Digital Camera World » buying guide

DSLR Lenses: 7 questions photographers must ask about their next piece of glass

jmeyer — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 11:30:32 +0000

Choosing new DSLR lenses can be a bit of a minefield. To help you with your choice we’ve (asked and) answered 7 of the most important questions you need to know about your next optic.

I’m using the zoom lens that came with my camera, but I’d like to add one or two more. Where do I start?

Lenses can be split into three basic types: wide-angle, standard and telephoto. The zoom lens that came with your camera offers a focal length in the region of 18-55mm, giving a wide view at the 18mm end and a standard-ish view at the other – depending on the camera it’s attached to.

A good tip for choosing which new lens(es) to go for is to avoid duplicating your existing focal length range where possible. Take a look at lenses that offer either a wider or longer focal length, depending on the type of things you mainly take pictures of.

But do upgrade your kit lens as soon as you can afford to. It’s been built down to a price so that it can be bundled with cameras, and doesn’t feature the sharpest or brightest glass around.

You’ve mentioned focal length three times. That’s how long a lens is, isn’t it?

Not exactly, but without getting caught up in the magic of physics, think of it this way: focal length has an effect on how much of a scene you can see through the lens. Wide-angle lenses have short focal lengths (such as 10mm) and a wide-angle of view – hence the name.

Some of the widest lenses available can take in almost a 180° view of the scene, and with a lens this extreme you need to make sure you don’t accidentally include your own shoes in the frame.

As the focal length of the lens increases, this viewing angle decreases, to the point where long telephoto lenses of 400mm and above only take in a very narrow view of a few degrees.

OK, so how does a standard lens fit in?

A standard lens for a full-frame digital SLR is 50mm, and it captures roughly the same view as the human eye. However, the smaller ‘APS-C’-sized sensor inside the majority of DSLRs is around 1.5x or 1.6x smaller than a full-frame one.

Subjects appear bigger in the picture, a bit like if you’d cropped a shot in Photoshop, and to get a similar result with a full-frame DSLR you’d need to use a longer lens.

So, a 50mm lens fitted to a regular SLR actually gives you a ‘full-frame equivalent’ focal length of 75mm (50mm x 1.5).

To get the standard angle of view that a 50mm lens gives you on a full-frame DSLR, you need to use a 35mm lens on most other cameras (35mm x 1.5 = 52.5mm).

Nice maths. So, what’s the point of a standard lens?

Pictures produced by standard lenses have a natural quality that lets a viewer concentrate on the subject of the photo. A 50mm prime – the ‘nifty fifty’ – is a great value all-round lens, ideal for portraits, street photography, still lifes and more.

What do you mean by ‘prime’ lens?

Primes are lenses with a single, fixed focal length – such as 24mm, 80mm and 100mm – and the only way to make the subject bigger or smaller in the frame is by using your feet.

Zoom lenses are more convenient as they cover a range of focal lengths. However, you often pay for that convenience with increased weight and compromised optics – primes generally produce sharper pictures and have faster maximum apertures.

Some of the more extreme focal lengths – such as thumping great 800mm telephoto lenses – are only available in prime lenses, too.

So when should I use a telephoto?

Long telephoto lenses are the mainstay of sports and wildlife photographers, as they can’t get close enough to their subject, yet still need to fill the frame, and telephotos enable them to do just that.

Short ones start with a focal length of around 85mm, with long ones stretching to 800mm and beyond.

These big guns are able to produce an effect called ‘compression’, where objects look closer together in the frame than they actually are.

This effect can be put to great use when composing a scene with ‘stacked’ elements – such as a line of colourful boats in a harbour. Telephotos are also fantastic for picking out details in a wider scene.

Do I need a wide-angle lens if my kit lens starts at 18mm?

On most DSLRs, that 18-55mm kit lenses actually give you the equivalent view of a 27mm-82.55mm lens on a full-frame camera. To get a true ultra-wide view, you’ll have to look at lenses in the region of 10mm.

These lenses show heavy distortion at the edges of the frame, and subjects closer to the lens will seem much larger than distant ones. Compose your shot to embrace (or avoid) these effects.

PAGE 1: Common questions about choosing DSLR lenses
PAGE 2: How to buy a second-hand DSLR lens – free cheat sheet
PAGE 3: Getting the best from your DSLR lenses

7 cheap photo accessories you really need to own

jmeyer — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:38:20 +0000

Everyone knows about using a tripod and the benefits of using flash. These are some of the more common budget photo accessories on the market, and everyone has them. But if you really want to transform your photos, there are plenty more essentials available to you for under £100 (or whatever currency you may use!).

Many of these photo accessories are really conveniences, such as spare batteries, extra memory cards, camera bags and so on, and these won’t transform your shots.

However, we’ve detailed seven of the best cheap photo accessories that will give you the best value for money in terms of how much they can breathe new life into your photography.

Close-up lenses
With dedicated macro lenses starting at over £200 they aren’t really an option for those on a budget. But there are a couple of options that can offer you the opportunity to shoot close-ups at a much cheaper price.

