Three Basic Lens Types

• The three basic lens types, determined

by the focal length (measured in
millimetres) of the lenses, are the
following:
•Normal
•Telephoto
•Wide.
 Normal
• A normal lens shows most accurately what a normal human
eye will see.

• 50mm is a typical normal focal length.

• The 50mm is the most popular and versatile lens. The quality is
excellent while also being inexpensive.

• It is smaller and lighter, and the aperture allows photographs to

be taken in low-light situations.
 Telephoto
• Telephoto. A telephone lens brings the background
closer.

• Longer-than-normal focal lengths such as 70mm and

300mm are typical for a telephoto lens

• Since a telephoto lens will bring the subject up close, it

is popular for sports photography. 
 wide
• Wide. A wide lens captures a wider expanse of
the background than what the human eye will
see.

• Shorter-than-normal focal lengths such as 24mm

and 35 mm are typical for a wide lens.

• Wide lenses are popular for landscape

photography and large group shots.
 Zoom / prime
• What is a Prime Lens?

• A prime lens is a lens that has one focal length only. They come in all focal
lengths ranging from wide angle ones through to the longer telephoto ones.

• What is a Zoom Lens?

• A zoom lens is a lens that has a range of focal lengths available to the
photographer in the one lens.

• Shoot at both wide and longer focal lengths without having to switch lenses mid
shoot.
 Zoom Vs. Prime
prime zoom
• Quality –better quality • . Portability

• Price- cheaper • Price (another perspective) –the

cost of one lens in comparison to
• Smaller and weightless multiple lenses can often be
comparable.

• Speed – in general prime lenses

are faster (in terms of aperture)
 Flexibility –
than zoom lenses.
 vr
• Vibration Reduction (VR) system compensates for image blur caused by
small, involuntary movements (from wobbly hands, shooting from a
moving vehicle, etc) which are called camera shake.

• Fig. 1 shows how the light from subject (A) reaches focal plane (A’)
through the lens.*Without camera shake, light from A converges at A’.

• However, if the camera's lens moves up or down (ie. camera shake — see
arrow) the light from A will converge on A”. This gap results in image blur.

• The VR System works by adjusting the lens to compensate for camera

shake and to make sure light from A converges on A’. Each VR Unit
contains a VR lens elements and driving motors to make this happen.
 Macro
• Macro photography is close-up photography. The classical definition is
that the image projected on the "film plane" (i.e., film or a digital sensor)
is close to the same size as the subject.[citation needed] Lenses designed for
macro are usually at their sharpest at macro focus distances and are not
quite as sharp at other focus distances.

• In recent years, the term macro has been used in marketing material to

mean being able to focus on a subject close enough so that when a
regular 6×4 inch (15×10 cm) print is made, the image is life-size or large
 Fish eye
• In photography, a fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes
in an extremely wide, hemispherical image.
• Originally developed for use in meteorology [1] to study cloud
formation and called "whole-sky lenses", fisheye lenses
quickly became popular in general photography for their
unique, distorted appearance.
• They are often used by photographers shooting broad
landscapes to suggest the curve of the Earth.
•  Hemispherical photography is used for various scientific
purposes to study plant canopy geometry and to calculate
near-ground solar radiation.
Fish eye
Tilt shift
Tilt shift
 Focal length
• The focal point of the lens is the point where
all the rays parallel to the lens converge.

• The bigger the number, the longer the lens

(and heavier).

• The rule of thumb being: longer the focal

length of lens, smaller is the field of view.
 Focal length and their uses
• Less than 21 mm. Extreme wide angle. Most of the point-and-
shoot cameras fall in this category. These lens are useful in
taking pictures of buildings or architectural sites.
• 21-35 mm. Wide angle. Useful for taking landscapes pictures.
• 35-70 mm. Normal. Useful for taking street or documentary
pictures.
• 70-135 mm. Medium Telephoto. Useful for taking portraits.
• 135-300 mm. Telephoto. Useful for taking sports, wildlife and
bird shots.
• More than 300 mm. Super Telephoto. Useful for shooting birds
 Focal Length and Depth of Field
• Depth of Field (DOF) changes with aperture.

• Depth of field is inversely proportional to the

focal length of the lens.

• Another factor that affects the depth of field is

the distance from the subject
Mm and field of view