It's In The Glass

A chain is only as good as its weakest link.  Often times when people are getting a camera, they think about all the features of their camera (body) and skimp on perhaps THE most important component: the lens.  A good lens will often cost as much or more than a camera body and those good lenses will have a tendency to hold their value - or should I say a used lens will hold its value.  Once you take the lens out of the package it will devalue slightly but as a "used" lens, it's like money in the bank.  In other words, a lens is an investment - so don't worry too much about plunking down a huge chunk of cash for a reputable piece of glass, because you can always resell it (unless you have destroyed it).  On the other hand, a camera body will depreciate dramatically for two reasons: 1) Technological advances "obsolete" your camera body in a short period of time. 2) Your camera body is subject to failure a lot faster than lenses typically are.  This is not always necessarily the case, but it holds as a general rule.

You might look at the long lists of lenses available with befuddlement - wondering why there are so many and which ones are the best quality or best value.  

First, I would say that before making any major purchase (it is not uncommon to pay a couple grand for a good lens) that you go to a dealer's website and read the reviews from other users.  This may give you an indication of whether or not there are problems or if the lens is worth buying.  The thing I do when reading these reviews is to first see who is the user and what their level of expertise is.  Often, one of those writing a review simply does not know how to use their equipment and so they will write a negative review and discredit the product based upon their lack of experience - not the quality of the product.  If there seems to be a consistent problem with the product, then you might look at similar products... or the competition.  

The next thing to consider or action to take is to educate yourself on the types of lenses and the purpose for them.  There are several main types of lenses: 1) There are fixed focal length lenses (some have called these "prime" lenses because they are typically sharper than any other type) of various sizes.  There is a range for lenses (and depending on the sensor magnification of your camera) where each of these lenses falls and is considered in that classification.  This is not necessarily a hard and fast rule because there are different magnification factors for digital SLR cameras.  In the 35mm (film) days, this was a fixed value, but many cameras now have sensors that will magnify the value of the lens typically by 1.5 times.  So in other words, if you get a lens with a 50mm focal length, the sensor will magnify that by 1.5, so in essence you are getting a 75mm lens.  There are some cameras like the Canon 5D Mark II that have a full frame sensor.  This means that the sensor is 1:1 or in other words, there is no magnification factor.  A 50mm lens is a 50mm lens.  By the way, a 50mm lens is what would be considered the normal focal-length lens or one that best fits the magnification of the human eye.  It's pretty much the "vanilla ice cream" lens of photography.  Some have considered this a "portrait" lens - but a more widely accepted lens for portrait photography is 85mm.  There are various other focal lengths within the type of fixed focal lengths - with different purposes.  I would say that unless you are a professional (and meticulous) photographer, you would be best to steer clear of the fixed lenses because you are going to get a better value by purchasing a zoom lens.  2) A zoom lens is one with a variable focal length.  There are numerous ranges of zoom lenses.  Some of them are medium wide-angle lenses (generally around 18-50mm), telephoto lenses (50-300mm) and either end of the spectrum (less than 18mm or greater than 300mm).  Generally, the bigger lens (the greater the focal length) the more expensive the lens, but this is not always necessarily the case.  3) Special purpose lenses: macro lenses, fisheye lenses,  extenders and so forth.  There is often the confusion that the term for an extreme wide-angle lens is a "fisheye lens."  While a fisheye lens IS an extreme wide-angle lens, that doesn't mean that all extreme wide-angle lenses (even for the same focal length) are fisheye lenses.  It has to do with the way the image is distorted.

Lens selection

One thing that is not even possible with a point-and-shoot camera or even a so-called "bridge" camera, is the selection of lenses.  You are stuck with whatever lens came with it - and normally the lenses in these types are not that great.  With DSLR cameras, you have an overwhelming selection.  When it comes to lenses, this is one area where you get what you pay for.  However, sometimes you can get third-party lenses that are just as good as the brand of camera you have (and they are designed to fit them) and I have heard that they are just as good - if not better.  So these resources should also be considered when shopping for a lens.  Another good indicator of the quality of the lens is its f-stop.  Almost invariably, the lower number of the aperture, the higher quality of the lens.  You should also note that in the higher priced lenses, that the lower aperture throughout the entire travel of the zoom is the same, while lower priced lenses have a variable number.  This does not necessarily mean that it is a cheap lens, but just that this a quality of the best lenses.  If a lens starts out with an aperture of say f/3.5 and ends with a number of f/6.3, that is quite a variation of aperture.  You are going to have markedly different exposure when you zoom in your lens - whereas, if you have a lens that is capable of a fixed aperture throughout the entire range, you won't be sacrificing any exposure for closer zoom.  The trade-off is the cost of the lens.  