Close-up lenses look like filters, but they are actually lenses because they aren’t simply flat glass. Just like a filter they screw on to the front of your existing lens – although they are available for the smaller square filter systems too – and allow your lens to focus closer than normal.

Close-up lenses are available in a range of strengths, known as dioptres, such as +1, +2 and +4, although you’ll also find them simply referred to as a number, such as close-up 1. The higher this number, the more powerful the effect of the lens, allowing you to focus closer.

The magnification factor of the lens depends on the focal length of the lens to which you attach it, but as a rough guide, at the longest setting on an 18-55mm standard zoom lens on an APS-C camera, a +2 close-up lens will enable you to fill the frame with an object around 80mm long. A +4 close-up lens will fill the frame with something around 60mm long.

PAGE 1: Close-up lens
PAGE 2: Extension tubes
PAGE 3: Reflector
PAGE 4: Spirit level; Flash trigger; Monopod
PAGE 5: Remote release

Buying guide: close-up photography equipment

dcworld — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:41:31 +0000

Take a look at close-up gear for every budget: reversing rings, extension tubes, close-up filters and macro lenses

Reversing rings are a low-cost, yet effective way to get into macro photography – they really do give impressive results. A reversing ring is simply a metal hoop with a bayonet fitting, to match your lens’s filter thread, on one end and a screw fitting on the other. As the name suggests, they work by mounting the lens directly onto the camera body, introducing a short extension, which makes the lens focus close and gives a high but fixed magnification. Your working distance also becomes fixed.You’ll get life-sized images that are razor sharp in the middle, but softer at the edges than you’d get with a macro lens. Only a select few offer electronic coupling too – be prepared to go Manual!

If you’re itching to photograph the world up-close you’ll need some specialised gear – here we explain the four main routes into fantastic macro photography…

Reversing Rings

You’ll get life-sized images that are razor sharp in the middle, but softer at the edges than you’d get with a macro lens. Only a select few offer electronic coupling too – be prepared to go Manual!

Pros:

Inexpensive, very small, life-sized results can be used with tubes or bellows to get closer than 1:1.

Cons:

Fixed magnification, fixed focus point, usually only work in Manual or Aperture Priority modes.

Price range:

From around £25 for a known brand or as little as £3 on eBay.

Extension Tubes

Extension tubes are basically metal tubes with bayonet fittings on both ends, so they fit between the camera and lens and extend the distance from lens to camera sensor. The tubes are available in a variety of lengths and can be bought singularly or in a set of three (Kenko’s range is popular). If you opt for good quality tubes, they’ll connect your camera’s electronics with those of your lens, enabling you to retain control of both the aperture and autofocus. Plus, lens quality will remain unaffected. One thing to consider when using tubes is that the longer the combined length of the tubes, the longer the exposure – your DSLR’s auto modes will compensate for this.

Pros:

Good quality results, varying degrees of magnification, lightweight.

Cons:

More fiddly than other methods, the longer the lens you’re using, the more extension tubes you’ll need.

Price range:

For branded tubes around £50 each or £115 for three, about £4 on eBay.

Close-up Filters

Close-up filters, also known as close-up lenses or macro filters, attach to the front of your lens or lens adapter. They have diopter ratings stretching from +1 to +10 and can be bought individually or as sets. You can stack the filters for increased magnification, but when you do so you have to put the strongest filter closest to the lens and work down.
Close-up filters decrease your depth of field, so you have to work with small apertures. Quality isn’t as good as with a reversing lens or extension tubes, but they’re a good first step into the world of macro, especially for occasional use.

Pros:

Small, light, cheap and easy to use.

Cons:

Quality isn’t as good as other methods, depth of field is lost.

Price range:

Hoya sets cost around £60, unbranded sets cost from £9 on eBay.

Macro lenses

If you’re serious about close-up photography, and want professional-looking results, a dedicated macro lens is the obvious choice. The quality you’ll get from a macro lens is second to none, because they’re manufactured solely for this purpose. Where as normal lenses are optimised so that sharpness and contrast get better towards infinity focusing, macro lenses are the opposite – providing brilliant sharpness, contrast and high general image quality up close. Macro lenses are generally bitingly sharp bits of glass, which is why many pro photographers use them as portrait lenses (although sometimes they can be too sharp for this!). As well as the ability to capture truly stunning close-ups, they’re capable of shooting anything else you come across.

Pros:

Superb optical quality, lenses double as a general purpose lens.

Cons:

Most expensive option for close-ups.

Price range:

From around £240.

If you’re considering buying a maco lens be sure to read our buying guide.

