ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Photography: Types of Camera Lenses

Updated on January 16, 2017
A camera lens
A camera lens


This is an introduction to various types of Camera Lenses, the most important part of a camera, their characteristics and specific usage.

What is a Lens

In simple words, a lens is the eye of a camera. Technically speaking, a lens is an optical device which transmits and refracts the beam of light. Generally, the lenses are made of high quality glass or plastic. There are two major groups of lenses, Simple and Compound. A simple lens can be described as a single element lens. Compound lenses are collection or group of simple lenses.

There are many types of simple lenses, including Bioconvex, Planoconvex, Positive Meniscus, Negative Meniscus, Planoconcave, Bioconcave. (See the image)

Usages of Lenses
A lens is the most essential and most valuable part of Cameras, Telescopes, Microscopes, Film Projectors, Spectacles, Goggles etc. Besides them, lenses are used on large scale in optical machinery.

Types of Simple Lenses

Types of simple lenses
Types of simple lenses

Compound Lens

Compound Lens
Compound Lens

Camera Lenses

Camera lens is a very high quality compound lens fixed in a cylindrical body. Camera lenses are coated with a special transparent anti-reflective thin film which does not allow the light to reflect. The anti-reflective increases the quality of the lens. Camera lenses are expensive and many times their prices are equal to or more than the body of a camera.

In Single Lens Reflex cameras, known as SLR Cameras, you can remove the lens from the camera and use another lens.

You can find the specifications of a camera lens on the front side of the lens, which includes Focal Length, Highest Aperture, Diameter, Brand Name etc.

There are many types of Camera Lenses. Different types of camera lenses are made for the specific requirements of the photographer. Please read the table at the last part of this article, describing the angles of views of the lenses of various focal lengths.

Here is an introduction to various types of Camera Lenses:

50mm Normal Lens
50mm Normal Lens

Normal Lens

A normal lens is one which gives natural field of view, i.e. a view which is natural for human eye. So a normal lens gives us a normal angle of view.

24mm Wide Angle Lens
24mm Wide Angle Lens

Wide Angle Lens


The field of view depends on the focal length of the lens, and the size of the censor. Lower focal length gives you wider view, longer focal length gives lesser field of view. Wide angle lenses have lower focal length, so they give us a wide view.

Telephoto Lens

Telephoto lens has higher focal length. These lenses are used to take photographs of objects which are far away, like a person on other side of the road, or even the moon.

500mm Telephoto Lens
500mm Telephoto Lens

Zoom Lens

A zoom lens is a lens with variable focal length. So most Zoom lenses can work as a Telephoto lens, Normal lens and wide angle lens. Some zoom lenses have variable higher focal length, so they are used for telephotography. Some Zoom lenses have normal and lower focal length, and they are used for wide to normal view photography.

Zoom lenses is collection of too many lenses, so the sharpness and quality of the image is slightly decreased.

In digital cameras, besides the optical zoom, there is another zooming known as digital zoom.

By using a zoom lens, you can go closer or away from the object without leaving your point.

28mm to 200mm Zoom Lens
28mm to 200mm Zoom Lens

Macro Lens

Macro lenses are used for extreme close up photography. The special design of macro lens allows you to take images of the object in larger size than the original size. By using macro lenses, you can take high quality photographs of small objects like grains, insects, flowers, coins, stamps etc.

Normal digital cameras have 'macro mode' for taking close up photographs.

Photograph taken through a Macro lens
Photograph taken through a Macro lens
500 mm Mirror Lens
500 mm Mirror Lens

Mirror Lens


Mirror lenses are compact telephoto lenses. Normal telephoto lenses with higher focal lengths are bigger in length and are heavy, but a mirror lens of same focal length is shorter and light weight, when compared to the former. A mirror is used in this type of lens which reflects the image. This helps the lens to keep it compact. (See image)

Mirror Lens Design
Mirror Lens Design | Source
Fisheye Lens
Fisheye Lens | Source

Fish Eye Lens


Fish Eye Lens is an ultra wide angle lens. The focal length of such type of lens is very low, and it captures a view between 180 to 185 Degrees.

Focal Length and Angle of View

Here is a table of focal lengths of various types lenses and corresponding angles of views. (In Degrees)

Focal Length
Digonal Angle
Vertical Angle
Horizontal Angle
0mm Fisheye Lens
180
180
180
16mm Wide Angle Lens
107.1
73.9
95.1
35mm Wide Angle Lens
63.4
37.8
54.4
50mm Normal Lens
46.8
27.0
39.6
70mm Lens
34.4
19.5
28.8
100mm Tele Lens
23.3
13.0
19.5
200mm Tele Lens
12.4
6.37
10.3
500mm Tele Lens
4.96
2.75
4.12
1200mm Tele Lens
2.07
1.15
1.72

You may like to join Photography Equipment Page Here

Also watch video below for more on camera lenses.

The Properties of Camera Lenses

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)