Tell me about Lenses

[DVC Jen]

I have read a few threads on lenses and I am not understanding much of what anyone is saying.

What does everything stand for. How do I know what a specific lens is going to do for me and how I should use it?

 

[jann1033]

check out these links . they have tons of info and the second one helps you see the difference between mm.( ie how much zoom is enough zoom) scroll down to the second heading on the canon one for general info
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/
http://www.tamroneurope.com/flc.htm
http://www.tamron.com/lenses/learni...der/choosing_lens/choosing_lens_schneider.asp

 

[DVC Jen]

Thanks so much.

 

[DVC Jen]

So the higher the number in mm is the closer the picture will appear to you or in your photo? Is the correct?

An 18 mm lens will show a wider shot than say a 50 mm lens?

 

[Anewman]

Anything specific you need help with, feel free to ask.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

An 18 mm lens will show a wider shot than say a 50 mm lens?

Yes.

Here is a page with some useful calculators. Using the Dimensional Field of View Calculator, you can see that an 18mm lens on a camera with a 1.6 "focal length multiplier" (like a Canon Rebel) taking a picture of a wall 10 feet away will capture a section of the wall that is 12' 6" wide and 8' 4" tall. Using a 50mm lens, you will get a section of the wall that is 4' 6" wide and 3' 0" tall.

Generally speaking on a typical DSLR, a 30mm lens is about what you see just looking straight ahead. 18mm is a fairly wide view. 200mm maginifies things a lot (like looking through binoculars).

 

[DVC Jen]

Canon-EF-85mm-f-1.8 - that would be a fixed and not a zoom lens. correct?

Ok question #2. Would this lens be good to use for a dance recital when I want a clear crisp shot of my daughter. I do not care if the background is blurred out - I just want to be able to get a photo of my daughter while she is dancing and not have it be blurry. Would this one also be good for the WDW parades? zoom lens

Question #3. Will I need a different lens for fireworks and or night parades? If so will this one be the best option for that? lens 2

 

[MarkBarbieri]

The 85mm f/1.8 is fixed. It does not zoom. Zooms always show a range like 70-200mm.

Whether or not it would work for a recital depends on where you stand and what the lighting is. If the lighting isn't bright and you need to capture movement, having an aperture like f/1.8 is great. If you're too close, you might be too far zoomed in. If you're too far back, it might not be zoomed in far enough. Use the field of view calculator to determine how it will meet your needs. Just remember, you can cut out part of the picture if you're a bit too far back, but you can't do much if you're too close up.

The 75-300 is an ancient Canon lens and not a particularly good one. You get what you pay for. If you want a medium to long zoom and you don't want to pay a lot of money, this is an option. Just don't expect too much out of it. It's not sharp from about 200mm to 300mm. The aperture (f-stop) isn't very wide (the minimum number isn't low), so you need a lot of light to use this lens. That's especially true because you'll want a 1/500 second shutter speed or faster when you're zoomed all of the way in. If you're on that tight of a budget, I'd look at some of the Sigma or Tamron lenses. If you're not, you might want to get the newer 70-300 IS or the 70-200 f/4.0 instead.

As for shooting parades, it depends on what you want to do. These lenses are all on the telephoto side of things. That means that they make things look a good bit closer. So if you want a shot of a particular character or part of a float, they are great. If you want a shot that shows an entire float and the people around it, these lenses might not be what you want.

That's the trouble with DSLRs. You either end up switching lenses because you switch between wanting wide angle shots and closeup shots or you get a lens that tries to do it all and you sacrifice a lot of image quality. It's all about tradeoffs and compromises.

 

[Anewman]

Canon-EF-85mm-f-1.8 - that would be a fixed and not a zoom lens. correct?

Well yes it is not a zoom lens, you often hear them refered to as "primes."

Ok question #2. Would this lens be good to use for a dance recital when I want a clear crisp shot of my daughter. I do not care if the background is blurred out - I just want to be able to get a photo of my daughter while she is dancing and not have it be blurry. Would this one also be good for the WDW parades? zoom lens

If you are reffering to the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM zoom lens, depending on lighting situations it maybe fine. IMO the 85mm 1.8 PRIME would always be better picture quality wise and in lower lit theaters should provide good results, positioning yourself for good composition would be the biggest issue. The ZOOM you mentioned will be more versital but it is very light hungry, the theater would have to be almost "SUN" bright or the use of a good FLASH unit would be needed to get acceptable results.

For parades I think the 75-300 would be too long, you would need to move back but then persons may decide to stand in your way.

Question #3. Will I need a different lens for fireworks and or night parades? If so will this one be the best option for that? lens 2

It would be great for night parades because of its low light capabilities, but since a TRIPOD would still be recommended for fireworks you can pretty much use a zoom lens with the focal length you prefer.

ANY LENS can be used for any of what you asked about, it is just that some are better at certian tasks. There is no PERFECT lens for any situation, because there are so many variables.

Take the dance recital, a 50mm prime can be great if you sit in the front row. But take that same dance recital and sit in the back row and that 75-300mm zoom would probably be better.

 

[DVC Jen]

OK - so the 50mmf/1.8 would be a decent lens for night parades or if I am sitting pretty close to an "action" shot.

The zoom lens I was looking at is not such a great choice. I am not overly limited on the $$ side. I can probably go to the 300.00 - 400.00 range on a zoom lens with a fairly large aperture before making my DH cringe.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me for a good zoom lens that I can use in a large amount of settings. Something better than the 18 - 55 mm, F3.5-5.6 EF-S lens that comes with the camera.