Wide Angle
Have a nice, shiny SLR? Happy that you now have the ability to change lenses whenever you want? Have no clue what kind of lens you should get?
Welcome to the typical plight of the first time SLR purchaser.
Unless you’re a fairly serious hobbyist (in which was you can probably stop reading this article), you might be a little baffled at all your lens options as an SLR owner. You’re probably asking yourself which types of lenses you need, and what all those crazy letters and numbers in front of the name mean. How is a poor consumer to choose?
Let me make it simple for you. I’m not going to give you a complete course in everything you need to know about camera lenses, but hopefully after this, you have some idea of that you want to buy. First of all, let me state that unless you have a good reason to choose otherwise, you’ll want a zoom lens. As you probably know, a zoom lens allows you to change the magnification of your lens (we’ll start calling it by its proper name, the “focal length,” from now on. These are extremely convenient, and very high quality these days, so there really is no reason to choose a fixed focal length, or “prime” lens.
So, the first thing you’ll notice when shopping for zoom lenses are the focal lengths. Focal lengths for zoom lenses are designated using the number hyphen number system, such as 18-70. These numbers represent the focal length in millimeters, and the larger the number, the more “zoomed in” your picture appears. Assuming you’re using a digital SLR, this particular example would zoom from a moderately wide angle view (28mm) to a moderately close up view (70mm). This would be a good, everyday lens to carry around.
The second set of numbers represent the “speed” of these, which basically means how much light the lens lets in. In photography, the more light, the better. This is what the “f” number means, and the lower it is, the better. For example, a 18-70 f4 lens is better than a 18-70 f5.6 lens. Sometimes, you’ll see two numbers, like “f4-5.6,” which means that the speed gets slower as you zoom out. This is perfectly normal, but its something to be aware of.
So, which lenses should you buy? Well, the easy answer is to buy something with a huge range, like 18-300, and be done with it. However, a general rule of thumb is that the longer the zoom range is, the poorer the image quality. However, many of these lenses are a lot better than they used to be, and for many casual photographers, the image quality trade off is worth the convenience.
If you want better lenses, try to get a wide angle zoom to cover the wide angle ranges, and a telephoto zoom for when you really need to get up close and personal. Buying first party lenses (i.e., Canon lenses for Canon cameras) will almost always get you better quality than third party lenses, though you’ll pay more. Also, be sure to check up on reviews for a lens before you purchase, it will make for a happier decision.
I hope this has helped take some of the mystery out of shopping for a lens for your SLR. Remember, its not the camera, the lens, or any other piece of gear that makes your pictures great. Its you, the person behind the camera. So learn how to take better pictures, get a solid set of lenses, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a great photographer.
David Wilson is a photographer and webmaster. He encourages you to visit Discount DSLRs to save on cheap digital SLRs. If you’re looking for those lenses at great prices, check out our SLR lens section.
Would a wide angle lens on a slr camera help with group pictures?
Need to know what a wide angle lens does for a picture
A moderately wide angle lens is great for group shots. I would not use a extreme wide angle lens because you will get some distortion. If you have a zoom lens that has a range in 24-40mm area this should do the trick without any distortion.
