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If you are thinking about choosing a lens for your camera, then you have already outgrown the capabilities of a kit lens and you want something big. But how to understand all the variety of lenses, their characteristics and capabilities? I will try to give answers to these questions in this article.

This Guide will focus on lenses for SLR and mirrorless cameras; various wide-angle adapters or macro attachments for both lenses and mobile phones are beyond the scope of this article.

Main characteristics

Bayonet

Almost every manufacturer of photographic equipment uses its own lens mounting system - a bayonet mount. But there are a number of third-party lens manufacturers that produce them for several mounts: Tamron, Sigma, Tokina, Carl Zeiss and Samyang, etc. When purchasing a lens from a third-party manufacturer, you need to make sure that you are buying a lens with the correct mount.

Focal length

Focal length is one of the main characteristics of a lens. Without going into complex technical definitions, the focal length can be called the amount by which the lens “brings us closer” or “farther away” to our subject. Focal length is measured in millimeters. To provide a unified reference system, the concept of “Effective Focal Length” (EFL) was introduced - essentially this is the focal length for full-frame cameras, and in the case of using cameras with smaller matrices, the concept of crop factor is introduced, with which you can bring the focal length of the lens used to EGF. For example, if you use a camera with a crop factor of 1.5 and a lens with a 50mm DF, then the EFR = 75mm (50*1.5). It is in terms of EGF that further discussion will take place; in order to bring the EGF to the focal length for your camera, you need to divide the EGF by the crop factor. There are many focal length simulators on the Internet, here is one of them as an example.

Based on focal length, all lenses can be divided into several categories:

Ultra-wide-angle (up to 24 mm EGF);

Wide-angle (24 – 35 mm EGF);

Normal (35 – 70 mm EGF);

TV range (70 – 300 mm EGF);

Super-television range (from 300 mm EGF).

There are also lenses with fixed and variable (zoom lenses) focal length. Prime lenses are lenses with one focal length, which means that with this lens you cannot zoom in or out of an object. Such lenses, as a rule, have high image quality and high aperture ratio. Zoom lenses are more versatile and allow you to quickly bring your subject closer.

Ultra wide-angle lenses are great for landscapes and architecture. Such lenses, due to their wide viewing angle, allow you to create the effect of a deeper image; objects in the frame appear further than they actually are.

Wide-angle lenses are already more familiar to our view of the world; the viewing angle is still large and sometimes perspective distortions are noticeable (especially if the subject is placed in the corner of the frame). The main application of these lenses is landscape and architectural photography. By the way, your kit lens should capture part of this range. Most kit lenses cover 28-80 mm EGF, and some examples start with just 24 mm EGF.

In addition to landscape and architectural photography, portraits can already be taken with caution in this range. Very often, “genre” portraits are shot with 24 or 35 mm EGF. But for classic portraits, completely different lenses are needed.

The name of this range speaks for itself. It is in this range of focal lengths that the picture is close to how our eyes see it. And that is why classic kit lenses cover exactly this range of focal lengths. Such lenses are perfect for reportage and everyday photography.

The telephoto range of focal lengths allows us to bring the subject closer to us and at the same time capture a minimum of the background, as well as effectively separate the subject from the background. The main use of these lenses is portraiture, reportage photography, as well as photography of wildlife and distant objects.

These lenses are highly specialized for shooting distant objects, they are usually used for photographing wildlife when it is necessary to remain unnoticed by the subject. These lenses not only have outstanding performance, but are extremely heavy and expensive.

Aperture

Aperture is a value that characterizes the degree of attenuation of the light flux in a given lens. In simpler terms, high aperture allows us to shoot in darker conditions, but this is not the only advantage of high aperture.

The lens aperture directly depends on the relative lens aperture (aperture), which is displayed in the lens description as 1:2.8 or f/2.8. Take your kit lens and see what its value is. Most likely you will see numbers 3.5 – 5.6. This means that at the wide angle you have a lens aperture of f/3.5, and at the far end it is f/5.6. Lenses with f/2.8 and lighter are considered fast. The main thing to remember here is that “lighter” means a smaller number, i.e. maximum open aperture.

