Canon Camera Lenses: Meeting Your Photography Needs
Changing lenses is one of the greatest advantages to using an SLR camera as opposed to a digital “point-and-shoot” camera. From ultra-wide zoom lenses meant for landscape shots to macro lenses that can capture the tiniest details on miniature subjects, there are a wide variety of Canon camera lenses available to help you take the best pictures possible.
Wide-Angle Lenses
Canon has several fixed focal length and zoom varieties of wide-angle lenses. They also sell ultra-wide angle lenses, which are lenses with a focal length that is shorter than the short side of the sensor.
Both wide and ultra wide-angle lenses allow the photographer to capture a greater field depth and magnify the distance between objects. Because of the crop-factor of most digital cameras, a smaller focal length is needed to capture the same image that a film camera would capture from the same distance with a lens of a larger focal length. Some Canon SLR digital cameras do not have this crop factor and so do not require such small focal lengths, but they are generally much more expensive than SLRs that do have a crop factor.
Long-Focus Lenses
Long-focus Canon camera lenses magnify images in the distance, and the longer the focal length is, the greater the magnification will be. The most popular long-focus lens is the telephoto lens, which uses what is called the telephoto lens group to extend the light path in the camera so that the physical length of the lens can be shorter than the focal length.
Unlike wide-angle lenses, which seem to magnify the distance between objects, telephoto and other long-focus lenses appear to compress this distance. They are best used to make objects in the distance appear magnified. Long lenses can also be used to blur the background of a photo, making the subject appear to stick out more.
Standard and Zoom Lenses
Wide-angle and telephoto lenses tend to distort perspective, but standard lenses produce images with a perspective that seems more natural to the observer. Standard zoom lenses can change focal length from either moderate wide-angle to moderate telephoto or from standard to extreme telephoto or extreme wide-angle.
The zoom on zoom lenses is controlled through twisting the barrel. Because you manually control the zoom, there is no lag the way there is on compact digital cameras, which use electronic zoom.
Macro Lenses
Macro lenses are generally used to take close-up photos of very tiny objects. Their extreme magnification allows them to uncover details that you could not see with your naked eye.
Tilt-Shift Lenses
Tilt-shift lenses allow the photographer to control how perspective appears in their photos. The term “shift” refers to the movement of the lens parallel to the image plane, and “tilt” refers to the rotation of the plane of the lens relative to that of the image. Canon was the first company to produce a lens that had both tilt and shift functions.
Using tilt-shift lenses allows the photographer to take a picture of a tall object from a low vantage point without having the image appear tilted due to perspective. This is a very convenient feature for taking pictures of architecture from the ground. These lenses are incredibly expensive, however, costing upwards from $1000.
Wide-angle, long-focus, standard, macro, and tilt-shift lenses are the main Canon camera lenses manufactured for use with the company’s SLR cameras. The prices of these lenses vary depending on the type you get, and can be as much as $2500 for the best tilt-shift lens or as little as $100 for a refurbished standard lens. These lenses make SLR cameras very pricey and rather heavy and cumbersome, but the quality of the photos they produce is far better than anything you will get out of a regular compact digital camera.
If you are passionate about photography, it is worth the extra money to buy a good SLR camera and the Canon camera lenses that correspond to the type of photography you are passionate about. Whether you work with landscapes or insects or portraits of people, you can easily find a Canon lens that can accommodate your needs.
What is a Digital Camera SLR?
So you are looking to buy a new camera, and as you are searching through your options, the term “digital SLR” keeps coming up. You may notice these cameras tend to be more expensive than regular compact digital cameras, but what is a digital camera SLR really, and is it worth its higher price?
How Does the Digital SLR Camera Work?
The first thing we need to know if we are going to answer the question, “What is a digital camera SLR?” is what SLR literally means. SLR is an acronym that stands for “Single Lens Reflex.” These cameras use a reflex mirror system to reflect the image that will be captured into the camera’s optical viewfinder.
When you take a photo with a digital SLR camera, light passes through the lens and onto a mirror that reflects this light through a focusing screen to a pentaprism, which is a block of glass that reflects the image in such a way that you can see it through the viewfinder in the correct orientation. When you press the button to take a picture, the mirror flips up and the shutter opens to expose a digital sensor to the light.
SLR Cameras and Speed
So what is a digital camera SLR’s advantages over a compact digital camera? One of the main advantages is that the optical viewfinder shows the image exactly as the camera will capture it, without the lag time generally associated with LCD viewing screens. This is an especially important feature if you are taking action in which the object you intend to capture is constantly moving, such as a sports player or an animal in the wild.
