Lens Guidlines

[lacogada]

Looking for lens guidelines ... this type lens for this type shot sorta thing.

 

[tirediron]

It's all a matter of what you want... telephoto lens (>70mm) for distant subects, wide angle (<28mm) for wider/larger subjects; "Normal" lenses (30-70mm range) for every day shooting; Portraiture 85mm and greater...

 

[PropilotBW]

There are no guidelines. Photography is art.

 

[Braineack]

There are no guidelines. Photography is art.

I tend to disagree with this. Photography is not inherently an artform. It's a technical skill. The selection of lenses and how you use them is merely a selection of the means to reproduce various aspects of something already existing.

In almost every other form of art there is a form of creation and/or recreation. If I were to paint or sculpt an apple, I have to create it by blending paints, or carving wood, or chiseling stone, or even creating a cad file and printing it on a 3D printer.

If you're to photograph an apple, one must first have an apple to photograph. Then you can apply your fundamentals in science (how light reflects/absorbs, how the sensor captures light, etc.), your technical skills (how to light the scene and work the camera), and artistic flare/foundations (composition, rules, color theory) to capture the light. However, the image you create can absolutely be art.

 

[Solarflare]

I frankly have no idea what exactly the OP wants.

Does he want to know how to use a lens ? Does he want to have a list of available lenses for his system ? Does he want to have lens recommendations ? etc

I'm just clueless.

 

[Braineack]

he doesn't know how to go to any lens manufacturer's website and see a list of lenses they offer that are, shockingly, categorized by: this type lens for this type shot sorta thing.

for example, nikon categorizes their lenses as such:

Travel and Landscape Lenses
People and Events Lenses
Sports and Action Lenses
Close-Up (Macro) Lenses
Special Purpose Lenses

 

[KmH]

• Understanding Camera Lenses: Focal Length & Aperture
• Using Wide Angle Lenses
• Using Telephoto Lenses

 

[lacogada]

Thanks for the reply's ... and sorry to have bothered some.

 

[lambertpix]

Looking for lens guidelines ... this type lens for this type shot sorta thing.

Go look at some photos on Flickr -- a large number of these have EXIF information showing not only the focal length, but the aperture & shutter speed as well. You might start to get a feel for how people choose to use these things to create the "look" they want.

 

[Designer]

Thanks for the reply's ... and sorry to have bothered some.

Oh, hey, think nothing of it. I think they offered some good categories, even though somebody else will have different opinions.

Don't be sorry for asking your question. If you don't get the answer you were looking for, rephrase the question and try again.

 

[Trever1t]

Me thinks you are getting a little ahead of yourself. Once you learn all the fundamentals of photography you will never ask is this a good lens for this or that, you will know based on physics and desired results. That said, if you are looking to buy a new lens, why not go the other direction and decide what you want to photograph and we can point you in a general range?

 

[astroNikon]

It's a simple newbie question ... what one doesn't know, one doesn't know how to ask.
John and everyone answered it.
The first link Keith listed is what I was going to post ... just in case you peruse over it too quickly here's the summary in the middle of hte page .. use as a rule of thumb

The following table provides an overview of what focal lengths are required to be considered a wide angle or telephoto lens, in addition to their typical uses. Please note that focal lengths listed are just rough ranges, and actual uses may vary considerably; many use telephoto lenses in distant landscapes to compress perspective, for example.

[TABLE="class: t1 pad"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Lens Focal Length[SUP]*[/SUP][/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Terminology[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Typical Photography[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Less than 21 mm[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Extreme Wide Angle[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Architecture[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]21-35 mm[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Wide Angle[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Landscape[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]35-70 mm[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Normal[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Street & Documentary[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]70-135 mm[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Medium Telephoto[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Portraiture[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]135-300+ mm[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Telephoto[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #1F1F1F"]Sports, Bird & Wildlife[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
​

Understanding Camera Lenses