What else can high aperture give us besides shooting in darker conditions? Aperture is directly related to such a concept as Depth of Field of the Imaged Space (DOF) - the smaller the aperture (f), the smaller the DOF will be, i.e. a narrower area of ​​space will be sharp. This will give us greater separation of the subject from the background, all these circles in the background (bokeh) and blurring of the background and foreground also depend on the aperture ratio.

If you want to take a beautiful portrait with a blurred background, you need a fast lens. For this purpose, you need to look at lenses with an aperture of f/1.8 and higher (f/1.4, or maybe f/1.2).

Image stabilization

The image stabilizer allows you to compensate for slight hand shake, increase shutter speed and shoot pictures without blurring within reasonable limits. There is a rule: to get a sharp shot, the shutter speed must be inversely proportional to the EGF. That is, with an EGF of 160 mm, the shutter speed should be at least 1/160, and preferably 1/200 or shorter. The stabilizer will allow you to reduce the shutter speed by several stops, the exact values ​​​​depend on the effectiveness of the stabilizer.

Image stabilization can be achieved in two ways: an in-camera stabilizer or an in-lens stabilizer. Here, each manufacturer goes its own way, you need to take into account the presence of a stabilizer in the camera, and if it is not there, then look for lenses with a built-in stabilizer.

Autofocus

The presence of autofocus is an important detail of modern lenses; it allows you to shoot in automatic mode without thinking about where the focus is now. Just point at the subject, align the focus point and shoot, the automation itself will adjust the focus to the desired object. Focusing speed can depend both on the design of the lens itself and on the camera used. If you shoot portraits or landscapes, then autofocus speed will not be critical for you, but for reportage shooting, slow focusing is unforgivable.

Autofocus has almost become standard in modern lenses, but there are also lenses without autofocus, in which case you will need to manually focus on the subject.

Protection from dust and moisture

The lens' protection against rain and moisture allows you to shoot in the rain and not have to worry about your equipment. The main thing to remember is that such protection only for the lens is not enough; your camera must also be protected.

Image quality

Detail, sharpness, uniform quality of the resulting image - all these parameters are very important, and the higher the quality requirements, the more expensive the lens will be. These parameters are not directly indicated in the stated characteristics; some judgment can be made based on MFT graphs, but it is best to look at examples of photographs and listen to reviews from owners.

Application area

Lens selection should always be approached based on practical considerations. First, decide why you need a lens, what budget you are willing to allocate for the purchase, and you can choose a suitable copy.

Zoom or Fix

It would seem that the choice is obvious - zoom. It is more universal, suitable for almost any shooting and will give more freedom of action, but it is not for nothing that professional photographers very often use prime lenses. The design of the prime lens is tailored to a specific focal length, which makes it more compact, faster and produces a higher quality image than a zoom lens. The loss in versatility is easily compensated by better image quality.

You may have a question: “What kind of fix do I need?” One of the options for answering this question would be to analyze your photographs - look at which focal length you have the most shots at, what you gravitate towards most, and it is in that range that you should choose your prime lens.

Universal lens

If you want to use one lens for all types of shooting, without carrying 2-3 different lenses with you and constantly changing them, then one of the so-called “super zooms” may be suitable for you. These are lenses with a zoom of 10x or more, an example would be lenses with a focal length of 28-300 mm EGF. But such lenses cannot boast of high aperture and constant image quality at all focal lengths.

Portrait lens

If you need a lens for portraits, your first choice will generally be a high-aperture prime. Such a lens will effectively blur the background and add additional volume and charm to the portrait.

Among portrait primes, two focal lengths stand out (especially when using crop cameras) – and mm. When choosing, you need to pay attention to lenses with apertures f/1.8  and f/1.4 . Lenses with f/1.2 and brighter are not so popular due to their high cost.

But there is also the option of zoom lenses for portraits. Such lenses include telephoto zoom lenses with high constant aperture, something like 70-200\2.8. These lenses are more versatile and expensive, but they will allow you to use them in other areas of photography.

Similar lenses are available in any system. They will give you the opportunity to shoot in more difficult conditions and still produce higher quality images.

Interior, landscape, architectural photography

If you need to shoot something in tight spaces, then wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses are a great solution. Ultra-wide lenses capture more space, but due to the design features, the cost of such lenses is always high.

