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Tag Archives: Lenses

Using Zoom Lenses Effectively

Posted on by Posted in Techniques, Tips 3 Comments

Zoom lenses have changed photography. Not exactly a news flash, is it? The first zoom lens was patented in 1902 for the motion picture industry. It took a while but zoom lenses became pretty much standard issue in the late 1970’s to early 1980’s as they became the ubiquitous “kit lens”. Today for all of their popularity there is little written about how to use zoom lenses effectively.

Using a zoom lens sounds like the easiest thing in the world. On an interchangeable lens digital camera the photographer twists or pushes out on the lens to increase the magnification. On a compact digital camera the photographer doesn’t even have to exert that much effort, a mere push of a button extends and retracts the zoom lens. That simplicity in use is the beauty of the zoom lens. It’s hard then to believe that it is this same zoom lens that can be the curse of good pictures everywhere.

What zoom lenses bring to the table for the photographer is a much smaller camera bag. Rather than lugging around a body and three or more fixed length lenses one zoom lens can replace them all. Some folks think that zooms also mean more time taking pictures and less time swapping lenses, but that statement may not be as accurate as we think.

A zoom lens makes it easy to sit in one place and reach out with lens magnification to capture the world. And in fact that is how a zoom lens is most often used. I have seen tourists hit the ground right out of the car and shoot a dozen or more images of some scenic spot without moving anything more than their zoom lens. They may have documented their arrival but their pictures will probably be flat and boring.

While zooming a lens from wide to telephoto draws subjects in closer, the action also changes the perspective of the scene. Let’s imagine a beautiful meadow full of yellow flowers, in the middle distance is a stand of leafy green trees. Your daughter is 30 feet away standing in front of the scene and it’s time to take a few pictures.

We could zoom the lens in on the young lady from 30 feet away to get a nice ¾ shot from head to knees. This is the most common way photographers will shoot in this situation. Less common would be to walk about 12 to 15 feet closer to your daughter before snapping the shutter. We would still have a nice ¾ composition. Depending on which choice we made we will be either underwhelmed by the resulting image or our socks could be knocked off.

If we compare the two possible images side by side we notice right off the bat that the image captured while zooming from 30 feet away may give us a nice shot of the subject but the image looks flat. The other image taken by physically moving in closer in comparison looks like it has some depth and it isn’t flat at all. What has happened is that we have the same scene with two different perspectives.

Zoom lenses will not only magnify a subject but as the lens gets longer the near and far objects in a scene compress closer together. This foreshortening of distances creates a flatter image with less depth. On the other hand the image we took while standing closer to the subject didn’t require as much magnification and therefore the objects in the scene didn’t compress. The image has a much greater feeling of depth.

You can prove this yourself. Have a subject stand 20 to 40 feet in front of some trees. Zoom your lens out all the way and move yourself back and forth until the subject appears from knees to top of head in the viewfinder. Snap the shot. Next set the lens length to a setting almost at the lenses widest. Now move your camera in until the subject once again fills the same space in the viewfinder, snap the shot. Compare the images side by side and you will immediately see the difference. The subject is the same size in both but in one the background appears much closer which eliminates the feeling of depth in the image.


While the globe stays close to the same size in each image the background seems to get closer as the lens magnification increases.

There is an old adage in photography: If you want better pictures get in closer. And said another way: When you think you are in close enough take another step closer. These are suggestions to move the camera in closer not to zoom the lens.

The other side of the coin is to make zoom lens compression work for the photographer. One example is with portrait photography where a slight telephoto length renders the human face pleasingly in a two dimensional print. For DSLR’s that length is around 50mm to as much as 85mm. If the photographer is shooting film or a full-frame digital camera think 85mm to 105mm for great results.

If you are shooting a sports event such as soccer or football a long zoom lens is ideal. It’s just not possible to get close to the action under these circumstances. However since we know that the longer zoom length will compress the distance between subjects we can use that to our advantage. Shooting from the sidelines or the first few rows of bleachers can make the players seem closer together and give the final image a sense of “being in the huddle”.

Oh, and as far as a zoom lens saving the time that would be required for swapping single focal length lens on the camera body? Take a look at the last event you shot.

  • If it was a football game I’ll bet that over 90% of your images were at or near the longest telephoto setting of your lens.
  • If it was a diner party I’d bet that the same 90% of the shots were at the widest setting. 3)
  • If it was any other event I’d bet that a camera with a standard lens could have taken almost every image simply by moving the camera closer or further away from the subjects.

So if the correct single focal length lens is on the camera in the first place there really won’t be any time dedicated to swapping lenses.

In conclusion: Zoom lenses are useful tools but if not used judiciously they could actually make our pictures look worse. Always try to get as close to the subject as possible rather than relying on the zoom lens to bring them to you. By using the zoom lens to magnify the subject we are also compressing the distance between near and far objects in our scene. Zoom lenses are ideal tools for situations where it is not safe or practical to get closer to the subject. Under some circumstances it is possible to make zoom lens compression work for us, such as while shooting a football game or at a zoo.

