I just realized I have no idea the classification of lenses, and I'm not entirely sure how I'd phrase it for Google so I'll ask the awesome people in the 365 community. I know there's telephoto lenses and macro lenses and such. I have a 50mm, and the 18-55mm kit lens. I'm wondering what makes a lens a certain number of mm.
And, what qualifies as a telephoto/macro lens? There's a 55-200mm lens at walmart and I was trying to figure out the technical details and range, but I am so clueless. I know I come to the forums asking stuff a lot, I just tend to get more human answers as opposed to a lot of Jargon I can't understand from the forums.
ha ha, brilliant. You might have come across mm before, maybe at primary school. It stands for millimeters, and they're the tiny smaller cousins of centimeters. basically the focal length of the lens is measured in lots of tiny ickle millimeters..
On a film camera the 35mm lens was approximately the equivelent of a 50mm digital lens.
18 is a wider angle. 200 is a telephoto option. The higher the number the further away you can see with the lens. You can get some of the same closer options with cropping.
50mm - standard view from any snap and shoot
18mm - good for group shots and buildings and landscape
200mm plus - great for things at a distance
When you take that telephoto lens and you focus on a closer object like a butterfly...viola... macro. Not as great as a primary macro lens, but certainly better than nothing.
Still, the standard view of the eye is what you see on a standard film or digital camera (plus or minus a variance).
Smaller numbers give you a wider view.
Higher numbers give you a more magnified view which on a telephoto/macro lens can be used either to magnify the subject or bring you closer to a distant subject.
@chewyteeth Unless of course you are an Olympus M43 user and 300 =600, @paign In theory you can take a macro In variety I'd different ways. With a telephoto by standing back zooming in shooting, and post digitally cropping. I sometimes take macros with 9mm les because it is just silly to get In that close and wide. Another way is to use a 50mm lens with a macro attachment which is a bit like a little magnifying glass that goes on the end. Rather than lashing out on lots of money, go to Holga direct and perhaps get a toy kit for your digital camera. They are lots of fun and produce amazing macros
@peterdegraaff Peter, curious about the toy kit? do you have a link with some info. I have a panasonic which uses micro 4/3 (is that what M43 stands for?)
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18 is a wider angle. 200 is a telephoto option. The higher the number the further away you can see with the lens. You can get some of the same closer options with cropping.
50mm - standard view from any snap and shoot
18mm - good for group shots and buildings and landscape
200mm plus - great for things at a distance
When you take that telephoto lens and you focus on a closer object like a butterfly...viola... macro. Not as great as a primary macro lens, but certainly better than nothing.
50mm digital is the equivalent of about 85mm on film, because of the crop sensor.
Still, the standard view of the eye is what you see on a standard film or digital camera (plus or minus a variance).
Smaller numbers give you a wider view.
Higher numbers give you a more magnified view which on a telephoto/macro lens can be used either to magnify the subject or bring you closer to a distant subject.
yeah around 80mm, depending on the sensors size I reckons.
@paign In theory you can take a macro In variety I'd different ways. With a telephoto by standing back zooming in shooting, and post digitally cropping. I sometimes take macros with 9mm les because it is just silly to get In that close and wide. Another way is to use a 50mm lens with a macro attachment which is a bit like a little magnifying glass that goes on the end. Rather than lashing out on lots of money, go to Holga direct and perhaps get a toy kit for your digital camera. They are lots of fun and produce amazing macros