|
|
NP 50pcs 5mm 0.5W White Wide Angle 60° LED 100Kmcd F/S $22.00 |
|
|
Wide Angle lens for Canon Powershot SX10 IS New $29.99 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera IR Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC $22.98 |
|
|
WIDE ANGLE LENS Fisheye for CANON EOS Rebel XSi 18-55mm $43.88 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera IR Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC $0.99 |
|
|
Wide Angle Lens Fisheye for Sony A350 A700 A900 Alpha $39.95 |
|
|
Wide Angle 0.45X Lens with Macro for Sony Mavica Camera $24.94 |
|
|
WIDE Angle + Tele Lens KIT 37mm FOR Sony DCR- TRV350 $42.94 |
|
|
TASCO WC RIFLE SCOPE 3-9X40 WIDE ANGLE S.S. $79.99 |
|
|
Canon 15MM, F2.8 Lens – Fisheye Wide Angle $460.00 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera IR Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC $24.98 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera IR Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC $0.99 |
|
|
3 x 220V ULTRA WHITE 60 Led WIDE ANGLE Light Bulb GU10 $12.78 |
|
|
Wide Angle Lens Fisheye Macro for Canon SLR & DSLR $39.95 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC S34 $0.99 |
|
|
Vision Pro (Wide-angle Rearview Mirror) Attaches Easy! $10.00 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera IR Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC $22.98 |
|
|
72mm Macro Wide Angle Lens F/ Canon 28-135mm Lens $57.95 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC S34 $0.99 |
|
|
6 New 36 LED 12V WHITE Wide Angle Spot Light Bulb MR16 $29.25 |
|
|
4x 54 LED MR16 White Light Bulb Lamp WIDE ANGLE 12V ^ $32.30 |
|
|
0.5X Wide Angle 52MM Lens FOR Nikon D40 D50 D60 D70 D80 $29.95 |
|
|
Wide Angle Lens Fisheye for Nikon 18-55mm & D40 D50 D60 $39.95 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC S22 $0.99 |
|
|
48 LED White Bulb Light Lamp Wide Angle MR16 MR-16 12V $1.00 |
|
|
55mm Wide Angle fish eye Lens For Sony DSLR A330 A230 $37.95 |
|
|
Nikon wide-angle 28mm f2.8 excellent condition $89.91 |
|
|
WIDE ANGLE Lens For Nikon D60 D2Xs D40 D40X D80 D90 D3 $23.98 |
|
|
Wide Angle Lens Macro Fisheye for Canon Rebel XT XTi $39.95 |
|
|
72mm 0.45x Wide Angle Lens for Panasonic AG DVX100AE $59.99 |
|
|
WIDE ANGLE+Tele Lens+Filter For SONY DSLR-A330 18-55MM $49.99 |
|
|
E27 48 LED Wide Angle Spot Light Bulb Lamp 2.5W AC 220V $7.99 |
|
|
10x 54 LED GU10 WARM White Light WIDE ANGLE 110V 220V ^ $68.80 |
|
|
WIDE ANGLE LENS Fisheye FOR CANON EOS Rebel XSi 450D $44.88 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC $23.88 |
|
|
0.5X Wide Angle 52MM LENS FOR Nikon D70 D50 D40 X NEW $29.95 |
|
|
WIDE ANGLE Telephoto Lens Set For Nikon D40 D60 D90 D80 $39.98 |
|
|
Wide Angle Car Rear View Reverse Night Vision IR Camera $10.19 |
|
|
Olympus WCON-08B wide-angle adaptor lens $37.09 |
|
|
Kit Wide-angle +Macro + Tele End-Lens For Nikon & Sony $47.99 |
|
|
Wide-angle +Macro +Tele For Olympus E-410/510/520/420/3 $47.99 |
|
|
Wide Angle Telephoto lens & Filters for Digital Camera $59.99 |
|
|
YAMATO”PAL” WIDE-ANGLE-LENS OUTFIT:MADE in JAPAN, BOXED $7.48 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera IR Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC $24.98 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC S34 $0.99 |
|
|
CCTV Security Camera Day Night+wide angle+Audio MIC S22 $0.99 |
|
|
Wide Angle Lens Fisheye for Nikon D40 D50 D60 D200 D3 $39.95 |
|
|
0.5X Wide Angle 52MM Lens FOR Nikon D50 D60 D70 D80 NEW $29.95 |
|
|
8x 54 LED MR16 WARM white Light Bulb WIDE ANGLE 12V ^ $58.00 |
|
|
6 x MR16 21 LED WHITE LIGHT BULB WIDE ANGLE ENERGY SAVE $22.19 |