Lens News

Go long or go home? It's not always that simple when it comes to using telephoto lenses to get close to your subject. In fact, using longer lenses in photography can be harder than it looks.

Correct technique is essential for fast and precise focus, and sometimes it's necessary to give your camera some help. That's because if you focus on the wrong spot within the frame, all is lost before you snap the shutter—even if you use a high-end pro camera with a premium lens.

Spring is in full bloom, with summer barely a month away, and it’s time to pull out the macro lens, brush up on your technique, and start thinking about close-up

The first thing most landscape photographers do upon arriving at a location is pull a trusty wide-angle lens out of their bag. It's true that telephoto lenses are growing in popularity for this purpose, but today's tutorial is all about making the most of whatever wide-angle prime or zoom that you own.

“Date your cameras and marry your lenses,” a Sony staffer professed after I arrived in San Diego last week for the unveiling of two new lenses; the 50mm f/1.4 ZA prime and 70-200mm f/2.8 GM zoom. Our select group of journalists were repeatedly told, “Do not leak this launch.” Considering the leaks of cameras introductions from their competitors this summer, the firm request was understandable and we obliged.

Lenses are, perhaps, the most important (pardon the pun) element in photography but most photographers probably have no idea how they really work. If you want to learn about lens but you don’t have a lot of time and don’t want to break your brain, Canon has released simple and straightforward 3.5-minute video titled “How Lenses Function.”

Every lens maker offers standard types of lenses: wide angle, normal, and telephoto zooms plus several primes in popular focal lengths. Although highly useful, these lenses alone do not represent the breadth of offerings available. Hidden away within the lineups of many lens makers are specialty models which, even if they aren’t suitable for one’s purposes at any given time, are fascinating not only for their unique qualities but also because they might someday be the perfect tool for a specific shooting situation.