Using zoom is part and parcel of any realm of photography. Whether part of your shooting style or not, there will always come a time when engaging either a zoom lens, prime lens or simply a digital in-camera zoom, will be the preferred method of shooting.
We aren’t always in control of what we shoot, and sometimes, restrictions get in the way that means we can’t even get close to our subjects.
This is where the zoom is essential. In this months project and article, we’re going to be breaking down the process of using a zoom lens as well as other lenses and what the implications and common mistakes of using them are.
But first, let’s have a little look at the various types of zoom.
Zoom Lenses
Zoom lenses are likely, to be the types of lens that most DSLR users are familiar with, as they will often come as part of a DSLR package. Inside every lens are two pieces of glass and the distance between this glass is where we get our various focal lengths from 10mm, 20mm, 300mm etc. This is often called ‘Optical Zoom’.
Imagine two magnifying glasses pressed against each other. Then imagine slowly moving them apart from one another. As we do this, the view on the other side will become – rather crudely, granted – magnified. This is essentially what happens within our zoom lens as we move the zoom ring from the lower to the higher number.
The higher this number (in mm) becomes, the further the zoom on the lens. It stands to reason then that the technology needed within these lenses to go from a wider angle focal length to a zoom such as 300-400mm makes them expensive.
Add to that the need to retain wider apertures to keep the shutter as fast as possible and the anti-shake and VR technology in most modern zoom lenses, and things start to sky-rocket!
Digital Zoom
Digital zoom is the most basic of zooms and is found in your handheld, point and shoot and hybrid digital cameras. This kind of zoom isn’t advised as it’s the job of the camera body to zoom digitally into the frame, meaning you begin to eat into your image and can cause distortion to it before the shot is even captured. If you’re struggling to get the proximity you need to your subject, you may wish to engage digital zoom if it’s your only option, but it’s important you know how far you’re willing to push it, based on things such as your sensor size. A 15-megapixel sensor will cope a little better with an intense digital zoom than a 10 megapixel, for example. Start to add things like ISO to this, and we can begin to lose crisp focus and detail. Prime Lenses and
If you’re struggling to get the proximity you need to your subject, you may wish to engage digital zoom if it’s your only option, but it’s important you know how far you’re willing to push it, based on things such as your sensor size. A 15-megapixel sensor will cope a little better with an intense digital zoom than a 10 megapixel, for example. Start to add things like ISO to this, and we can begin to lose crisp focus and detail. Prime Lenses and
Start to add things like ISO to this, and we can begin to lose crisp focus and detail.
Prime Lenses And Zoom
Some photographers will choose not to use adjustable zoom lenses as the constant use of the focal rings on them can mean they wear quickly, and so will opt to use what are called ‘Prime Lenses.’
Prime lenses are fixed at one focal length, with each piece of glass set at a specific measurement. Once we get to the 70mm and above the mark, we officially stray into telephoto territory. An 85mm prime lens, for example, will magnify your subject from a lot further away than say a 50mm prime lens. These lenses can be great, as long as the photographer doesn’t mind changing around when necessary.
Prime lenses in the telephoto territory will also tend to be a lot cheaper than a zoom lens that goes from 70-300mm and retains a wider F of 2.8. As we mentioned above, the technology
Prime lenses are fixed at one focal length, with each piece of glass set at a specific measurements. Once we get to the 70mm and above the mark, we officially stray into telephoto territory.
An 85mm prime lens, for example, will magnify your subject from a lot further away than say a 50mm prime lens. These lenses can be great, as long as the photographer doesn’t mind changing around when necessary. Prime lenses in the telephoto territory will also tend to be a lot cheaper than a zoom lens that goes from 70-300mm and retains a wider F of 2.8. As we mentioned above, the technology involved in creating these lenses makes them very expensive.
By keeping the glass inside the lens static, it’s easier and cheaper to manufacture a lens that can cope with a F/1.8 at 85mm. We’ll discuss why this is important below.
Common Mistakes And Tips For Avoiding Them
Keep an eye on that shutter. When you engage your zoom lens, digital zoom, or change to any prime lens in a telephoto focal length, you will find that instantly you are more susceptible to camera shake.
The further you engage your zoom, the more sensitive your body and lens is to movement from your hand. With this in mind, it’s imperative that you have a fast enough shutter speed to deal with that movement and to increase the shutter speed, we must either widen the aperture or increase the ISO.
The more affordable zoom lens will only generally give you a starting aperture of around F/4. It’s here that you might choose to increase your ISO to find the right shutter and then begin to jeopardise the clarity of your image.
This is where those prime lenses are fantastic. The 85mm prime for Nikon will give you a wider aperture of F/1.8, making it incredible at giving you fast enough shutters in low light and cutting out your chance of camera shake and motion blur before you need to start considering your ISO change. Either way, you need that shutter speed fast enough.
Try to at least double the focal length your at with the shutter number. For example, a frame shot handheld at 100mm should have a 1/200 of a second shutter speed, or faster. CompressionBe aware that the further in you engage your zoom, the more you will get what we call ‘compression’. This is a phenomenon where background objects in your frame become compressed and appear larger and closer than they are.
With a wider angle lens, you would notice that foreground objects appear larger while the background appears smaller. This is all a form of distortion, but it can be used to your aid as long as you know how to control it. If you have the option to choose a wider focal length vs a more telephoto one – for portraits, for example – then think about how you’d like your subject to sit in the frame.
With a 50mm lens, you’d probably stand relatively close and create bokeh behind your subject. But at 300mm you’d be pulling your subject and whatever is behind them a little closer, tighter and almost more impacting into the frame.
This will also affect your depth of field. If your subject sits further away, which generally will be the case since you’re zooming for that reason, then you will throw your immediate surroundings and foreground into a very shallow depth of field almost immediately. There are a lot of different ways that focal length can affect your final image.
A tripod will always be helpful. If you’re going to be shooting exclusively with your zoom or telephoto lens, then it would be very wise to have a tripod with your at all times. Wildlife and sports photographers will own tripods that give even your lenses a run for their money. It’s essential that there is no chance of unwanted shake or movement from their end so that they can pan, zoom, and shoot all in a matter of milliseconds.
Double Check your Captures
For all the reasons above, it’s so important that you check your captures. Once you get a solid shooting method, you can fire off confidently, knowing your zoomed image is crisp and clear, but it’s incredibly easy to see a shutter you’re familiar with at a wider focal length, not check the shot and realise your image is blurred and unusable when you come to edit.
So that’s a look at the various types of zoom and how best to deal with them. Let’s hope this informs the way you shoot for this months project, and I look forward to seeing all of your results!
