Camera Lens
Photography has become the part and parcel of our
lives. We cannot imagine our life without photography. There is nofield left
which does not use photography. Weather its newspaper, advertising, fashion,
medicine, industry, astronomy etc. photography is tend to stay there and with
advent of Facebook, WhatsApp and other social networking media use of photography
is increasing day by day. Whether we are at home or outside we tend to see so
many photographs every day. The most common use of photography is to preserve
memories. As memories fades away with time so we keep photographs of the
special occasions or moments to preserve the memories we don’t want forget. But
besides preserving memories photography is an important tool of communication.
There is a very well-known saying about photography that “a picture is worth
than thousand words” i.e. the message which cannot be communicated by a
thousand word story can be easily communicated by a single photograph.
In simple words photography can be defined as
capturing of moment with a device called camera. And in technical terms it can
be defined as drawing with light or capturing light with the help of a device
called camera. So photography is not possible in absence of camera. Camera is a
light tight box with has a lens on one side and recording medium on the other
side.
Lens is
the most important part of a camera, without a lens we cannot take a
photograph. Also the type of a photograph depends upon the type of a lens. For
example if u want click distant objects or want to focus on specific details of
the subject then u will have a different kind of lens rather than when you want
to shoot huge area. In this article we will talk about the photography lenses
and their uses so that u can buy the appropriate lens for your camera.
Lens is an optical device with perfect or
approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or
diverging the beam.Camera lens is an assembly of lenses used in combination
with camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic
film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or
electronically. A lens may be permanently fixed to a camera, or it may be
interchangeable with lenses of different focal lengths, apertures, and other
properties.
A lens is categorized by its focal length. Focal
length of a lens is defined as the distance from the optical center of a lens
to the focal point (sensor) when the lens is focused on an object at infinity.
It's a primary physical characteristic of a lens which can be measured in an
optical lab. It remains the same no matter what camera the lens is mounted on.
Focal length determines the angle of view or how
much area of a scene the lens sees. Wide angle lenses have short focal lengths,
while telephoto lenses have longer corresponding focal lengths.. Angle of View
refers to the amount of a scene a photograph captures and can be measured
vertically, horizontally or diagonally. Angle of view is also known field of
view, angle of view changes given the type of lens a photographer uses to take
a picture.
There are the various types of lenses one should
know before buying a camera lens.
Prime lens
A prime lens, also known as a fixed lens, has a
fixed focal length such as 18mm, 50mm, 105mm, or 200mm. A fixed-focal length
camera lens is a permanent, non- adjustable lens. Prime lenses often have wider
maximumapertures, making them faster. Wider apertures allow forbrighter images
in low-light situations, as well as greatercontrol over depth of field.These lenses
are primarily used by portrait photographers.
Zoom lens
A zoom lens has the mechanical capacity to change
its focal length. It magnifies the subject. A zoom lens is very convenient,
because many zoom lenses can change their focal lengths from wide-angle to
standard and from standard to zoom. This eliminates the need to carry and
change multiple lenses while shooting a subject or project.
Telephoto Lens
A telephoto lens is a long focal length. This
type of lens is used for distant objects. This lens brings the subject closer.
It reduces the distance between the subject and camera especially when you
cannot go close to your subject. This lens is specially used in wildlife
photography.
Wide-Angle Lens
A wide-angle lens is a short focal length lens
and covers a wide area. Wide-angle
lenses are typically used for the subject is in the extreme foreground and the
photographer wants the background in focus as well. Wide-angle lenses are thus
ideal for photographing buildings, landscapes, interiors, and street
photography. A photographer should not use a wide-angle lens if he wants to
focus in on the details of a single, distinct subject.
Macro Lens
Macro lenses are lenses typically optimized to
focus sharply on a relatively small area, usually used for close-Macro lenses
or lenses with a macro mode are used for close up photography of insects or
flowers. "Macro" lenses specifically designed for close-up work, with
a long barrel for close focusing and optimized for high reproduction ratios,
are one of the most common tools for macro photography.
Fish-eye lenses are at the fringe of wide angle
lenses and offer a distorted perspective of the scene so that objects are
magnified in the center and diminish in size and clarity in all directions in
proportion to the lens' shape. Their angle of view is typically a full 180% but
some fisheye lenses produce an even greater field of view (as much as 220
degrees in some cases).
These are the various types of lenses one can buy
for your camera on the basis of his/her requirement.
Ms. Sanyogita Chaoudhary
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Communication Studies
