Pick a Lens for your Digital Camera

Like a gun without a bullet, a camera without a lens is completely useless. Do not think the camera lens choosing job is an easy task and there are a lot of factors that go into choosing the correct lens. You need to consider what you are photographing and how. For example, if you are capturing animals that are running through a field, choosing the wrong lens will make you capture nothing but a blurred object. If you want to get the best picture, go to select the appropriate lens in different shooting situations.

         

Instructions

1. Choose a lens which is interchangeable or one that matches the brand of your camera. You cannot mix and match digital camera lenses with different camera body brands unless the lens is interchangeable. For example, you cannot buy a Panasonic lens and place it on a Canon camera if the lens is for a Panasonic camera only.

2. Choose between a normal, wide-angle and telephoto lens. If you take mostly landscape, architectural and nature shots, you had better to purchase a wide-angle lens because it widens the scene, allowing for greater depth. If you only want to snap daily life pictures you can choose a normal lens. A normal lens will not alter the picture; it shows the scene as if you were there looking at the scene. A telephoto lens will be better for people who need to take portrait pictures or pictures of small objects in movement, such as birds or dragonflies.

3. Select a zoom lens or prime lens. Zoom lenses are commonplace in modern
cameras. It allows you to zoom in on an object and have nearly the same sharpness as a prime lens. A prime camera lens is not as complex, however, and is not as vulnerable to lens flare. Lens flare causes a decreased contrast, sharpness and dull colors.

4. Look at the lens aperture. The aperture is the speed of the lens and is symbolized by an “f” letter followed by a ratio, such as 4.10. Higher numbers mean a slower lens speed and lower numbers mean a faster speed. A fast lens speed is important if you’re capturing scenes or objects that are in movement or in low light, such as animals on the run.