Beyond providing a wider aperture (the smaller number, the wider the aperture, or hole), the higher quality lenses produce a sharper image.  One of the reasons for this is that the lenses use higher quality optical glass.  This adds clarity simply because the glass is of a higher grade, but also because better lenses are less prone to chromatic aberrations.  These aberrations occur because the makeup of the lens is such that it separates the spectrum of light (like a rainbow) because the light travels at different speeds through the glass.  Higher quality lenses are able to use different materials to compensate for this anomaly and thus you get sharper images with more accurate colors and greater depth.     

The purple aura (chromatic aberration) can bee seen above the horse's head and in the trees.  Part of the reason for this is shooting into bright sunlight.  The other reason is that this is shot with a low-cost lens.  

Some of the other features or traits of lenses that add to the cost (and quality) are: image stabilization, ruggedness, rotating zoom ring (as opposed to sliding-type), faster and more accurate focus, versatility and reputation.  As I get deeper into the subject of lenses, I will break these down further.  

It is entirely possible to get an "all-purpose" lens now.  Nikon makes a pretty good lens that goes from 18-200mm with an aperture of f3.5-5.6.  This is definitely not their best lens, but it is one that is great for travel photography where you don't have to keep changing lenses.  Other than that, most photographers will have two or three good lenses that they take with them: a wide-angle zoom lens and a telephoto zoom lens.  It would also be a good addition to have a macro lens - if you like to shoot very close-up (like insects, flowers and small animals).  Many photographers will also include an extender.  These usually come in 1.4x or 2x magnification.  A 2x extender will turn a 200mm lens into a 400mm lens.  You will sacrifice some quality and exposure potential and will subject your images to vignetting though.  Vignetting is where the corners of the photo are darker than the overall picture.  

When I get ready to actually make the purchase of my lenses, I will post the exact make and model of the lenses that I have selected as well as those that I have researched to be the best lenses.  I will also post any lenses that I find have either had poor reviews or those that I have personally had trouble with.  I will also go into greater depth with lens types, what they're used for and how to properly use them, since there is a LOT more information than I can put in one article - and a lot more that I have to solidify in my mind.

Types of Cameras

Let’s go over a few types of popular cameras, why we would (or wouldn’t) use them and some opinions about these types of cameras.

35mm Film Camera.

Yes, people still use them. We have two types of people who still use film cameras: 1) You or I may have an “Auntie May” who has still not latched onto the concept of computers… or anything in digital domain. She brings her film camera to the family gathering and shoots a few pictures until the roll is finished and then brings the film to Rite Aid to get her photos developed and then puts them in a photo album or scrapbook. You might laugh, but she is probably more efficient (and conservative) with her photos than most people who have made the conversion to digital photography. It costs her about $10-20 a year for her photos and processing. How much do you spend on photography? 2) The other type of film photographer would be the “high-end” photo purist – a professional. In a way, kind of like “Auntie May” because these people are not willing to make the conversion yet. There are reasons why. There ARE some situations where digital cameras – even high-end cameras – do not capture the same way the film cameras do. Many of these people also still have a darkroom with an enlarger, chemicals, photo paper and all that other stuff. There are some professional film cameras still on the market today.

Phone Camera

By far, this is the most popular camera. Whether they are the most popularly used camera or not, I don’t know, but MOST people who own a cell phone have one with a camera on it. So far, the images on a cell phone camera can’t even approach the quality of Compact Cameras or Digital SLR cameras. There are two main reasons why: 1) The image sensor is very small. Generally, the larger the image sensor, the higher quality the images will be. 2) The lenses are not high quality. High-quality lenses are big and bulky – not something that would or could fit on a phone. No matter what your opinion is about your phone camera, I will state flat-out that the quality of phone images is ALWAYS going to be inferior to most Compact Cameras and all Digital SLR cameras. Period. You just can’t get a high quality image from a camera. I use my phone camera as a last resort… say if Bigfoot shows up and I had somehow forgotten to bring some other camera… or if my vehicle catches on fire and I hadn’t thought to bring along a real camera. So there you have it: Phone cameras, in my opinion are toy cameras. They can’t be taken very seriously in the photographic world.

Compact Digital Camera (also called a “Point & Shoot” camera)

There are many professionals who don’t take Compact Cameras very seriously – and their reasons are valid. Yet… many professionals also own them and carry them with them just about everywhere. Why? A few good reasons: 1) You can’t lug your DSLR everywhere with you, but you can take your Compact Camera just about everywhere. Having a Compact Camera is better than having no camera at all. 2) A Compact Camera is good for practice shots – you can go in without all your gear and compose your shot with your Compact Camera and then review your pictures and come back later when conditions are optimal for setting up all your equipment. 3) It is a backup – just in case something happens to your main camera or gear. So many things can happen… so many variables. Being on an important photo-shoot and having a disaster happen with your camera can be somewhat salvaged by a decent point-and-shoot. A knowledgeable photographer can set up a Compact Camera to still get some OK photos. Can you get good pictures with a Compact Camera? Well, it depends. I’ve gotten some surprisingly good results with my Compact Cameras – provided conditions are ideal (mostly lighting). The thing to realize is you should’t get fooled by the numbers or specifications. Just because your Compact Camera is capable of 10 or 12 megapixels, doesn’t mean squat. There are reasons why a DSLR costs many times more than a Compact Camera. Once again, it goes back to image sensor size and lens quality/size.

Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Camera

Many amateur photographers upgrade to a DSLR (or have experience using them) and are initially disappointed with the results – compared to what they have come to expect with their Compact “Point & Shoot” Cameras. The reason why is that to operate a DSLR properly, it takes knowledge and skill that is not necessary to employ using their fully automatic camera. It may take many weeks… months… or even years to master the controls of a DSLR camera but once a photographer has reached that point, the quality of photos is MUCH higher than and the camera is MUCH MORE versatile than any other type of camera. There are a number of attributes that make this difference in quality. Among them are: 1) The image sensor is larger and much higher quality. 2) The lenses are higher quality and on most DSLR cameras you can exchange lenses with various types – depending on their purpose. 3) You can manually change the settings for many of the functions of the camera (and this is where a lot of amateurs get lost or befuddled) so you can optimize the conditions that you are shooting in, in order adapt to those conditions or to be creative. 4) The DSLR actually has numerous settings that are often either not present or are very limited on other cameras. 5) Most DSLR cameras have capability to connect to an external flash or to trigger other lighting sources. 6) Most DSLR cameras will shoot in RAW format – which allows you to adjust some of the settings (such as White Balance and Exposure Compensation) using software in your computer. 6) DSLR cameras use a viewfinder – as opposed to a back screen for viewing and framing your shot. There are good reasons for this (which I will discuss in detail later) Suffice it to say, that this is one of those “noticeable quality” features that is only possible using cameras with the viewfinder. Many of the earlier Compact Cameras had a viewfinder (some still do) but we’re seeing more and more of them that only have the LCD screen in back – no viewfinder. You can normally use your DSLR in the same way you use your “Point & Shoot” camera by shooting in “P” (preset) mode. Your pictures will still be higher quality than you could get using any Compact Camera, but you won’t be optimizing your DSLR to its fullest potential.

From now on, when I talk about cameras, you can assume that I am talking about Digital SLR cameras. There are some functions and ways to use other cameras that may work, but let’s just assume that I am referring to a DSLR.

Think before you click!

So you have your digital camera and it's great because you can take as many pictures as you want... for free! But wait a minute. Are those pictures really free? It's true that you no longer pay for film and processing, which if I took as many film pictures on 35mm film as I currently do with my digital cameras, I would go broke - but in the long run, digital pictures are not really free. Here are three reasons why:

1. Equipment life. It's the law of physics, I suppose. Anything with moving parts or that uses light/heat eventually wears out. You computer equipment, has a limited life based upon hours of usage or activations. Your camera shutter, for instance, typically has a life of about 100,000 activations. Lights burn out (including flashbulb lights), computer hard drives fail and things get dropped and worn out... usually as a result of active usage.  And batteries - whether "one-use" alkaline batteries or even rechargeable, they still all have a limited life.
   
   
2. Storage. Whether you are storing your photos on a hard drive, CD- or DVD-ROM disks or memory cards - all these storage mediums cost money. The more mega-pixels your camera has, the more storage it takes and some people believe in storing TIFF or RAW images, which take up a HUGE amount of space.
   
   
3. Time. I don't know about anyone or everyone else, but my time is pretty much directly equal to dollar - or potential dollars. My time is precious! If I am sitting there editing mediocre photos in all my spare time, it's taking time away from doing other things that could be more valuable. This is why I may either choose to not take a picture or to delete one while it is still in my camera. Why bother with pictures that just won't make the cut?

I am in no way discouraging anybody from taking pictures. I consider my first DSLR (the one that I own now) my "practice" camera... the one I am learning on. So I'll do a lot of experimenting and trying to get things right. When I'm ready to move up, I'll move on to a better camera and sell my old equipment on eBay or use it for backup. I have taken a LOT of pictures just to practice with, but recently I have been more discriminating about what I shoot or at least how I shoot it. The bottom line is this: If you are going to go through the effort of doing something, you might as well do it RIGHT. Make it worth your while. Think... compose your photo... set up your camera properly... take a little time BEFORE you push the shutter release to ensure that the quality of pictures will be what you will want to keep, or that a higher percentage of them will be "keepers." After all, we're trying to get away from ordinary snapshots, right?

By now, I am anxious to get to the "nuts and bolts" of photography, so the next posts will start to be practical information that you can start using.