Choosing Camera Lenses for Dummies: How They Affect Your Aesthetics and Performance of Your Camera

The reason for writing up this post is to address a very important issue in filmmaking, lens choice. Choosing what lenses to purchase, and what lenses are appropriate for certain shots is a skill that every cameraman should possess; however, I discover time and time again that it is greatly overlooked. This post will be cover the basic fundamentals in acquiring lenses, and making lens choices for specific shots and scenarios. But before then, let’s wander off into some very touchy subjects about modern filmmaking shall we?

The digital era has made filmmaking more exciting and more accessible to filmmakers whom in the past would not have been able afford the high cost of the celluloid film. With the invention of HD DSLR cameras, a lot of incredible ideas and scripts that would have been locked away in dusty closets have been brought to life. But as they say, there are always two sides to a story. As much as digital cameras have been a blessing to amateur filmmakers, they have also been a curse in many ways. These days you have people who are somewhat passionate about the craft running around with digital cameras because they can afford them. Then there are those who are very passionate about the craft of filmmaking, but are obsessed about acquiring the more high-end cameras and completely ignoring the basic technical aspects (lens) that help create “superior” aesthetics. This should lead us back on track.

The late great James Brown once sang the lyrics, “This is a man’s world, but it won’t be nothing, nothing! Without a woman or a girl.”- Great song by the way. This too holds true in the world of filmmaking. This is a camera’s world, but it won’t be, nothing, nothing! Without a good lens, or a good lens (In James Brown’s voice, it’s only appropriate). The lens is a camera’s backbone, but countless number of times some upcoming filmmakers choose to neglect this fact. They invest in the most expensive digital cameras, but then grace them with cheap lenses. By the way when I say “cheap lenses”, I am not quite referring to the cost of the lens (even though that too could play a role), but rather the characteristics and specifications of it that include: Aperture (F-number), glass quality, and focal length. These factors should be deeply researched before purchasing a lens because they greatly affect and enhance the performance of a camera however expensive.

In addition, a filmmaker or cameraman needs to understand what lenses are appropriate for certain circumstances. For example, if you enjoy shooting landscapes (which wide lenses are normally appropriate for), but you acquire telephoto lenses, you probably would need to be hanging out of an aircraft to pull off your shots. It would not be the worst decision you will ever get to make, but be sure to acquire life insurance prior to your “big-filming-event.” The point is, understanding the technicality behind your lenses and tools helps you bluster your aesthetics, and saves you a lot of time money from renting aircrafts for your shoots.

Unfortunately this is a topic that cannot be condensed into one blog post, I would love to continue in the near future. But for now I would advice you to do some research on camera lenses, and how they affect your aesthetics and performance of your camera. I hope you found some of these tips helpful.