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Lens Buying Guide – Photography Style – Which Lens Should I Use?

Photography Style… What kind of photographer are you? There are more types of photography styles than we could possibly list here, but we’ve compiled a shortlist of the most common types,  including suggested lenses and accessories you might want to consider.

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Lens Buying Guide Links

• Introduction – So You Want to Buy a Lens

• Lens Quality – What You Need to Know

• Lens Specifications – What Does It All Mean? 

• Types of Lenses – From Standard to Zoom 

• Photography Style – Which Lens Should I Use?

• Love Your Lens… How Do You Clean and Maintain It? 

Understanding Macro Lenses

Macro lenses are important to photographers who tend to shoot close-ups. That’s because, although they’re quite similar to standard lenses in most ways, macro lenses are engineered to focus at much shorter distances. Most often used in nature photography, these lenses magnify small objects like insects and flowers and captures immense detail and clarity. Other applications of a macro lens include scientific and product photography. You’ll find that macro lenses can also act as a standard lens.

These lenses tend to have a smaller maximum aperture (which allows in less light) and therefore are not always ideal in low lighting situations. For subjects that are sensitive to movement (insects and animals, for example), macro lenses with longer focal lengths can be used.

Understanding Prime Lenses - why everyone needs one

You’ve probably heard this term “prime lens” thrown around a lot when shopping for a lens, but just what does it mean?

A prime lens is, simply put, a lens that is fixed at a specific focal length and does not allow you to zoom in or out. That’s it. Pretty simple right? Most prime lenses feature a maximum aperture opening anywhere from f/1.2 to f/2.8 (the exception to this is certain “super” telephoto focal lengths which max out at f/4 or slightly higher). When shopping for a prime lens, it’s important to understand that there are advantages and disadvantages to shooting with a fixed-focal length.

Understanding Zoom Lenses

It makes little sense to purchase several fixed focal length lenses; your collection would be massive and expensive, not to mention very heavy to carry!  Instead, zoom lenses are a smart alternative. Obviously, zoom lenses are designed to cover a range of focal lengths to accommodate a wide variety of shooting without having to change the lens.

Some small tradeoffs go along with using a zoom lens. For example, although they can cover a range of focal lengths and can be set at in between lengths like 33mm or 165mm, they are usually not as fast as fixed focal length lenses.

Clearly, their advantages far outweigh any potential disadvantages. They’re more portable and convenient; and they allow you to shoot distant subjects and bring them closer to you. Higher end zoom lenses offer a maximum aperture that remain constant through the focal length range, while less costly ones change their aperture through the range, resulting in a more compact lens.

Lens Filter Buying Guide – What They Are & Why You Should Use Them

You own the perfect lens and create stunning images, is it possible to make those pictures even more wonderful?  You might find the answer to this by using a filter.  Filters are accessories that are added to the front of your lens that emphasize, eliminate, or change the colour density of the image.  Typically made out of glass, resin, or polyester, the transparency of the material allows for correction of light or colour balance.  Want a special effect?  Many filters are designed to add bursts of colour, soften edges and make light sources sparkle.
Understanding the different types of filters will allow you to manipulate, correct colour, add effects, and enhance your images prior to print.  So the big question is, why don’t you just add these effects in editing software like Photoshop afterwards?  Although it is possible to colour correct and add special effects to your images after shooting, it takes much more time to do this then using a filter in the first place.  There are even some corrections that are done through a filter that are nearly impossible to replicate in digital software applications.