Among wide-angle lenses, you can find budget options, and part of the wide-angle range can be included in your standard lens.

A good solution when choosing a wide lens may be to purchase a high-aperture high-quality standard lens, which we discussed in the previous section.

Reportage shooting

Sporting events, weddings, reporting - all this is difficult to shoot without a good telephoto lens. In terms of the number of solutions presented, this category is second only to standard (regular) lenses.

For reportage shooting, speed and mobility are important, which means the use of fixed lenses is practically excluded. Zoom lenses rule in these genres. Moreover, there are lenses for every budget and taste. Expensive televisions with constant aperture or budget “dark” televisions, there is a lens for everyone. For such shooting, a lens with a focal length of up to 200 mm will be sufficient.

Wildlife Photography

All those lenses that are suitable for reportage photography, discussed above, are also perfect for photographing wildlife, but in some cases this may not be enough, and you will need super-telephoto lenses - lenses with a focal length of 300 mm or more. Such lenses are usually large and expensive. The larger the FR, the larger and heavier the lens. Primes with 400 mm EGF and more are already professional and insanely expensive lenses.

For amateur photography, it is better to choose one of the zooms with a focal length of up to 300 mm.

Specialized Lenses

Macro

Close-up photography of small objects is one of the most popular trends in photography. But for such shots it is necessary to use specialized lenses designed for shooting with the ability to project images at a scale of 1:1 or larger.

Naturally, manufacturers have taken care of a wide selection of such lenses, both in budget versions and in more expensive and high-quality ones.

Any macro lens is supplied with an appropriate description and the prefix “Macro”.

Among the main characteristics that you should pay attention to is scale. The most common lenses are characterized by a 1:1 scale, something capable of producing a larger scale (2:1 or more) is rare and is in a higher price category. In this case, there is no point in chasing a high aperture ratio; in the macro range, the depth of field is so small that to get a high-quality picture, you will have to tighten the aperture in any case.

Most macro lenses are fixed lenses, although there are also zoom lenses with the “Macro” prefix, but zooms in most cases cannot provide a scale larger than 1:2.

Macro lenses are also great for catalog and product photography.

Fisheye

Among ultra-wide lenses, a special place is occupied by lenses called fisheye (fish eye). These are lenses with uncorrected distortion; one of the characteristic features is the distorted display of straight lines in the form of arcuate curves.

This is perhaps one of the most specific lenses that allows you to look at the world from a completely different angle.

Tilt-Shift lenses

Tilt-shift lenses have the ability to tilt, rotate (from English tilt), the image plane at an angle to the plane of the photosensitive layer. And also shift (from English shift) the image plane along the plane of the photosensitive layer.

Lens shift is used when photographing architecture to avoid tilting the camera and resulting distortion of straight lines.

And tilt allows you to change the plane of sharpness so that it becomes at a certain angle to the matrix.

Most often, tilt is used in product photography, but it is also used in artistic portraits, and sometimes for landscape photography.

Conclusion

Selecting a lens can seem like a daunting task. There are many factors that need to be taken into account, and even manufacturers are trying to confuse us with a bunch of technical terms, descriptions of the structure and number of lenses in the lens, the coating used, etc. There are a lot of specialized technical terms that are not easy for the average amateur photographer to understand, but they still fade into the background before the main task - photography.

The main thing to consider when choosing a lens is the area of ​​application and the amount you are willing to pay to achieve the photo quality you need. The rest is a matter of technique. Make a list of lenses that suit your parameters, look at example images and make your choice.

or About the outstanding characteristics of a discrete staffer

Remembering

The modern oblivion of the discrete 50mm lens is inversely proportional to the popularity it enjoyed several decades ago. At that time there were no zoom lenses available, although the appearance (invention) of zoom lenses (for cinematography) generally dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. The first zoom for photographers, the Voigtländer Zoomar 36-82/2.8, was released only in 1959. However, until the end of the 1970s, zooms were not particularly popular - in terms of optical characteristics they were inferior to “fixes” and were significantly more expensive. The situation changed in the 1980s and came at the end of the so-called. Soviet era. As a result, affordable zoom lenses appeared with the advent of the market. At the same time, photographers began to use discrete optics less, among which the key model is the “fifty-kopeck” one.

