Page 88 - Smart Photography

Understanding Photography
LEARNING

These are definitely limitations and
you can only overcome these by using the area you want to concentrate first this is around 43mm though usually
and buy a lens that will help you to do
normal lenses for this format have a
a fast lens, which is a lens with a wide that best. focal length of 50mm. This is a highly
aperture like f/1.4 or f/1.8. popular focal length. Often it is said
Third, let us get one more issue out that, if you were to choose only one
So, to summarize, a kit lens is not of the way. This is the often fruitless lens, then it should be the normal
as bad as you think though it has debate of zoom vs prime lenses. Let me lens. All these factors have earned
some limitations. Used properly it say that they serve different purposes. it the name, “nifty fifty”! The main
is an economical solution to many That is why most serious amateurs advantage is that for high speed (f/1.8
photographic situations and ideal for and professionals use both. In brief, or faster) no other lens of any focal
getting your feet wet. if you want small size, light weight length will have a price this low. So,
and high speed, then go or a prime. this is a great all-purpose low-light
However, all this does not also mean This is especially true if you want to lens. Normal lenses are also available
that your kit lens does everything (in concentrate on just one genre, say with corresponding focal lengths for
fact no lens does) and that you need not portraits. Here, a prime lens will surely cropped sensor and MFT cameras. All
buy anything else. We are just trying to score high. On the other hand, zoom are high speed and low cost. Before
show you how some of the perceived lenses give you a lot more flexibility zoom lenses became popular, a normal
shortcomings are not serious and the and you need to carry fewer lenses. lens was the standard kit lens. Alas,
ways they can be overcome. In the end The main penalties are high cost (for no manufacturer is now bundling a
though, there are certainly some things premium quality zooms) and speed. normal lens as a part of a kit.
that it can’t do just like any other lens. Question of size and weight of zooms vs
primes is difficult to answer unless you Portraits: Perhaps more pictures
If you are convinced that you are have an idea on how many primes you are taken of fellow humans than
being limited by your kit lens, then are going to trade off for a zoom. Many any other subject. So, why not use a
you should start looking at some extra photographers say they prefer primes lens that gives you the best results?
lenses. However, this is not an easy because of high quality. Today, this is In fact, portrait photography is so
task! no longer an issue as high quality zoom popular that there are lenses called
lenses are just as good as primes for “Portrait” lenses (Picture 6). These
Let me start with a few important all practical purposes. So, don’t worry are fast, short telephoto lenses with
points. about this issue. apertures of f/1.8 or f/1.4 and focal
lengths between 85mm and 105mm.
First, there is only one person who can Before we look at specifics, please note Being light in weight and quite small
make the correct decision and that, that we will be using for discussion in size, they are easy to hand hold.
dear reader is you! In case you are focal lengths that correspond to the More importantly, they give optimum
wondering why you must read the rest angle-of-view of the full frame
of the article, it is because we are going format (24 x 36mm). The focal
to give here all the points that you need lengths that give the same angle of
to consider when you are buying your view (AOV) for different formats
next lens. (sensor sizes) are given in Table 1.
Picture 5: A
The second point is that, narrow down The best way to narrow down normal lens (Leica
Summilux) for the
on what you want to do most and look on what you need to buy is to
MFT format. This
for a lens that satisfies that purpose. first understand what the end has a focal length
It is quite common that many of us use will be. As I had already 25mm which gives
the same AOV as
are interested in several diversified mentioned, while only you can 50mm on a full
genres of photography. This causes correctly answer that, here are a frame camera.
The maximum
problems. Do not think you can use a few popular applications and the
aperture is a wide
single lens for low light street / candid lenses most suitable for each of f/1.4.
photography, macro, birds in flight and them.
everything in between! To satisfy such
a need you will need a lens that has a General and low light: I am
zoom ratio of 50, covering 20mm to starting with this application Picture 6: A portrait
lens. Reasonably
1000mm, has a speed of f/2.8, focusses as it is the one which can be small, fast and light
close, is small and light weight! Such handled at the lowest cost. The weight, they also give
a pleasing perspective.
a mythical beast does not exist! OK, I
Smart Photography February 2018 what I am trying to convey is that there normal lens is a lens whose focal aperture gives limited
lens that can handle this is the
This is a Nikon 85mm
might have exaggerated here a bit but
“normal” lens (Picture 5). A
f/1.8 lens. The large
DOF thus blurring the
length is approximately equal
are several tradeoffs when a lens is
background. This is an
designed and a single lens that satisfies
to the diagonal of the format.
important requirement
88 all the needs does not exist. So, choose For the 24X36mm full frame for a portrait lens.
www.smartphotography.in