Lenses, at the same time, are still labelled for 35mm film cameras, unless you buy a digitalspecific lens. While all the numbers and letters can be confusing, dont let them intimidate you. Judge not only sent alternative links but ultimately attached the pdf files to his email for me. Lens basics understanding camera lenses exposure guide. Wide and ultra wideangle zoom lenses allow for extreme compositions in landscape and interior photography, while telephoto zoom lenses take you closer to the action. This photography tutorial outlines some important qualities of different lenses, and how each performs in identical situations. But the most important part of any camera system is the quality of the glass in the lenses. Once you have everything you need to take a photo, like proper lighting, setting and equipment, its time to start using the manual settings on your camera to create the desired effect. This first volume introduces the core concepts and techniques that are necessary prior to and during digital image capture. Telephoto lenses, on the other hand, range between 70200mm and are popular for wildlife, sporting events and wedding ceremonies.
Not great for achieving compression also known as bokeh or a blurry background. Easy to understand dslr photography for beginners pdf. If you remove the lens from your camera, the only kind of image you can produce is white light. Tiltshifts may be the trickiest and most complicated lenses to master. Lightweight, great for hiking and throwing in a backpack. The a beautiful mess dslr basics course completely transformed my product photography. The basics of camera lenses explained, tips on how to choose a lens for video, and examples of what different focal lengths look like. Prime lenses also tend to have a larger maximum aperture f1. Canon lenses are coated with super spectra coatings that help maintain sharp image detail, richly saturated color, and correct levels of image contrast even in backlit situations.
A camera without a lens is useless to a photographer. That means that if you choose a 35mm lens, it will only give you a 35mm perspective meaning you cant zoom in and out. Prime lenses tend to be more compact and lightweight than zoom lenses. The ability to change lenses is one of the greatest strengths of the dslr camera but lens selection requires some insight. A camera lens is a combination of different types of glasses concave, convex, concavoconvex, etc, arranged in different groups to give the sharpness of content across the image. As a general rule, dslr cameras lose more than half.
Conversely, longer focal lengths provide a shorter field of view but provide greater magnification. For a 35mm film camera or a fullframe dslr, the 50mm lens is considered standard. Its designed to help beginners understand their camera settings through simple explanations and a quick exercise. People struggled for a while with what to call this category of camera, but the name mirrorless seems to have finally stuck. If you find lenses and some of the terminology confusing this article should help you. Understanding dslr lenses will painlessly provide help and insight into the often confusing and intimidating world of dslr camera lenses. Dslr how to read camera lens dslr dyclassroom have. An illustrated guidebook finely focused photography books at. There are several different types of camera lens available for a wide range of uses. Here, canon collective ambassador jenn cooper sheds light on what those numbers on the lens mean, covering everything from focal lengths and aperture values to the.
The standard lens has a fixed focal length 50mm, 85mm, 100mm, and reproduces fairly accurately what the human eye sees in terms of perspective and angle of view. Camera lens basics helpful guide to understanding camera. In this tutorial we will learn to read dslr camera lenses. Now that you know what an slr is, the term mirrorless should make some sense. Understanding camera lenses canon educational articles. It is not a measurement of the actual length of a lens, but a calculation of an optical distance from the point where light rays converge to form a sharp image of an object to the digital sensor or 35mm film at the focal plane in the camera.
Standard lenses this is a term that seems to be disappearing a little from terminology. The aperture is measured in fstops and is usually displayed using an fnumber, e. Lenses are one of the most important components in cameras. I encountered a minor technical problem downloading some pdf files, and mr. The second volume explores all the key considerations after capture, including postprocessing and maximizing digital image quality.
Lenses are an important part of digital slr photography. Focal length, usually represented in millimeters mm, is the basic description of a photographic lens. However, when you take pictures with a high aperture, you need to have a lot of light, like outside during the day. For years i was stuck in automatic mode only able to shoot in certain spots of the house, on a day with perfect light, and even then they were only mediocre. Read pdf understanding dslr lenses an illustrated guidebook finely focused photography books 3 word pdf. Another factor to take into consideration is the aperture. In this picture, the aperture was set to 16, a high aperture, allowing everything to be in focus. On dslrs, the interchangeable lens focal length is measured in. Everything you need to know about nikon cameras 2020. Camera lenses explained whether youre a photographer, filmmaker or hybrid shooter, understanding how your lens works is every bit as important as honing your camera skills. For example, the most common zoom lens on the market is an 1855mm kit lens sometimes 1850mm or similar. Understanding digital slr lens types and focal lengths.
Read read book understanding dslr lenses an illustrated guidebook finely focused photography books 3 pdf. Consequently, a highquality lens can help you capture great photos even with a cheap. Thats why i created this free dslr photography for beginners pdf. When youre at 18mm, your maximum aperture will be f3.
