What do lens numbers mean

Just know that the lower the number — in this case, 10mm — the more you can fit in the shot. For property photography, we want a nice low number so we can fit lots of detail in the shot. With the lens fully zoomed out at a 10mm focal length, you can fit loads of the room in the frame, perfect for showing off your vendors home like a pro.

Back to the mm lens though, 10mm is on the low end of the scale. Below, you can see an example of why images look much more professional when shooting with a DSLR and wide-angle lens with a 10mm focal length vs a phone with a 28mm focal length. This Sigma model is a zoom lens, offering a range from 10 to 20mm, which can be adjusted by twisting the zoom collar. To recap and summarise; the lower the focal length number, the more you can fit in the photo. Perfect, m oving on…. This indicates the maximum aperture of your lens, this is the size of the hole that light it lets in.

The lower the number, the more light is allowed in. The ratio looks confusing, but this is simply how apertures are measured; just pay attention to the number after the colon!

A useful analogy for aperture is thinking of a water pipe. A wide pipe lets through a lot of water quickly, a thin pipe lets water through more slowly. Some lenses have a range of aperture, for example This means that the more you zoom in, the narrower the aperture will become, and the less light is let in.

For property and real estate photography, we advise keeping things simple. Allow the aperture to be set automatically by using Auto-flash off mode. Want to learn more about how to take property photos?

AF lets you know that the camera has built-in auto-focus , whereas M or MF refers to manual focus. This means that you can either let the lens adjust itself to provide the best focus for the subject, or override this by switching to manual focus to create the desired shot. Autofocus is perfect for property photography, as it helps you to save time fiddling with manual controls.

It also makes your property shoot more efficient. Let's do the same exercise again this time with an 85mm lens. So let's take that 85mm and we're going to multiply that by 1. So our 85mm lens on a crop frame camera becomes the equivalent of mm. So it's going to seem a lot more zoomed in! So I do want you to bear that in mind when people are talking about focal length of lenses. If you have a crop frame camera, remember to do that multiplication by 1.

If you want to get an idea of how different focal lengths perform, then be sure to download my FREE which lens kickstarter guide - it has examples of images taken at different focal lenghts, along with a guide about what you might want to use each one for.

So that was just with one focal length. But you may have a zoom Lens, in which case you're going to have two different numbers separated to by a dash. So this particular lens is a 16 to 35mm. So that means there is a range of focal lens in this one lens. So when you just have the one number, for example, an 85, it's got one fixed focal length.

If you want to get closer or further back, you'd go and have to move your feet! It's fixed at that focal lens. However your Zoom Lens, because it has that two numbers, means you can move the zoom ring to zoom in and zoom out and you can go through that whole range of focal lengths. The next number we are going to look at from the numbers on your lens is the aperture. Now the aperture number is normally just written along the side or on the rim of your lens, and you'll see that it's got 1: 1.

Now if I look again on my Zoom Lens the image on the right the 16 to 35mm, you can see it's got 1 and then it's got 2. So the maximum aperture of this lens is F2.

Now on some lenses you will actually see that you have two aperture numbers, and what that means is that you have a variable aperture lens. You'll normally find that on your zoom lenses. Search Query Submit Search.

By Simon Crisp. Facebook Twitter Flipboard LinkedIn. Choosing which lens to buy for your DSLR or interchangeable lens camera can be a daunting and confusing experience. View 30 Images. A normal prime and a telephoto zoom are two of the most common lenses to be bought after a kit lens. Telephoto zooms are good for focusing in on specific details or distant subjects.

Telephoto lenses offer a normalization of relative size which can be used to give a sense of scale. The difference between various focal lengths, taken on a full frame 35 mm-format camera. Wide angles lenses suffer less distortion than their ultra wide counterparts, but you still get an exaggeration of lines and curves. Telephoto lenses enable you to capture subjects without having to get too close.

Telephoto lenses are good for focusing in on specific details or distant subjects. Typical uses of ultra wide angle lenses include landscape, architecture and interior photography.

Wide angle lenses can still be used for portraits, just be careful not to distort faces unflatteringly by shooting too close. Because of their typical sharpness, macro lenses often make good portrait lenses too. Telephoto lenses are those with a focal length in excess of 70 mm, though many people would argue that "true" telephoto lenses are ones which exceed mm.

Marco lenses are technically those which are capable of reproduction ratios greater than Though normally used for close-up photography at which they excel , macro lenses can also be great for portraits. When working at close distances, macro lenses have a tiny depth of field. Many photographers consider a 50 mm prime as a normal lens, as it's said to reproduce an image which feels "natural" and similar to what you see with your eyes.

Wide angle lenses aren't just for buildings and large groups of people. Because different cameras use different sized sensors, there are a variety of lens formats.

Superzooms are do-it-all lenses which cover focal lengths from wide to telephoto. Image stabilization allows for use of slower shutter speeds without suffering camera shake.

Extreme focal lengths and larger apertures mean bigger and heavier lenses, along with bigger price-tags. A larger maximum aperture means lens can gather more light, but it also produces a shallower depth of field. A 50 mm F1. Superzooms make good travel lenses as they mean you don't have to carry all of your gear around with you.

You'll only be able to capture some landscapes if you have got an ultra wide angle lens which can take it all in. Any lens can be used for street photography, but a focal range of around mm is often favored.

You might need more focal length reach and a larger maximum aperture to keep up with the kids. Which lens should I buy next? Simon Crisp. Simon is a journalist and photographer who has spent the last ten years working for national UK newspapers - but has never hacked a mobile phone - and specializes in writing about weird products and photography technology.

Popular Stories. Load More. Sign in to post a comment. Please keep comments to less than words. No abusive material or spam will be published. Rusty Harris October 1, PM. I've got three in my bag at the moment. CheekyChex October 2, AM. Very nice article, thank you. I only carry 2 lenses as budget is tight, Sigma tele OS, and Canon 50mm f1. The fast 50mm lens is such a bargain everyone should have one! Australian October 2, AM.

I'm no pro, but can recommend a few pieces of glass. I'm in the Canon camp but Nikkor Nikon lenses are probably available in similar specs. There are even some good third-party lenses that are also similar and may be some-what cheaper. Provides clear images ideal for daily photography. Also brilliant and fun for low light work.

Given the small price you will never regret this buy. This lense also manages my sports photography. WIth the camera set to high resolution it's easy to use digital zoom to get more out of this lens.

This means I don't need a longer bigger zoom lens. Another thing to keep in mind - any quality super zoom will cost a lot, be heavy, bulky and unless you are photographing a lot of sports or nature like birds, won't get much use. Most people won't find much benefit from these lenses. Many buy them only to regret the purchase as the money would have been better spent on a quality general-purpose lens. Happy photographing! Strauski October 2, AM.

You should say greater or less depth of field compared to If composing the same image in the viewfinder, the DOF is the same with all lenses. Nahidul Islam October 2, PM. Christopher Marshall October 2, PM. Excellent article. I'm new to the craft and art of photography and your article made the daunting task of understanding lenses very digestible and easy to understand. Thank you Simon. Atlantide October 3, AM. W Young October 14, PM. Jacob Wadsworth October 16, AM.