Digital SLR cameras are also faster than compact cameras because they have a manual shutter. Compact cameras do use a shutter to take photos, but rather they electronically activate a sensor every time you take a picture. This creates a lag of a few seconds between the time you press the button and the time your camera actually captures the photo. The shutter on a SLR camera is instantaneous, allowing you to capture the exact moment you intended.
SLR Cameras and Light
Another advantage of SLRs is that they take better photos in low-light situations than compact cameras do. When you take a picture in a low-light setting without using your flash, the shutter of your camera automatically stays open longer to allow the sensor to gather more light. Because the shutter is open longer, however, pictures often turn out blurry if the subject moves at all or if you are holding the camera in your hand.
SLR cameras have a feature called ISO that makes the digital sensor more sensitive to light so the shutter does not have to stay open as long. The higher the ISO number, the faster the sensor can absorb light. Although high ISOs also tend to produce somewhat grainy pictures, SLR cameras are fairly good at filtering out this digital “noise” so that with a good camera you will probably not see this grainy quality until you get to an ISO setting above 800.
Lenses
SLR cameras also allow you to change lenses on your camera depending on what you are taking a picture of. A landscape photo should use a different lens than a close-up picture of a flower or insect, and the SLR allows you the flexibility to change lenses for these different situations. The large lenses on SLRs also make them much heavier and larger than a compact digital camera, however, so if you are looking for a camera that will fit in your pocket, an SLR is probably not the right camera for you.
So is the digital camera SLR something that is worth shelling out hundreds of dollars for? Well, it depends on what you need your camera to take pictures of. If you take a lot of action shots or need to take photos in low-light settings, it might be worth it to spend the extra money. Now that we have answered the question, “What is a digital camera SLR?” it is really up to you to decide if this kind of camera is for you or if a regular compact digital camera will serve your needs just as well.
Canon Digital Cameras: Digital SLR vs “Point and Shoot”
As you browse Canon digital cameras looking for your next purchase, the biggest decision you will be faced with is whether to buy a compact “point-and-shoot” or a digital SLR camera. Although in the past SLRs have been used primarily by professional photographers, in recent years these cameras have become increasingly popular among amateurs and hobbyists.
There are many benefits to using a digital SLR rather than a normal compact digital camera, but they are certainly not the right fit for everyone. Below is a list of five main points to take into consideration as you decide whether a SLR camera is right for you.
1. Your Budget
If you are on a limited budget, then an SLR camera is probably just not an option for you. Even though the prices of SLRs have gone down considerably, they are still much more expensive than compact cameras. Even the cheapest SLRs are above $500, and the most expensive one that Canon sells is around $8000.
2. Your Need for Speed
One of the biggest advantages to having a digital SLR camera as opposed to a compact digital camera is the speed with which the pictures can be taken. Due to the way compact digital cameras electronically activate the sensor when you take a picture, there is certain amount of lag in between the time you press the button and the time the picture is actually taken
Digital SLR cameras, on the other hand, have a mechanical shutter that exposes its sensor to light instantaneously when you press the button to take your picture. Even the low-end SLR Canon digital cameras having a max shutter speed of 1/4000 of a second!
Zooming in or out is also faster with a SLR than with a regular point-and shoot camera because it is controlled by the manual twisting of the lens barrel. The zoom on compact cameras is again electronically controlled, creating a lag.
If you need to take pictures of a fast-action sports game or running wildlife, the digital SLR is clearly the way to go.
3. Your Lighting Situation
As far as taking pictures in low-light settings goes, a digital SLR camera will definitely produce the better photos, even without a flash. This is because of something called ISO, which allows the sensor in a digital SLR camera to absorb light more quickly so that the shutter does not have to stay open as long in low-light settings.
Keeping the shutter open for a longer time creates blurry pictures if the subject moves or if you are holding the camera in your hands rather than using a tripod. If the shutter does not have to stay open as long to absorb light, then the pictures will not turn out as blurry; it’s as simple as that.
4. How Much Control You Want
Whereas compact cameras are generally mostly automatic, SLR cameras allow the photographer almost complete control over every aspect of the picture. With an SLR, you can change the ISO number, shutter speed, manually control the zoom, and even change the lenses to get an ideal picture setting.
5. Portability
One downside of a SLR camera is that it is rather bulky and heavy. SLR Canon digital cameras are certainly not the kind of camera you can just throw in your pocket or your purse. If you want a camera you can take with you on the go, a point-and-shoot might be the better way to go.
Hopefully this article has taught you a little about the difference between SLR and compact digital cameras. Different Canon digital cameras are best for different people and different situations. Determine what your photography needs are and whether the quality of the pictures an SLR takes in low light or high speed situations is worth the higher price and bulkiness for you.