Each type of camera lens offers distinctive qualities.
Picking the right camera lens depends on what look you desire in the final image. Lenses can compress the background in an image, make the scene look wider or even show tiny details that usually go undetected at first glance. Lens options for single lens reflex (SLR) and some digital point-and-shoot cameras include zoom lenses, fixed focal length lenses and specialty lenses, such as macro or fisheye lenses.
Instructions
1. Zoom in close to distant subjects with telephoto zoom lenses. Rotate the focal length zoom ring on the lens, rather than using your feet, to get close. Use the lens to photograph sports action, wildlife or far-off scenes. Choose telephoto zoom lenses with ranges such as 70-200 millimeter (mm), 100-400 mm or 200-500 mm to capture a variety of close-up images that focus on the subject and compress the background into a soft blur.
2. Create photographs in narrow spaces with a wide-angle lens. You can gather large family groups in a living room and photograph them with the wall-to-wall coverage of a wide-angle lens. Choose from a fixed focal length wide-angle lens such as a 24 mm or 35 mm, or opt for the variety of a wide-angle zoom lens. Common ranges include 17-35 mm and 21-35 mm.
3. Shoot sharp images with fixed focal length lenses. Choose a 200 mm, 300 mm or 500 mm fixed focal length lens for subject matter that's far away. Choose 24 mm, 35 mm or a 70 mm fixed focal length lens for subjects within a few feet of the camera.
4. Capture details of tiny objects, such as coins or the veins in a leaf, by choosing a macro lens. Manually rotate the lens focusing ring for sharp images of close-up, detailed objects. Choose macro lenses in the common 70mm or 135mm sizes.
5. Use a specialty fisheye lens to capture a wide, distorted, nearly panoramic view of scenery or wide stadium crowd pictures. Choose a 10 mm, 12 mm or 14 mm lens to photograph wider than a 180-degree view.
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