Digital camera lenses

There are three main types of lenses and zooms, there are fixed focal length lense, optical zoom lense and digital zoom lense.

With a fixed focal length lense the lense does not move at all (i.e no zooming), with these types of cameras the only way you can get close up picture is to move in closer, or if you are wanting to get a wide angle shot you will have to move back from the shot - but be careful to remember how the over all picture will look.

When a camera talks about its true zoom it is talking about its optical zoom lense, this is when the focal length actually extends and retracts. The image is magnified by the lense itself, using the optical zoom will always give the best picture over the digital zoom lense.

The third is digital zoom, this is when the camera does all the work instead of the lense. It enhances the central portion of the image in such a way that it actually degrades the over all picture. Unlike an optical zoom the actual length of the lens does not change at all.

This article does not cover dslr type lenses like wide angle lenses or telephoto lenses.

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The perfect digital image

You maybe standing in front of one of natures true outstanding places or in a special place at the right time... on a cruise ship while taking in a holiday in the Arctic watching Polar bears on the ice, you pick up your camera and take two or three images, or maybe your childs first birthday you take a few pictures of the special day. Once you get them to your PC and load them up on to the monitor only to find they are blurry or some child had his head just at the bottom of the image, the moment will probably never come again and you have missed the chance.

When facing these types of situations take as many pictures as you can, many photographers take hundreds of photos a week and only a handful will come in a good way. Filling the memory card with as many as you can of those special occasions is the only way that you will avoid dissapointment.

Practise makes perfect! Well not always but if you hardly ever take a picture with your camera except for those special occasions then dont expect to be able to pick it up and take breath taking pictures. Walk around the house and take photos of all your children, the pets, fresh flowers in the garden. Play around with the zoom as well, become familiar with the layout of the dials and the settings, so when that special moment does arise you are not caught messing around with the zoom and getting the dial into the right position, it should be natural.

If you are going to a special place to take photos then a little research on the location is essential. Where does the sun rise and set, is it a open space with lots of green fields or will you be in the middle of a concrete jungle. Is it a typical sunny spot or is known for its grey and cloudy days. These points may seem trivial at the moment, but if you turn up to a location to find you are in the middle of a field with rain and a strong wind with it getting dark very quickly you will be upset that you didnt research the area first.

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