Macro lenses: buying guide

dcworld — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Equip yourself with all the knowledge you need to buy the right macro lens for you

Macro lenses come in various focal lengths, but the most common lenses tend to be 50mm, 60mm, 100mm, 105mm and 180mm. What difference does this make? Lots. Firstly, the shorter the focal length, the lower the cost – that rule of thumb applies across all brands, although a fast aperture will push the price up. As well as being cheaper, however, the lower the focal length, the smaller and lighter the lens will be.
For example the SEX DG macro lens has an SRP of £499.99 and weighs 460g. So, is a lower focal length better? For your wallet and back yes, but not always for your photography. The most important factor to consider, in terms of photography itself, is that the lower the focal length, the closer you need to get to your subject. If you know you’ll only be shooting static subjects, then it’s not such a big deal but anyone who’s eager to shoot insects and other small creatures should consider spending a
little more and going for a 100mm or 105mm lens. It’s seriously frustrating when you’re continuously scaring potential subjects away because you have to get so close
igma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG macro lens has an SRP of £319.99 and weighs 320g, while their 105mm f/2.8

If you’re serious about capturing the world up close sooner or later you’ll feel restricted by your normal lenses and start to think about investing in a dedicated macro lens. This investment will see you discover a whole new miniture world and you’ll be glad you took the plunge. Here we provide you will the key features to look for in a macro lens.

About macro lenses

Normal lenses are optimised so that sharpness and contrast get better towards infinity focusing, macro lenses are the opposite – providing brilliant sharpness, contrast and high general image quality up close. Macro lenses are generally bitingly sharp bits of glass, which is why many pro photographers use them as portrait lenses (although sometimes they can be too sharp for this!). As well as the ability to capture truly stunning close-ups, they’re capable of shooting anything else you come across.

Magnification ratio

The magnification ratio, or reproduction ratio as it’s also known, is a crucial feature. True macro lenses offer a magnification ratio of 1:1, meaning your subject will be the same size as the image sensor it was taken on. 1:2 means the subject will be double the height and width and so on. If magnification is less then 1:1, it’s unlikely to be a true macro lens.

Focusing mechanisms

All modern macro lenses have an autofocus facility, but if you’re buying second hand you could consider a manual focus only lens – not a problem for macro, but inconvenient if you want to use it more generally too. Autofocus lenses will either have ‘silent’ motors or older screw-driven ones – you’ll pay more for a silent lens, but it maybe worth it if you’re concerned about noise scaring subjects.

It’s also worth noting whether the lens focuses internally – if it does it won’t extend in length as you change focus, but a variable-focus lens will. This isargely down to personal preference and if you have a sturdy tripod any change in centre of gravity caused by lens movement should be combated anyway.

Vibration Reduction

Is Vibration Reduction important on a macro lens? If you’re planning to use a tripod at all times then no. If you may do some spur of the moment handheld work or are planning to use it generally then you’ll probably want a VR lens.

Focal length

For example the Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG macro lens has an SRP of £319.99 and weighs 320g, while their 105mm f/2.8 EX DG macro lens has an SRP of £499.99 and weighs 460g. So, is a lower focal length better? For your wallet and back yes, but not always for your photography. The most important factor to consider, in terms of photography itself, is that the lower the focal length, the closer you need to get to your subject. If you know you’ll only be shooting static subjects, then it’s not such a big deal but anyone who’s eager to shoot insects and other small creatures should consider spending a little more and going for a 100mm or 105mm lens. It’s seriously frustrating when you’re continuously scaring potential subjects away because you have to get so close…

How to buy the best printer

dcworld — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:51:04 +0000

What to look for when buying a printer for the first time

Buying a printer for your photographs is a decision not to be taken lightly as you’ll want to get the most from your images when you print them out. With a baffling array of printers on the market to choose from, you could be forgiven for not knowing where to begin. Follow our handy hints and advice to make sure you get the best one.

Many digital photographers rely on internet printing services, from mass-market companies like Photobox to professional-quality outfits like Loxley Colour. But high resolution photo files equate to lengthy upload times, followed by an even longer wait for postal deliveries, and all control over the printing process is taken out of your hands.

Apart from a few ‘postcard’ format printers, which still use dye-sublimation technology, inkjet printing is the order of the day and most manufacturers claim that their current models can rival or even surpass the quality of conventional silver halide printing. But photo printers are defi nitely not created equal, and there can be a surprisingly wide variance in the finer points.

When buying a printer, it’s worth remembering that you’re also buying into a printing system that includes the manufacturer’s ink and photo paper supplies. Indeed, in many cases, a complete set of replacement ink cartridges will cost almost as much as the printer itself. It might be tempting to switch to lower priced, third-party ‘compatible’ ink cartridges and photo papers but, in our experience, the quality usually suffers noticeably for document printing, and horribly for photo output.

We’ve also experienced much greater problems with nozzle blockages, resulting in light stripes printed across photos, when using inexpensive third-party inks. The chemistry between ink and paper is a surprisingly complex one.

Whereas layers of different, translucent colours can be laid over each other in dye-sublimation printing, inkjet ink is opaque, so very small droplets of ink need to be laid next to each other on the page to build up complex colours and smooth graduations.

This is why much higher print resolutions are required for inkjet printing compared with dye-sub printing, the droplets of ink being incredibly small and measuring only a few microns across. Premature fading can be caused by UV light, fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and gases in the air like ozone, nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxides.

All of these factors are taken into account in the development of inks and papers, and how they work together, so that in most cases genuine supplies can create prints, which will last a lifetime, either in photo albums or framed behind glass. Independent tests have shown that, by comparison, prints created with cheap third-party inks and paper can start fading in just a few weeks.