A deeper look into camera lenses

The most expensive part of photography is not the camera body itself. The camera lenses are the most expensive part. If you’re new to photography, then you are probably confused about all of the different lenses and what all the different sizes are for. That is okay because I was in the same boat. I couldn’t figure out why one lens was only $100 while another lens could be $1,000.

There is actually a very good reason as to why lenses are all so different and why they range in price ranges. There are two different types of lenses. The first lens is a prime lens. A prime lens is a lens that cannot zoom in. When using a prime lens, you need to use your feet to zoom or “dolly” in on your subject. The next type of lens is a zoom lens, and this is pretty self-explanatory. An upside to a prime lens is that the aperture is a lot smaller which means that the lens can open up more, so it allows more light in.

The reason there are so many different lenses is that there are many different sizes or focal lengths. Lenses are measured in millimeters. The smaller the lens, the wider the field of view. The longer the lens the smaller the field of view. On a standard full-frame camera, anything over a 77mm lens would be considered a telephoto.

To know which lens that you need then you need to be aware of the context that you are shooting in.
For example, if I were shooting portraits then I would use a 50mm lens because it has the perfect field of view with a wide aperture that creates a great depth of field. If I were using the composition style known as leading lines, then I would use anywhere less than a telephoto lens because I would want a wider shot. If I were to try to fill the frame or take a picture of the moon, then that is where I could use a telephoto lens.

Lenses are so cool, and you can read about them all you want but until you try them out and get used to them, you won’t truly get the hang of it. Try using different types of lenses like a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens. Also, try messing with the aperture so you can work with getting the hang of the depth of field. After trying this, what are your favorite lenses to use? Let us know down in the comments! Don’t forget to check out my other blogs and subscribe to my blog and YouTube channel!