Importance of camera lens in photography
A camera lens is an optical lens and also known as photographic objective or photographic lens. A good picture is the result of good lens fitted in the camera body. It will capture a sharp photo with plenty of detail and contrast. Images are dull and blurry due to a poor lens. There is a sensor in a camera that records the light. The good lens allows enough light to pass through it and also focus the light properly on the sensor.
Quality of an image is so dependent on the camera lens. What type of shots you can take that is indoor shots, outdoor shots, landscape shots, etc. depending on the type of camera lens and there is no single lens that is perfect for every situation. There are a lot of camera settings and it might be confusing at first.
A photographic lens is made up of lenses and the individual lens are known as elements. Lens barrel refers to the lenses that are fitted together in a tube. You have to keep several things in your mind while buying a camera lens. Haythem Lafhaj is sharing some details about camera lens below. Have a look.
Two main attributes of the camera lens:
Focal Length
It determines the angle of view that is how close and how wide you can get with the lens. Increasing the focal length makes your subject appear closer and larger. More subject area fits in the frame if shorter the focal length. 200mm lens can get you very close to the subject and 18mm lens can produce a wide angle shot. The angle of view depends on the size of the image sensor. The measurement of how much frame area you loss is known as the crop factor. There is also a relation between the depth of field and focal length.
F-Stop
It determines how wide the aperture can open and aperture refers to the opening of a lens diaphragm through which light passes. F-stop is generally written as numbers such as 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11 and 16. A lens that can reach f/1.4 will be much brighter than f/4.0.
Types of a camera lens
There are the different type of camera lens available that can be used in a wide range of circumstances. Here are types of lens and what lens is good for what type of photography.
Fisheye/Ultra-wide lens (8-24mm) - Panoramic shots, landscape, abstract.
Wide angle shot lens (24-35mm) - Interiors, architecture, forest photography.
Standard prime lens (35,50, 85, 135mm) - Portraits, Weddings, Documentary photography.
Zoom lens (55-200mm) - Weddings, wildlife photography.
Macro lens (50-200mm) - Ultra detailed photography.
Telephoto lens (100-600mm) - Sports. Astronomy.
The selection of the right lens is important to capture the perfect photos. There are many lens choices and the expensive lenses minimize the problems of chromatic aberration and distortion. Without a lens, you can shoot a dull and blurry image.