Lens The lens is the most important part of the cameraLens captures light and focuses the light on the part of the camera that receives the imageCCD (charge-coupled device) orCMOS (complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor) image sensors

ZoomZoom simply means that the lens can magnify the image a lot or a little and it can glide between those settings.

Three basic ranges of a typical zoom lens.Telephoto: term for zooming your lens all the way in maximizing your magnification. Normal: This is the amount of magnification that approximates what your eyes see. Wide Angle: term for zooming your lens all the way out. minimize magnification so you have a wider field of view. you can see more stuff, but it all seems further away.

Focal LengthEach level of magnification is assigned a number, referred to as the focal length.A lot of magnification (telephoto) = large focal length number (like 100) little magnification (wide angle) = a smaller number (like 10).

These characteristics can be used to convey meaning, mood and emotion. So it is important that you learn the differences.

TelephotoTelephoto (or "long focal length") lens settings have a couple interesting characteristics.compress distance. - things that are far apart in real life seem closer together. exaggerate camera movement. see more camera shake (always use a tripod)more difficult to focus only allows a focus over a narrow range

Wide Angel

Wide angle (short focal length) has the opposite characteristics of telephoto settings. exaggerates distance - make things seem further apart. Easy to focus- it's almost impossible to get things out of focus here.

ApertureYour eye at night pupil opens - gather as much light as possible. Your eye on a sunny day - pupil gets small to shut out excess light. Aperture (or f-stop) refers to the opening at the base of the lensdetermines how much light enters the camera.

Uses numbers called f-stops.This is a standard sequence of f-stops from f/2.8 to f/82.83.44.04.85.66.78f/2.8 setting lets in the most light f/8 setting lets in the least. The f-stop is a ratio between the diameter of the aperture in the lens and the focal length of the lens. It is important to get the exposure right

Depth-of-Field

DOF - total focused area in front of and behind an object held in the focus of a camera or lensthe ability to manipulate depth of field is important,

Focal Lengthtelephoto lens settings limit the number of things in focus. they decrease depth of field. Wide angle lenses increase depth of field.

Camera Distance Getting close to your subject means less depth of field.Moving away, means more depth of field.

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