Lens News

My approach to taking portraits is simple: I want to capture natural, relatable images, where I'm able to catch every individual's true essence and true identity. For me, prime lenses are the ideal type of lens for this type of photography.

Sun & Games Fun with the sun...and more

1. Sun Stars
Your wide-angle lens at its smallest aperture can turn the sun into a star in your photos—fitting, since the sun actually is a star. The effect occurs because the tiny aperture diffracts the incoming light rays a lot. This diffraction causes the star effect. You can include the sun as a compositional. Photo by...

We’re always amazed to see photographers shooting with high-end cameras and premium glass, without a hood on their lens. Often that’s because hoods are an optional purchase when buying a lens, while other times photographers fail to realize the significant difference an affordable hood can make in the quality of their images.

While more and more landscape photographers are turning to long telephotos when shooting in the field, the trusty wide-angle is still the go-to choice for most of us. And there’s a good reason: The perspective provided by short focal length lenses is often perfect for capturing dramatic, expansive vistas.

We’re all familiar with the notion that lenses in the 85-105mm range are the best choices for portrait photography, supposedly because of the “natural” way they render a subject’s facial features. But in the video below, you’ll see why one pro prefers to use a longer telephoto zoom for portraiture. 

Because of the increasing popularity of digital SLR cameras, Tamron has been upgrading their line of lenses to the "Digitally integrated" (Di) standard, employing methods discussed in our Technology sidebar. Some of the new products (Di II series) were designed exclusively for digital cameras with the typical APS-size sensor, while others (Di) are multi-platform...

Now that you've mastered the standard zoom lens that came with your D-SLR, you have to be asking yourself "what's next?" You bought a D-SLR instead of a compact camera so that you could change lenses. The question is: which lens to buy first? The answer is easy, but it all depends on what kind of pictures you like to take.

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