5
Lenses
Artistic decisions
When you come to order a lens set for a picture, you are faced with a number of interesting problems and choices. These relate to:
• Definition or sharpness.
• Speed or maximum aperture.
• Contrast, or how quickly does black become white?
• Do you need prime lenses, a zoom or both?
• What focal lengths do you need? Should you include extreme wide angle or telephoto?
Lenses have developed dramatically over the last 20 years. During this time there have been two areas where lens designers have concentrated their efforts – speed and definition. In doing this, they have developed some amazing lenses but we, as artists, do not always want enormously high definition images nor always need a large maximum aperture.
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