June 2012 4H/Photography/2012-04pr

Choosing Digital Camera Lenses

Ron Patterson, Carbon County Ag/4-H Agent
Stephen Sagers, Tooele County 4-H Agent

the picture, such as wide angle, normal angle and

Lenses may be the most critical component of the
telescopic view.
camera. The lens on a camera is a series of
precision-shaped pieces of glass that, when placed
together, can manipulate light and change the
appearance of an image.

Some cameras have removable lenses

(interchangeable lenses) while other cameras have
permanent lenses (fixed lenses). Fixed-lens cameras
are limited in their versatility, but are generally
much less expensive than a camera body with
several potentially expensive lenses. (The cost for
interchangeable lenses can range from $1-200 for
standard lenses to $10,000 or more for high quality,
professional lenses.) In addition, fixed-lens cameras
are typically smaller and easier to pack around on
sightseeing or recreational trips. Those who wish to
become involved in fine art, fashion, portrait,
landscape, or wildlife photography, would be wise
to become familiar with the various types of lenses
serious photographers use.

The following discussion is mostly about

interchangeable-lens cameras. However,
understanding the concepts will help in
understanding fixed-lens cameras as well.
Figures 1 & 2. Figure 1 shows this camera at its minimum
Lens Terms focal length of 4.7mm, while Figure 2 shows the110mm
maximum focal length.
While the discussion on lenses can become quite
technical there are some terms that need to be Focal length refers to the distance from the optical
understood to grasp basic optical concepts—focal center of the lens to the image sensor. Thus, a
length and maximum aperture. 21mm wide-angle lens will be tighter to the camera
body than a 60mm normal-angle lens, which will be
Focal Length tighter to the camera body than a 300mm telephoto
The focal length will determine the view angle of lens (see Figures 3 & 4). The numbers themselves
have nothing to do with the quality of the lens, only length will not change. The only way to get a closer
the use. or more distant shot of the subject is to change the
lens or physically move the camera closer or farther
Maximum Aperture away from the subject.
Within the lens is a diaphragm that creates an
adjustable opening (Figure 3). This opening in the However, what is lost in versatility will generally be
diaphragm is called the aperture. For more gained in overall quality. All else being equal, a
information on how the aperture works see the USU prime lens will produce fewer distortions or
Extension fact sheet titled, “Aperture and Digital aberrations than a zoom lens.
Photography.”
A prime lens will have two numbers to help
determine its capabilities—the focal length (such as
50mm) and the aperture range (such as f/3.5 – f/17).
f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22
The types of prime lenses include fisheye, macro,
Figure3. This diagram shows the difference in sizes of the extreme wide angle, wide angle, normal angle,
aperture settings. medium telephoto, and telephoto. Figures 5 to 8
were all take from the same location and show the
The important thing to remember about aperture is different perspectives offered by different focal
that the smaller f-stop number means a larger lengths.
aperture. A larger aperture lets in more light.
Therefore, larger maximum aperture lenses, such as
f/2.0, are better for low light situations than a
smaller maximum aperture, such as f/4.0. This is
especially true if there is any action in those shots.

Types of Lenses

All lenses fall into the categories of prime lenses or

zoom lenses. Prime lenses have a fixed focal length
while a zoom lens has an adjustable focal length.

Figure 5. Fisheye view. Note how the sides of the structure

seem to bow. This lens provides almost an 180o view.

Figure 4. This photo shows different lenses. From left to right,

50mm prime lens (f/1.4-16), 50mm 2:1 macro lens (f/2.0-22),
8mm fisheye lens (f/3.5-22), 14-42mm zoom lens (maximum
aperture f/3.5-5.6), and 50-200mm zoom lens (maximum
aperture f/2.8-3.5).

Figure 6. 14mm extreme wide-angle view. The sides are

Prime Lenses straight but the view begins further away from the
Prime lenses can range anywhere from macro, to photographer.
wide angle, to telephoto. The point is the focal
 symbol (Figure 9) and a mountain indicates settings
for infinity or long-range shots.

Figure 7. 54mm normal-angle view. Not as much of the view

inside the greenhouse can be seen.

