If your camera lets you change lenses, the choice can look overwhelming. This beginner's cheat sheet explains what the numbers on a lens mean, and shows what each focal length actually fits in the frame
Advertisement
What Lenses Can I Use With My Camera?
A Beginner's Guide to Camera Lens Types, Focal Length, and What Each Lens Is For
If your camera lets you change lenses, the choice of what to use can look overwhelming: fisheye, wide, standard, telephoto, macro, and a wall of numbers on every barrel. The good news is that almost every lens on sale falls into one of about eleven types; each type does one job in particular, and generally it does the job that it is intended for well.
The number that matters most is the focal length, written in millimetres. A small number, like 16mm, means a wide lens that fits a lot of the scene onto the frame. A big number, like 400mm, means a long lens that sees a narrow slice of the scene and makes distant things look close, also known as a zoom.
Everything on this page follows from that one idea. Use it as a cheat sheet: find the kind of photograph you want to take, and it will direct you to the lens that captures it.
How to Read a Camera Lens's Name
Start here
Lens names can look like complex code, but they are just a set of information in a fixed order. Here is a typical one, taken apart:
Fujifilm XF
Brand and mount
The brand and which camera system it fits. A lens only mounts on the system it was made for, unless you use an adapter.
16–55mm
Focal length
How wide or long it sees. Two numbers mean it zooms across that range; one number means it is fixed (prime).
f/2.8
Maximum aperture
How much light it can let in at the widest aperture. The smaller the number, the more light can be let in.
R LM WR
Range and extras
Each brand's own badges for features and build. In this example, for Fujifilm, these mean an aperture ring, a fast, quiet focus motor, and weather sealing.
So Fujifilm XF 16–55mm f/2.8 R LM WR reads as: a Fujifilm X-mount lens that zooms from wide to short telephoto (16-55mm), lets a lot of light in, and is sealed against weather.
What Each Lens Focal Length Captures
Same spot, same camera
This is one scene, photographed from one position. Each box shows how much of it a given focal length would fit into the picture.
14mm · 114°
24mm · 84°
35mm · 63°
50mm · 47°
85mm · 29°
200mm · 12°
Boxes are drawn to scale for a full-frame camera. A 200mm lens takes in about a fourteenth of the width a 14mm lens does, and roughly one two-hundredth of the area. Illustrative only: the photograph was taken on one lens and cropped. Photograph by Philip Mowbray.
The Main Lens Types, by Focal Length and Viewpoint
Widest to longest
How to read each entry
The viewpoints, indicated as wedges below, are drawn to scale, so each one shows how much of the scene that lens covers. The outlines show the typical shape and proportions of each type. Figures are for full-frame cameras; on a crop sensor, the angle is narrower, but you can still use these as a general guide.
Fisheye
8 – 15mm
the lens
angle of view 180°
Sees almost everything in front of it and bends straight lines into curves. A deliberate effect rather than a general-purpose lens.
Best forSkateboarding · Interiors · Skies
e.g. Canon EF 8–15mm f/4L Fisheye
Ultra-wide
14 – 24mm
the lens
angle of view 84 – 114°
Fits large subjects into tight spaces: interiors, architecture, sweeping landscapes. Anything near the edge of the frame stretches.
Best forInteriors · Architecture · Landscapes
e.g. Sony FE 16–35mm f/2.8 GM
Wide
24 – 35mm
the lens
angle of view 63 – 84°
Wide enough to give a sense of place, close enough to normal to keep people looking natural. The reportage and street standard.
Best forStreet · Reportage · Travel
e.g. Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
Standard
40 – 58mm
the lens
angle of view 41 – 57°
Close to the way we see, with almost no distortion. The lens to learn on, and the cheapest route to a wide aperture.
Best forEveryday · Documentary · Low light
e.g. Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S
Portrait
85 – 105mm
the lens
angle of view 23 – 29°
Flattens facial features flatteringly and separates the subject from the background. Head-and-shoulders work lives here.
Best forHeadshots · Weddings · Editorial
e.g. Sony FE 85mm f/1.8
Medium Telephoto
100 – 200mm
the lens
angle of view 12 – 24°
Reaches across a room or a touchline and compresses depth, stacking foreground and background closer together.
Best forSport · Events · Candids
e.g. Canon RF 70–200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Super Telephoto
300 – 800mm
the lens
angle of view 3 – 8°
A narrow slice of the scene, heavily magnified, for wildlife and distant sport. Big, heavy, and unforgiving of camera shake.
Best forWildlife · Sport · Aviation
e.g. Nikon Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S
Special Purpose Lenses
Defined by what they do, not their length
Macro
50 – 105mm typical
the lens
angle of view 23 – 47°
Focuses close enough to render a subject life-size on the sensor. Depth of field becomes millimetres thin.
Best forInsects · Flowers · Products
e.g. Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro
Tilt-shift
17 – 90mm
the lens
angle of view 27 – 104°
The lens moves independently of the sensor, so you can keep buildings from leaning and angle the plane of focus.
Best forArchitecture · Interiors · Still life
e.g. Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II
Superzoom
18 – 400mm
the lens
angle of view 6 – 100°
One lens covering wide-to-long, able to capture a wide range of scenes, from expansive to zoomed-in. The compromise, however, can be sharpness.
Best forTravel · Safari · Days out
e.g. Tamron 18–400mm f/3.5–6.3 Di II VC
Pancake
24 – 45mm
the lens
angle of view 51 – 84°
A thin, light prime that makes a camera feel almost flat, making it easily pocketable. Modest apertures, but optics tend to be extremely sharp.
Best forStreet · Travel · Everyday carry
e.g. Fujifilm XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR
One more distinction
Prime or Zoom?
Prime lenses have one fixed focal length. Fewer moving parts means wider apertures, smaller bodies and often better sharpness for the money. You zoom by walking.
Zoom lenses cover a range in one body, so you change framing without changing lens. Usually heavier, and slower at the long end.
Every category above comes in both forms.
Get 50% off Picfair Plus with the code UPGRADE-50
Click to Redeem