The angle of the field of view in a lens is important, not the number of millimeters in the focal length

Its popularity is determined by the field of view angle (40-50°), which is approximately equal to the field of view of the human eye. Although it should be noted that the angle of each eye individually is 120-200°, and the binocular vision zone is up to 130°. However, in this situation, only the central angle of view is important for us, which has a decisive influence on the perception of perspective.
As a result, any lens in the f=45-60 mm range can be called “fifty kopecks”. It is the angle of the field of view that is important, not the number of millimeters in the focal length. By the way, according to the classical approach, the field of view angle is determined by the frame diagonal for a small format frame of 24x36 mm, where it is 43.3 mm.

Standard Lens

Even if the focal length of a lens is f=45 mm, it is still called a fifty-kopeck lens, or a “normal” lens, or a standard, or standard lens. All terms are correct. Standard - because at one time it was taken as the only (standard) lens for the camera. “Normal” - not because there are some “abnormal” lenses, but because the angle of the field of view and the transmission of perspective correspond to the human gaze. This is “normality”, or “naturalness”, as our foreign colleagues write - “natural”. "Fifty Kopecks" provides the most natural (“natural”) perspective. The focal length of a “normal” lens is determined by the frame size of a particular camera. For example, in medium format photo systems, a “normal” lens will be a focal length of about f=80 mm. In addition, the “fifty kopeck” is the reference point for the rest of the optics. Both downwards - to wide-angle lenses, and upwards - to telephoto lenses.

"Fifty Kopecks" provides the most natural (“natural”) perspective

With the advent of cheap whale zooms, a substitution of concepts occurred. People buy cameras (DSLRs and mirrorless) with interchangeable lenses, take photographs and wonder why there is no significant superiority compared to smartphones. The reason is that the characteristics of a camera with a full-time zoom are not much different from a smartphone. Of course, if you don’t go into details... Hence the strange opinion that a smartphone takes pictures no worse than a full-fledged camera.

Previously, people often bought a camera without a lens, which was purchased separately. Nowadays, budget optics, as a rule, are included in the kit; it is difficult to refuse them. And when the result is not satisfactory, disappointment sets in. How to avoid this? Very simple. Remove the standard zoom from the camera and set it to “fifty kopecks”. It has a lot of advantages, its optical design has been honed by generations of designers, but the main thing is that it is able to rehabilitate photography in the eyes of younger generations equipped with mobile technology.

Forced

“Fifty Kopecks” makes you think about the frame. If only because the photographer is forced to walk with his feet, and not stand still, playing with the zoom ring. At the initial level, zoom is generally harmful. Many people believe that it only brings things closer and further away. However, more importantly, it simultaneously changes perspective. But newcomers don’t have a good perspective.

With “normal” optics you can shoot almost all genres: landscape, portrait, street and even macro - using the reversing ring to install the lens backwards.

As a rule, “fifty dollars” use a simple optical design that has been worked out not for years, but for decades. For example, my Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA lens (SEL55F18Z) has 5 elements in 7 groups (43° field of view). Unlike zooms, where the elements move, here they stand firmly. The result is a sharp image, high aperture and pleasant bokeh (I have a 9-blade circular diaphragm).

“Fifty Kopecks” makes you think about the frame. If only because the photographer is forced to “zoom” with his feet

In addition, the lens is lightweight. I take the Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA when I need to save weight, when I need (can) take just one lens, or when I don't know what I'll be shooting. The weight of my standard lens is only 280 g. “Fifty kopecks” can generally be recommended as a lens for travel.

As a rule, all “normal” lenses are inexpensive. Without going into detail about the cost, anyone who begins to study the market will immediately understand that high optical performance is offered at a very reasonable price.

Fast full-frame Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA lens (SEL55F18Z, FE mount). Optical design: 7 elements in 5 groups, including 3 aspherical. Carl Zeiss T* multi-layer anti-reflective coating reduces flare and flare and plays a significant role in improving color accuracy and image contrast. Circular 9-blade diaphragm. Minimum focusing distance 0.5 m. Minimum aperture f/22. Internal focusing is used. Dimensions 64x71 mm, weight 281 g. Diameter for filter 49 mm. Metal dust/waterproof design.

