Wednesday 3 November 2010

DSLR - Lens - Tips and Types

Salam.

Now will be about the lens. Yeah. Name it. Nikon, Canon, Sony, Minolta, Tamron, Sigma, Pentax, Olympus and the list goes on.

The lens is another piece of things you use with your DSLR body. Without it, you can't take pictures at all. Yes. It is a compulsory item to have if you have a DSLR. I mean, what's the purpose of having a DSLR without a lens? Its like living without any heart or kidneys.

Taking care of the lens is compulsory. The same as the body, never let any dust or water get into it. The lens is much more sensitive. The glass can be infected by fungus through exposure of it to water vapour. Whenever it rains, you can see expert photographer hide their gears in their hoodie or rain coat. Your lens can still be infiltrated through zooming. When you zoom in and out, there will be a very small opening in the zoom ring that allows air to enter. As the air enter, so does the dust and water vapour. There is basically nothing you can do to avoid this but you can always keep it in a nice and dry place. Once in a while, use a brush or specifically made Lenspen to clean your lens. The Lenspen uses mechanism that made dust stick to it. It can be very helpful. Lenspen will cost you around £10-£15/RM50-RM75 but it is worth the investment made.

Lens are divided in several categories and usually people use kit lens which is provided when they purchase the camera itself. The kit lens usually have quite a wide angle and acceptable zoom. They are not that great compared to other lens but for beginners and noobs, it suits you just fine. Here are the categories of lens.

Zoom Lens
Designed to accommodate daily use of camera. Everyone with a DSLR should have this. Why? Because its basic and it suits most of your daily needs. Usually it is lightweight and portable. Since its a basic lens, it doesn't have much mechanism inside the lens. Thus it is light. But not like feather. However, some zoom lens can be very heavy because it has some special preferences such as IS (Image Stabilizer), USM (Ultrasonic Motor), larger aperture (2.8) and much more.The range for normal zoom lens might be around 18-80mm but some can even be 18-250mm. If you are not interested in changing the lens so often, this lens will be suitable.



Telephoto Lens
This thing is only to capture objects far far away. So far even you eyes can't see it properly. But with this lens, you can be like Superman. But normal telephoto lens is not up to the par and it is better for you to use better quality telephoto lens that may cost you around RM5000 onwards. This type of lens is suitable for wildlife photograpy and sports. Not to forget that having a monopod with this lens is very helpful. Believe me. Its like you want to take pictures of a lion but dare not going near it, this lens will save your life and made your day.

Fixed Lens
Fixed lens means you are going to do the zooming with your own lazy legs. Seriously. No zooming with this lens. But you still got the autofocus. The advantage of this lens is that it is among most lens with large aperture opening. Not sure what is that? The larger the aperture (1.8 or less) the more light can be absorb and the better picture will be in your memory card. Larger aperture means better bokeh and softer image. If you want to sharp picture with less bokeh, lower the aperture to f4 or f8. Fixed lens is very cheap especially 50mm 1.8. It is around RM400+/£65. Get a second hand lens for £40/RM200+. Its prime and its nice.

Macro Lens
You are amazed by super small bugs that suck your blood and run away. Get this lens to capture the bloodsucking bug in action. Such lens have amazing clarity and sharpness while dealing with macro stuff. Don't worry about the picture you're taking. Worry about your wallet because seriously, such lens will not just tear a hole in your wallet but it can lead you to become a homeless asshole! Just kidding. Macro lens have a special mechanism that allows it to focus on very minute details without losing focus. Normal lens might have problems where it can't focus on a very small subject but not this lens. The glass manufactured for this lens is from a very high quality and it has special tampered glass like the one in the microscope. No kidding.

Wide Angle Lens
You will be able to capture the whole mountain! Isn't that awesome?? This lens length is usually from 10-20mm. Suitable for those who like to take scenery pictures such as mountain, lakes, castle. This lens will be able to fit everything. It is so wide it looks like you den't even have a lens attached to your DSLR. Sometimes its called 'pancake' lens due to its small size. This lens will cost you a little more but not to the level of making hols in your wallet. Maybe several years of hardwork. I'm just saying. Wide angle works like this. If you need to step backwards to take some scenery pictures, this lens will do the walk for you.

Super Telephoto Lens
Why super? Because you can use this to peek at your neighbours daughter while they are changing clothes! Just kidding. Super telephoto normall used by companies or organisation that require such photos. This is because the lens is too expensive for an individual to buy it. Pricing of this lens will be enough to buy 3 cars. The range will be more than 500mm. I've seen this one lens that goes until 1000mm. Now that is superb.

Fish-eye Lens
For a wide and round effect, use this lens. This lens was made for astrologist to explore the sky. But due to its distorted and funny effect, it gains popularity among creative photographers. The image it delivers suit the name. Why? Imagine you're a fish and this lens is your eyes. Great right? Guys who want to get girls attention, get this lens and start showing off. If you want to see an example of fish eye lens without buying it, go to your door and look through the peephole. That is fish eye. The price? Around £400/RM2500.



That's all for now. Hope that will help you in choosing the best lens that suits you.

Thanks for reading.

Salam.

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