SLR Lenses
Interchangeable SLR lenses from zoom to wide angle will enable you to take the breathtaking photographs that you aspire to with ease and a quality that is second to none – if you choose your lenses carefully that is.
Because the SLR lenses will not only provide flexibility but also, depending on the maker and how you look after them, will determine how clear and focused your photographs can be.
Aspects of SLR Lenses
Aperture
The aperture of SLR lenses determines how much light is allowed into the lens and is adjustable depending on the light you need for a particular shot or even to create a special effect or create an ambience.
Aperture on these lenses is the f-number and the low numbers are large apertures and will allow more light into the SLR lenses whilst the larger numbers are small apertures and a small amount of light is allowed into the lens.
There are aperture or f-number setting on all interchangeable SLR lenses, learning to use aperture properly will help you to become a much better photographer and enable you to take images in all different light.
Depth of Field
The depth of field is the actual distance linking the closest objects to those farthest away that can be seen in focus in an image. This is varies with different SLR lenses and is affected by the f-number or aperture that you choose to use. The general rule is that larger apertures have a shallow depth of field whilst smaller apertures have a greater range that will be in focus.
Focal length & the angle of view
The angle of view is decided partly by the focal length of SLR lenses. “Normal” SLR lenses are those that have a focal length that is equal to the diagonal measurement of either the film format (35mm etc) or for digital the format of the image sensor.
So this means that wide-angle SLR lenses have a short focal length and consequently a wider view of the scene is seen that what would be considered a normal lens. Whereas telephoto lenses are the opposite with a longer focal length and capture a smaller amount of a scene and at the same time making it appear to be closer than it is.
SLR lenses are generally labeled by their focal length but a word of warning their angle of view can actually vary depending on the camera that they are attached to.
Types of SLR Lenses
Zoom
Unlike, many other lenses the focal length of zoom SLR Lenses is not static and will vary from the minimum to the maximum length with the range generally stated in the name of the lens. Zoom SLR lenses allow the photographer to get a closer view of objects, scenes or people that may be a distance away and in some cases will also have a macro setting that allows a close up look at very small objects like flowers.
Standard or Prime
If you see a reference to prime SLR lenses what they are talking about is a standard lens, they are often between 55mm to 85mm with a fixed focal length and the advantage over zoom SLR lenses is that they are usually, smaller, lighter and cost less.
Macro
The purpose of Macro SLR lenses is to record images that are extremely close such as flowers, small bugs, in fact anything that you want to have a close look at, they can be a lot of fun to play with and be your passport into a whole new world that you will never see otherwise.
Special Purpose
Bay far the most popular of all the SLR lenses is the zoom lens that is a very flexible lens and will accommodate a number of different situations. However there are special purpose lenses that are also worth considering. The fish eye lens, which are very wide angled SLR lenses, perspective control SLR lenses and soft focus lenses.
Buying SLR Lenses
When you purchase SLR lenses you have a choice whether to buy lenses that are manufactured by the maker of your camera or to purchase what is referred to as a third party lens.
Before anything else you need to check what sort of mount that you need to fit your camera. The mount is the way that the lens actually fits onto the camera and if the SLR lenses mount does not fit the camera that you own you may be bale to buy an adapter but these can be awkward to use.
Once that you know the type of mount then you can have a look around and start to compare prices. SLR lenses that match you camera may be more expensive that third party lenses and the best thing to do when looking at different lenses is to take your camera with you.
Third party SLR lenses are not necessarily inferior what it really comes down to is who made it that determines the quality. So do your homework on the Internet about the different lenses available and you should be able to find quality SLR lenses that fit your budget.