A telephoto lens is just one of many options.
Digital photography can be a little overwhelming when you graduate from the compact point and shoot camera to the more expansive DSLR realm of cameras. These cameras are more expensive than point and shoot cameras, but feature a wide range of accessories including the DSLR's most-important interchangeable feature: the lens. From macro lenses to telephotos and zooms, your lens determines your photograph. Learning to use different lenses is essential, and choosing lenses is dependent upon your photo goals.
Instructions
Working With Lenses
1. Protect your lenses. Lenses are expensive and fragile, so it's important to keep them clean and protected. Always keep the rear lens cap on when not using the lens. It's a good idea to buy a UV filter for each lens you own, even if you don't need to compensate for bright sunlight. The UV filter attaches to the lens and protects the lens surface from scratches when you don't have the lens cap on.
2. Remove or mount lenses sensibly. The method for removing lenses differs slightly from camera to camera, but the basics are universal: press the lens release button and twist the lens counter-clockwise to remove. To attach a new lens, twist it clockwise until you hear a click. Don't use a lot of force.
3. Be mindful of your surroundings. Don't change lenses when it's excessively windy, or sandy or dusty, because particles can get into the camera body or onto the rear of the lens, which will result in spots on your photos.
Types of Lenses
4. Try large lenses. Most DSLR camera bodies are sold as a kit that includes a standard lens, usually an 18-55mm lens with an aperture range of F4 to F5.6. These lenses are fine for wide-angle shots in good light or for low-light photography with a tripod, but have limited zoom capability. Consider adding a zoom lens for long-distance shots. A 70-200mm lens will be good for everyday use, and lenses up to and over 300mm are good for sports photography and long-range photos.
5. Consider aperture ranges. The F-stop setting on your lens determines how much light hits the sensor. Small F numbers mean that more light gets in, so lenses with small numbers (F1.4 or 1.8) allow a lot of light to pass through and are therefore great for low-light settings and flash-less photography. These lenses take softer photos at the smaller F-stops, and are great portrait lenses. Most manufacturers make a fixed focal length (35mm or 50mm) lens with an F1.4 or F1.8 aperture setting.
6. Think convenience. A wide-angle lens is great for landscape photography, but a telephoto lens or fixed focal length lens might mean that you'll have to move around a lot to get the minimum distance from your subject. Though expensive, some lenses are wide angle and zoom, with wide aperture ranges. Look into 18-300mm lenses for your camera body.
Tags: aperture ranges, camera body, fixed focal, fixed focal length, focal length