Up Close and Personal – Exploring Macro Photography Lens Options

Posted on by Posted in Product Overview, Tips 1 Comment

Close-up or Macro photography is one of the more fascinating types of photography. For some it is a hobby in itself; getting just the right shot of the miniature world around us. Close-up and Macro photography is about revealing the tiny details we might otherwise overlook.

Before I begin we should get our terms on common ground. This is important so that a photographer who is starting out knows just what they are getting if they make a purchase! Many times the terms “close-up” and “macro” are used interchangeably but they don’t mean the same things. Close-up filters or close-focusing lenses don’t create true macro images. Yet many zoom lenses will be labeled as “Macro 1:4”.

The term macro is accurately used to describe a lens that can project a subject onto the film or image sensor at or larger than life size. This means that if we were to shoot a macro image of a dime onto a frame of film when the negative is developed the image on the negative would be exactly the same size as the real life dime. This is 1:1 macro, if the lens captures an image twice the size as the real life dime then the lens is a 2:1 macro lens.

As an industry we tolerate this minor inaccuracy because we know that it is the rare photographer who actually needs 1:1 image size on a negative. The fact is that most photographers either order a 4X6 print or view the image on a computer screen. Either in print or on the computer screen the image is much larger than life size.

For this article I will use the term macro to describe the type of photography, the equipment will be named correctly though.

With that said lets take a look at what you most likely have in your camera bag right now. Odds are that you have a zoom lens that lands between 18-55mm and 18-200mm. A few photographers may have a second, longer zoom lens too but for now let’s only use the shorter zoom lens.

If the lens is mounted to the camera we notice that at the wide angle setting we are able to focus on subjects about 2.5 to 3 feet in front of the camera. This is pretty standard and it’s great for general photography but we’re here for some close work! How do we move in closer to a subject if our lens won’t let us? There are three options for us.

The first option is also the least expensive. We can purchase special lens filters that have a magnifying effect on our subjects. The filters are called “Close-up Filters” and usually come in a set of three: +1, +2 and +4 (often called diopters). The idea is that by threading a filter onto our lens we change its close focus capabilities. By mounting the +1 filter the lens is now able to focus as close at 1.5 feet from the camera. The +2 brings us in to a 12 inch focus distance and the +4 gets us in really close at 6 inches. The photographer is able to thread on any two or all three filters at once to further bring the close focus point toward the camera.
Close-up filters are relatively inexpensive ranging from $40 up to $120 depending on the lens’ filter size. If there is a drawback to using close-up filters it is that the edges of the images captured will be somewhere between softly and terribly out of focus. For this reason close-up filters are generally best used with three dimensional subjects.

The next option up the ladder is an extension tube set. Much like close-up filters extension tubes change the close focus point of a lens. The big difference is that the extension tubes mount between the lens and the camera body, not to the front of the lens.

Extension tubes are designed primarily for use with single focal length lenses such as a 50mm f/1.8 but they do work with standard zoom lenses too. By extending the lens out from the camera body the lens is able to focus at much closer distances. The biggest advantage to using extension tubes is that since they have no optics inside of them they don’t lower the quality of the camera lens they are paired with. Look for extension tube sets that pass on electrical communication between your camera body and the lens.

There is a trade off! Close-up filters and extension tubes work well for close work but a lens equipped with either will no longer focus to infinity. Not a big deal, but the photographer will have to remove the attachment before standard shooting is possible.

The last rung of the ladder is the Macro Lens. This is a lens designed to close focus without any aides. Macro lenses tend to be single focal length: 35mm, 50mm, 60mm, 90mm etc. Macro lenses also tend to be a little pricey, usually starting at or above $300, but they can be worth it.

A macro lens is highly corrected to create sharp images from corner to corner. Remember how it was mentioned that close-up filters are soft at the image edges? Macro lenses are tack sharp all over the image area. This makes the macro lens an excellent choice for the photographer who needs to make duplicates of flat work such as old pictures, artwork or documents.

We also just mentioned that macro lenses come in several lengths. Shorter macro lenses capture the close-up image at closer distances. Longer macro lenses capture the same size close-up image at a greater distance. Here’s how to choose a macro lens length:

If the photographer will mostly use the lens for copy work of flat documents a shorter lens is preferred. This is so that the camera isn’t positioned too far away from the document table.

If the photographer wants to capture bugs or other 3D subjects a longer lens is preferred. Bugs have a ‘fear zone’; if you get too close they fly away. A longer macro lens captures the same close-up from further away thus not frightening the bug. Also a longer lens allows the camera to be further from the subject which means less chance of casting a shadow into the image.

The extension tubes mentioned earlier are designed to work with macro lenses too. Slip a mid-length extension tube between a 90mm macro lens and the camera body and suddenly the images captured are 3:1 – three times life size!

In summary: Macro and close-up photography is fascinating and fun. Almost any camera can be used to capture close-up images. There are three options for those who want to expand their creativity into the world of macro photography. From inexpensive close-up filter sets to moderate priced extension tubes and ultimately macro lenses.