras - if the device itself is budget-priced, a high-end lens simply can not show itself. What should I pay attention to when choosing a lens?
- Focal length is one of the main characteristics that determines how much the lens approximates or detaches the subject. There are also lenses with a fixed focal length, used for photographing portraits.
- Aperture . This parameter determines how much light should go to the camera's matrix. The value of the aperture is determined by the maximum size of the lens opening, which transmits light through the lenses. The luminous lenses give a sharper and sharper image, allow you to shoot with a minimum of noise and a slight shutter speed, which prevents blurring of the frame.
- Image stabilizer . Most modern lenses are equipped with this function, so the frame does not blur due to the trembling of the photographer's hands. This function is especially important for lenses with a large focal length.
How to choose lens focal length?
Before choosing a lens for the camera, let's talk about the camera itself. The main parameter of the "SLR", according to which we determine the professional technique or amateur level - is the size of the matrix. In professional cameras full-size Full Frame matrix, in semi-professional and lower matrix size is reduced, this moment is called a "crop factor".
Before choosing the right lens, it is important to consider that the lens captures the full picture, but all of it will fall on the matrix, or only part of it depends on the size. It turns out that on the crop matrices part of the image is cut off, and the picture itself increases more than the full-frame ones. Therefore, if we choose a portrait lens, we can take 50 mm for the Full Frame, at least 35 mm for the crop.
When choosing a wide-angle lens, it is important to consider the size of the matrix. For a full-frame SLR camera, an ultra-wide-angle lens ("fish eye") should have a focal length of 7-8 mm to 24, an ordinary wide-angle lens - from 24 to 35 mm. If we are dealing with a croping factor, the distance should be increased 1.6 times.
Which lens is better to choose?
We thoroughly understood what parameters characterize lenses, but how to understand their wide variety, how to choose a lens for a SLR camera under your request, if you are still a beginner in photography? Let's talk in detail about what these and other lenses are capable of in action.
What lens to choose a beginner photographer?
If you only need to get acquainted with a SLR camera, high-quality equipment should not be purchased, and the lens should be of the appropriate class. For starters, you can take two lenses - a whale for shooting nature, a city, events, and an inexpensive portrait. A budget portrait lens is a lens with a luminous intensity of 1.8, a more expensive model with a value of 1.4. Which one to choose depends on your financial capabilities. The question of how to choose a whale lens does not exist - it comes with a camera.
What lens to choose for studio shooting?
In the studio, a person is often shot at full height, and the area of the room is not always large, and the far-focus lens will not work for us. The optimal solution, how to choose the lens for a SLR camera in the studio, will be buying a lens with a focal length of 24 mm. For clear and beautiful contours, and even more vivid colors, it is better to purchase a professional L lens, but the price for it will be significant.
Which lens to choose for a photo of the house?
For home shooting, especially if the family has small children, it is often important to make a frame quickly, without long and painstaking adjustments. For such purposes, a simple whale lens will fit - the pictures will be alive, colorful and of high quality. If you want more from photos, you can buy a portrait lens. Other types of lenses for SLR cameras can hardly be successfully used at home.
How to choose a lens for portrait shooting?
Choose a portrait lens is not difficult, and there are two solutions. The first option is the acquisition of a lens with a fixed focal length of 35 mm or 50 mm (the second option is more popular). For the highest quality of portraits, it is better to pay attention to the version 1.2 of the L series - the images will be characterized by deep sharpness, a beautiful blurred background and sharp contours. More affordable model - 1.4, which also allows you to enjoy portrait photography.
The second version of the lens for creating beautiful portraits is a lens with a focal length of 24-70 mm, which at the maximum value gives a deep sharpness and a blurry background. Plus this lens is that it can be successfully used for studio shooting, the disadvantage of this solution is the inconvenience of shooting portraits from a long distance.
How to choose a lens for a subject survey?
Subject survey can be different, and the specificity of photographing, for example, dishes, is somewhat different than shooting jewelry. For larger objects, you can use the above-mentioned lens with a focal length of 24-70, for miniature things you should take only macro lenses, which perfectly draw all the details.
What lens to choose for video shooting?
Asking the question, for example, which lens to choose for the wedding, many people want to "kill two birds with one stone" in one stroke and pick up the lens to shoot the video. If possible, it is better not to do this, because video shooting in a mirror camera is an additional function. Much is said about the fact that there is no video function in professional phototechnics. If you need to record video on the camera, choose lenses that give a shallow depth of field, and set the maximum aperture in the settings, otherwise the focus shift will ruin everything.
Which lens to choose for landscapes?
Photographing the landscape, you often want to create a masterpiece, highlighting the most beautiful in a picturesque place and making it a bright accent. Especially beautiful are the pictures with a large viewing angle, and this effect can only give a wide-angle lens that is able to cover a much larger angle than other lenses.
For unusual artistic photography, you can use ultra-wide-angle lenses, which give special perspective distortions with a visual effect. When we choose the lens for the landscape, the price category is equally important - the L series will create the most beautiful photos, but its price will not suit everyone. But with the proper level of skill and possession of the photoshop, you will be satisfied and more accessible model.
Which wide angle lens to choose?
If we choose a wide-angle lens, we consider lenses with a focal length of 24 to 40 mm. Such a lens will make a realistic shot without distorting the perspective, which is important for photos of landscapes, interiors. Wide-angle lenses are of two kinds, and each of them has its pros and cons.
- With a constant focal length. The quality of the images will be better, so the price is higher. Such lenses have a significant drawback - it is impossible to approximate the picture, and in some cases it is extremely inconvenient.
- With variable focal length. The quality of the photo is slightly reduced, but a significant plus is the ability to bring the shooting scene closer.
There is another important criterion - there are wide-angle lenses and a constant and changing diaphragm. If a single F number is written on the lens, then the aperture value is determined, but if two F numbers - the aperture can be corrected. The lower this value, the better your photos will be.