Lenses

The Standard Lens

These lenses are also known as a 'kit' lens as they are supplied along with the camera body by the manufacturer. They usually have a focal length of 55mm.

The Wide Angle Lens

These lenses are shorter in focal length than a standard lens. This allows you to get more area in the frame as standard lens from the same distance. These lenses are used in landscape photography. The perspective distortion can be increased when using this lens. 

The Telephoto Lens

The focal length of a telephoto lens is much longer than the standard or wide angle size. It is used to capture images from a distance. These lenses are suited to wildlife and nature photography which can fill the frame with a distant subject.

Below from left to right; Telephoto lens, wide angle lens and standard lens.

Table showing focal length of lenses

Angle of View

The angle of view is how much of an area can fit in the frame. It is measured in degrees, the shorter the focal length, the greater the coverage.

ISO

The ISO (International Standards Organisation) is the light sensitivity from a digital sensor. If the aperture and shutter speed can not be altered due to the risk of camera shake in low light conditions, the ISO can be raised 400 or 800 to compensate. On a bright day, a slower ISO such as 100 would be suitable. When raising the ISO in lower conditions this may effect the quality of the image and produce a 'grainy' appearance.

Medium and Large Format

Large format refers to any imaging format that is 4x5 inches, or anything larger. Medium format is usually either 6x6 or 6x9cm in size. A Hasselblad camera uses medium format where as cameras such as an Ebony are as classed as large format. Large and medium format film can be printed to a large size without losing any detail in the image.

Below - Ebony (Large format camera) and a Hasselblad (Medium Format camera).

Ebony

Hasselblad

Film Speed

A numerical value is assigned to all film types which denotes its sensitivity to light. High numbers mean very sensitive film that are often called 'fast' because it allows a fast shutter speed for a correct exposure. Where as low numbers mean less light sensitive film, often called 'slow' which requires a slower shutter speed for a correct exposure.