Users speak very highly of the lens: “Sharp, excellent contrast and excellent color rendition, good resistance to backlight, focusing quite quickly, compact, lightweight, good design.”

Aperture

One of the key characteristics of “fifty dollars” is aperture ratio. All of them have a maximum aperture of at least f/2.8, which provides results significantly better than those of budget f/3.5-5.6 zooms. As a rule, the gain is several aperture stops, or 6-8 times more incoming light.

At the same time, you should not overdo it with the aperture ratio. At large aperture values, the depth of field in the image decreases. At f/1.2 this value (when shooting at close range) will be only... 1-2 centimeters. Of course, you can close the aperture, but this is not an argument, since such lenses are purchased precisely because of their high aperture. Nevertheless, when choosing, for example, between 50/1.0 and 50/1.4, you should not chase the unique characteristics of the first model (by the way, expensive).

The “fifty kopecks” use a simple optical design that has been tested not for years, but for decades

Here we come to a very complex topic, which we will outline, but will not reveal in detail. Firstly, there is a geometric value of the aperture (relative opening) and an actual one. That is, at the specified f/2.8 value, the amount of actual incoming light will be less, unless anti-reflective coatings are used in the optical design (but the full f/2.8 value cannot be achieved). For example, the Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA lens uses the legendary Carl Zeiss T* multi-layer anti-reflective coating. Secondly, not all lenses produce a sharp image at the maximum aperture value. The Sonnar T* FE 55 mm F1.8 ZA lens has a reliably working maximum aperture - the image is sharp.

In general, “fifty dollars” can be found with the following aperture values: f/2.8, f/2.5, f/2.0, f/1.8, f/1.7, f/1.4, f/1.2, f/1.0, f/0.85, f/0.95 , f/0.75 and even f/0.7! In the 1960s, Carl Zeiss developed ten ultra-fast Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 lenses for NASA to photograph the far (dark) side of the Moon (1966). Six went to NASA, one was kept by Carl Zeiss itself, and three were sold to director Stanley Kubrick. For example, he used such a lens during the filming of Barry Lyndon (1975), which allowed Kubrick to film scenes with the only light source in the form of ordinary candles. By the way, each lens for astronauts cost one million dollars. Kubrick asked to make him budget options...

1/400 s, f/2.5, ISO 400

All photos taken with Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA lens

1/160 sec, f/10, ISO 100

All photos taken with Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA lens

Photo or video shooting is a stream of light recorded on a photosensitive surface (in the case of digital technology, on a matrix) passing through the lens. Optics plays a primary role in photography and its quality largely determines the quality of the future image.

Any lens consists of several lenses combined into groups. Each of them has its own function. Lenses refract light, focusing it on the matrix, protect against distortion, reflections and other negative optical effects. Passing through these “barriers” the light flux naturally weakens. As a result, the light that hits the matrix becomes less bright and dims.

There are many ways that help avoid “light losses”, of which the most effective is the use of coated lenses, through which the light will lose a minimum of its intensity. So, the ability of a lens to transmit the greatest amount of light without loss of intensity is called aperture.

How to determine aperture ratio

Aperture is a complex concept and manufacturers express its value using digital coefficients. Thus, the simplest, inexpensive zoom lenses of modern cameras have an aperture ratio of 3.5 to 5.6 units. The lower the coefficient value, the higher the lens aperture. The Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 lens, designed for filming in . High aperture lenses for filming have a range from 0.7 to 2.8 units.

The Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 lens was used to capture the far side of the Moon.

How aperture affects shooting quality

Aperture determines not only the intensity of the light flux, which allows you to shoot with short shutter speeds in very low light. It is also related to the diameter of the relative opening of the diaphragm. The higher the aperture ratio, the wider the relative aperture, and therefore the smaller the depth. This is especially important in portrait photography, as this lens can be used to highlight foreground objects and blur the background.

Lenses with a fixed focal length have the highest aperture.

That is why aperture is the most important characteristic for portrait lenses and any professional portrait photographer has fast optics in his arsenal.