Check out my top 3 cheap canon lens recommendations here. Digital slr photography allinone for dummies cheat sheet. Traditionally on film cameras it was used to describe lenses in the 50mm range because this is what usually came with the camera. So if you have a dslr and a basic idea of the kind of photos you take most, l ens shopping doesnt have to be as difficult as it seems. A few times in this post, ive referred to prime lenses and zoom lenses, but didnt talk about what exactly the difference is between these two types of lenses. The lens is what focuses light from what you see through the viewfinder into a tiny, typically 35mm spot on the back of your film, dslr, or mirrorless camera. Chapter 5 focus, depth of field, and lenses scitech connect. Other lenses are zoom lenses, meaning that they cover a range of focal lengths. Zoom lenses cover a range of focal lengths, letting photographers travel light while staying creative. Being able to change its lenses makes the dslr one of the more versatile camera systems available.
Therefore, choosing lenses for a dslr is more complicated than when you bought lenses for a 35mm film camera. The 50 mm lens, used with a digital slr camera with a fullframe sensor. More depth of field, creating more in focus images. Even though the image making happens inside the camera body and on the film itself, the lens is what handles the light and determines the quality of the resulting image.
Before focusing techniques are explained, you must first understand what it is to be. Understanding the basics of camera lenses and their common terminology. The 8 best lenses for dslr cameras of 2020 lifewire. I shot this video to add a second way for you to get a basic understanding of camera lenses. Standard zooms cover focal lengths from wide angle to short telephoto, making them the top beginner lens great for everyday. This means that the lens will allow a maximum aperture of f2. The chart below is for the 4 major dslr camera lens makers. Now, if you buy any lenses that are the d series resized for the smaller sensor they will not work on a fullframe sensor camera without factor adjustment and maybe not at all depending on the model.
You can step back to get more of a scene into an image, or get up close to make a subject in the foreground stand out. The bigger lenses are just bigger and more expensive since they need more materials and larger glass elements to cover the area of a larger sensor. After some complicated calculations, it will try to achieve a balanced exposure. Classic examples for fullframe dslr systems include 85mm f1. The ultimate guide to learning how to use your first dslr. The reason why is because a dlsr sensor is generally smaller than the frame of 35mm film.
An illustrated guidebook finely focused photography books 3. The camera measures the light in the centre of the frame and its surroundings. The main advantages of prime lenses or fixed focal length lenses are their size and weight as well as their maximum aperture or fstop. Lenses and apertures stanford graphics stanford university. And he encouraged me to write if i had any other questions.
Flare from the manual of photography jacobson et al. Dont skim on the glass to spend more on the electronics. The third volume explores advanced techniques and camera technology. Get a grasp of the various features and functions of your dslr kit lens with this handy infographic. The complete guide to manual settings on your dslr camera. The lens is what focuses light from what you see through the viewfinder into a tiny, typically 35mm spot on the back of your film, dslr.
Now well move on to the technical settings of your slr. You can use a lens that is made for a full frame camera on a camera with a smaller sensor. Clark an understanding of how phase detect autofocus works will enable you to achieve more accurate autofocus in the field on fast moving subjects as well as understanding when distracting elements might. Knowing what types of lenses there are and what they do will help you choose the right lenses for the type of photography you want to pursue. This video teaches how to understand everything about camera lenses, which can be very difficult starting out. It depends on your camera model, but it is usually between 60 and 80. Super spectra multilayered coatings, which allow up to 99. Shorter focal length prime lenses have maximum apertures ranging from approximately f1. Pdf understanding dslr lenses an illustrated guidebook. And theres a downloadable camera settings cheat sheet included. If youre like me, you like to learn by watching videos on digital photography too. At higher focal lengths 85mm or 100mm you have an ideal lens for portraiture because when. Read book understanding dslr lenses an illustrated.
Understanding dslr autofocus phase detect autofocus by roger n. Camera lenses have been discussed in a large number of books and articles. Sensor size determines image quality more than any other feature of the camera, especially something trivial like the number of megapixels. Whether you focus on big group photos, incredible landscapes, sports and action shots, or beautiful closeup portraits, there are specific lenses that can help you capture those moments better. The aperture is the size of the opening in the lens through which light is allowed to pass whenever the shutter is opened the larger the aperture, the more light passes through. The first thing you need to know about nikon cameras is that they are divided into two distinct groups. These lenses zoom from a relatively wide angle 18mm to a moderate telephoto 55mm. In addition to slrs, theres another category of camera that also offers interchangeable lenses and larger sensors than what youll typically find in a point and shoot camera. Your camera measures the light across the whole frame.
1212 966 954 548 655 545 1077 280 374 32 1508 968 1149 259 1140 1458 562 464 1115 535 757 1333 975 424 1272 178 711 1309 1306 1007 105 1275 1018 865 840 504 1478 1175 1248 806 895