Figure 9. The macro mode setting that allows the camera to

produce close-up shots.

While many zoom lenses tout macro capabilities,

most of them don’t have a higher ratio than 1:2. So
in reality, they are merely a close-up lens, not a
macro lens.

A close-up lens can be modified with an extension

tube or magnification filters. These modifications
will help a normal lens behave more like a macro
lens.
Figure 8. 200mm telephoto view This shot is clear through the
end of the greenhouse door.
Extreme wide angle
Fisheye A lens with a focal length of less than 21 mm is an
Fisheye lenses are a special super wide angle lens extreme wide angle lens and is frequently used for
that intentionally distorts the view. They are used to architecture photos.
catch more of the peripheral view than can normally
be seen by the human eye. Wide angle
A lens with a focal length between 21mm – 35mm
Macro is considered a wide-angle lens. It is best used for
A macro lens is specialized to magnify close up broad, landscape type pictures.
shots beyond the normal close up lens. The focal
length of a macro lens will typically be 50mm or Normal angle
less. But instead of providing a wide-angle view, The normal angle range lens will have a focal
the elements inside the lens are designed to magnify length between 35mm – 70mm. It most closely
the subject with an aspect ratio of at least 1:1. Some approximates the view angle of the human eye. This
may even have a ratio of 2:1, which would provide range is good for general, everyday type use.
twice the magnification of a 1:1 ratio.
Medium telephoto
The macro mode on a digital camera allows a A medium range telephoto lens will be between 70
camera to shoot much closer to the subject. There – 135 mm. This range allows the photographer to
are buttons or switches on a camera for pre- get tight pictures on the subject without getting too
programmed settings that usually are best for close- close with the camera—great for portrait
up photography. A flower is usually the macro photography. It allows the subject to be a little more
comfortable in the photo shoot.
Telephoto adequate when it is otherwise impossible to get
A telephoto lens from 135 – 300 mm is good for closer to the subject.
wildlife and sports shooting. The photographer can
stand back and allow the natural action to take For beginning photographers a good quality, middle
place. range zoom lens should be adequate. Once a
photographer discovers the type of photos he or she
Zoom Lenses enjoys taking, then more specialized lenses can be
In the case of a zoom lens there will be two purchased.
numbers reflecting the minimum and maximum
distance between the lens and the image sensor. For Summary
example a 35-70mm lens will range from 35 to 70
millimeters from the image sensor. Digital cameras may have fixed lenses or
interchangeable lenses. Lenses may also be prime or
In addition, on most zoom lenses the maximum zoom lenses. Prime lenses have a fixed focal length
aperture will decrease as the lens zooms in on a while zoom lenses have an adjustable focal length.
subject. Thus the maximum aperture may actually
be a range, such as f/2.8 – f/3.5, depending on the The focal length and the maximum aperture help
zoom position of the lens. determine the capabilities of a lens, but are not
necessarily indicators of lens quality. The focal
The zoom feature of fixed-lens cameras allows the length helps determine a lens’s view angle while the
photographer to zoom in (or magnify) a distant maximum aperture indicates the amount of light
object. It also allows one to zoom out (or widen) for that is allowed back to the image sensor.
a broad landscape view. Thus, the camera can be
adjusted from a telephoto (magnified) view to a References
wide-angle view.
Busch, D.D. 2008. Mastering Digital SLR
Fixed-lens cameras typically have two types of Photography, Thomson Course Technology Boston,
zoom, optical zoom and digital zoom. Optical zoom MA.
is the physical extension of the lens that brings the
object in “closer.” Digital zoom is when the camera Understanding Lenses. Cambridge in Colour.
“crops” the photo beyond physical capabilities of http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camer
the lens. With the digital zoom the picture would a-lenses.htm
become pixilated if the camera didn’t interpolate
(guess) what the picture should look like. Digital Peterson, B. 2004. Understanding Exposure Revised
zoom does not yield high quality results but may be Edition. Amphoto Books. New York, NY.

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This publication is issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Noelle E.
Cockett, Vice President for Extension and Agriculture, Utah State University.