Digital Camera Lenses

A Guide to Types of Lenses

The internal technology of a digital camera produces different focal lengths than those produced by a film camera. In a traditional 35mm film camera, the focal length (that is, the distance the lens has to be from the film surface to create a focused image) of a standard lens is usually 50 mm, but because a frame of regular 35 mm film is substantially larger than a CCD, that focal length can produce totally different results if the same lens is attached to a digital camera. For example, to produce the same effect as a 50 mm focal length on a traditional camera, a digital model might only use a focal length of 20 mm.

Given that there are such a wide variety of digital cameras on the market, lenses are usually only compatible with one specific brand. In other words, Canon lenses won’t fit on Nikon cameras.

These are the main types of interchangeable lenses that are available to digital camera users:

Standard Lenses

Standard camera lenses have an equivalent focal length of between 35 mm and 65 mm, with 50 mm being the most common measurement. Standard lenses provide an all-purpose level of magnification that is suitable for shooting in a wide variety of situations. Most cameras now use a standard lens that has a built-in optical zoom facility.

Macro Lenses

If you want to shoot subjects in close-up, a macro lens is the way to go. It provides a small focal length to enable you to get very close to a small subject, such as an insect or flower, and still produce a sharp image. Although the term macro is commonly used to describe all close-up photography, true macro work produces images that are life-size or larger.

Wide-angle Lenses

The function of a wide-angle lens is to enable you to shoot subjects with a wide angle of view, such as landscapes or large group photographs. It has an extremely short focal length and can cause rounded distortion at its edges. Unless you’re after special effects, these distortions make the lens unsuitable for shooting subjects at a relatively close range.

Telephoto Lenses

Telephoto lenses are designed to magnify a subject without having to get closer to it and is therefore a favorite tool of wild life and bird photographers. The equivalent focal length of a telephoto lens is 65 mm or longer, but some lenses reach far beyond 200 mm. The extreme level of magnification makes camera shake more noticeable, which makes the use of a tripod essential.

Zoom Lenses

In contrast to providing a single fixed focal length, a zoom lens incorporates a range of focal lengths that can be selected by adjusting a control on the camera body. Digital camera zooms are known as ‘optical zoom’ and are usually based on a multiplication of the normal lens size. In other words, a digital camera with a normal 50 mm lens that also has 3x optical zoom will have a focal range of between 50 mm and 150 mm, or equivalent.

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