#1 Lenses

My father always said it’s always best to spend more money on good lenses than I spend on the camera.  A good lens is the difference between a good photo and a great photo.  I have found his advice to ring true.  You do not have to use only the lens brand that corresponds with your camera brand.  Some lens brands are interchangeable, and others can work if you buy an adapter.  Personally, I only buy Canon lenses since I know they will work with my Canon camera.  If you are thinking of buying a lens, you might also consider renting a lens first so see if it’s really what you want.  Some online distributors will rent you a lens.  Then, you can buy your own, confident you really will enjoy your purchase.  But don’t worry too much about buying other lenses until you get the hang of your camera.  Lenses are expensive; you don’t want to spend huge amounts of money to find out your existing lens takes all the photos you want.

Your 35mm camera probably came with a lens.  My Canon Rebel came with a 18-55mm zoom lens.  The numbers refer to the Focal Length of the lens.  Focal length is the distance inside the camera from the lens focusing point to the sensor inside the camera.  If my lens is moved outward, it changes the focal length, and the objects appear more zoomed in/closer in my picture.  So 18mm gives me a wider photo and 55mm gives me a zoomed in photo.  Or I can focus anywhere in between those two.  A Prime Lens has a fixed Focal Length that can not change.  For example, I have a 50mm prime lens.  It takes great photos, but I can’t take a wide-angle photo with it.  One great thing about a prime lens is you don’t have to think about zooming in and out; however, it can be frustrating if you want to frequently change your focal length for various photos.

Overall, 18mm gives a pretty wide angle for getting an expansive photo.  You can get wide-angle lenses with a focal length smaller than 18mm or really long focal lengths that you find with telephoto lenses.  I have one telephoto lens that goes to 200mm.  This allowed me to take close-ups from the bleachers when my sons were in sporting events.  It has also allowed me to take closer photos of astronomical events such as the solar eclipse of 2024.  You can also buy such short focal lengths, the lens distorts the wide angle.  Fisheye lenses can photograph up to 180 degrees of vision, but it will be distorted.

If you want to get into macro photography (extreme close-up), I recommend you first get magnifying lens filters that screw onto the end of your existing lens.  The filters come in different magnifications and can be stacked together for some extreme close-ups.  The filters are a fraction of the cost of a macro lens, and will do the job until you are certain you want to spend hundreds of dollars on a true macro lens.

Modern lenses come with an automatic focus (AF) switch on the outside (usually on the left as you face the camera from the back screen).  If you have bifocals or trifocals like me, you probably want to leave the auto focus turned on.  Sometimes you might want to photograph something that is not going to move, and you don’t want to focus to change in between photographs.  I only need to do this when my camera is on a tripod and will not change distances to the subject or scene.  Get the focus of your lens set, then turn off the auto focus - flip the switch from AF to MF (manual focus).  Now, you can focus your attention on other adjustments and settings without making sure everything is in focus every shot.  However, don’t forget to turn the auto focus back on for the next time you pick up the camera.  You don’t want to take a bunch of photos thinking the auto focus is turned on, only to find out every photo is out of focus.  It’s heartbreaking; I say this from experience. 

Some lenses also have Image Stabilization and have an on/off switch beside the automatic focus switch.  If you are new to 35mm photography, I recommend you just leave the Image Stabilization turned on.  Image Stabilization can help reduce the blur in your photos from a little bit of you shaking as you hold the camera.  Unfortunately, the same technology that helps eliminate blur when you’re holding the camera can cause some extra blur if it’s turned on while your camera is on a tripod.

An additional issue you need to consider is making sure the lens is made for your type of camera.  There are now mirrorless cameras; they use different lenses than conventional cameras.  Do make sure the lens will work with your camera.

One last, important note:  You need to buy new lenses that will fit your camera.  The diameter of your camera lenses is found on the lens.  It is found next to the Greek letter, Phi “Φ”; my camera lens has ɸ58mm to indicate my camera uses 58mm diameter lenses and filters.

I hope this has made lenses a little less scary for you.  My blog is not comprehensive, but I’ve tried to cover the basics to help demystify lenses for you.  My next How Do I Take Photos Like That blog will be about Shutter Speed and Aperture.  Keep looking for beauty in the world!