(Last Updated On: July 16, 2023)
Are DSLR Lenses worth buying?
Are DSLR Lenses Worth Buying? Lenses work so well and capture great details. A photographic lens is an optical device applicable to different types of equipment, which allows us to direct the light on the film or on our camera’s sensor to enable us to capture the image.
It is composed of one or more lenses, internally arranged in different groups according to rules and proportions dictated by the laws of optics. Modern technology makes it possible to improve the quality of the lenses and equip the lenses with new valuable features.
On the market, we find many lenses that differ not only for the brand and price but also for a series of technical and qualitative attributes. Therefore, before purchasing new equipment for your kit, it is essential to understand the technical characteristics, the types of objectives, and in which context each of these is most useful.
Lenses are the main components of each objective, present in varying numbers within it. They are made of high-quality optical glasses, which, thanks to the laws of optical physics, allow the light coming from a variable portion of the space to be captured on the sensor.
Moreover, the morphology and position of the lenses allow you to focus the optics (focus) and determine the focal length. In addition, the optical design of the lens is manufactured to reduce the size and distortions. The quality of the lenses and materials strongly affects the quality of the captured image and distortions and aberrations.
The focal length is defined as the distance between the optical center of the lens and the plane of the sensitive element, i.e., the plane where the film or sensor resides and where it conveys the focused image; it is measured in millimeters.
A fundamental feature is a relationship with the angle of view, i.e., the angle that defines the portion of space framed by our optical system through a particular focal length lens: shorter focal lengths correspond to greater angles of view, therefore to frames.
Conversely, more comprehensive, longer focal lengths correspond to smaller angles of view and narrower frames; we will then distinguish the various types of objectives based on these characteristics.
The components of the focusing mechanism reside both in the camera body and in the lens: in the camera body, we generally find the “brain” that controls the operation as well as the various points/areas in charge of this phase, arranged near or on the sensor.
However, inside the lens, we find the focus motor that moves the lenses and allows you to focus the optics. There are different types of focus motors: some faster and quieter, others slower and noisier; the quality of the focusing motor affects the quality of the lens and its price.
Besides, the characteristic of interchangeable lenses systems represents the distance between the plane of the sensitive element and the lens mount. This feature is given only by the specific optical system adopted by the various photographic manufacturers.
It is the reason, why it is not possible to use lenses with specific grafts for a brand on the bodies of another brand (unless any adapters usually cause the automatisms to be lost).
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