TOPIC: TYPES OF LENSES 
AMIT KUMAR DASH 
AMITY UNIVERSITY, UTTAR PRADESH 
BACHELORS IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
WHAT IS A LENS ? 
Lens works on the principle of refraction, which means bending of light 
as it passes from one medium to the other. 
A lens is an optical device which transmits and refracts light, converging 
or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element. 
A compound lens is an array of simple lenses (elements) with a common 
axis; the use of multiple elements allows more optical aberrations to be 
corrected than is possible with a single element. 
Lenses are typically made of glass or transparent plastic.
TYPES OF LENS IN RAY OPTICS 
The most commonly used lenses are: 
1. Biconvex 
2. Biconcave
BICONVEX LENSES 
1. These lenses are converging in nature. The light rays refracts inwards 
after passing through the lens. 
2. Such lenses creates Real Images. The image formed is said to 
be real because the rays of light from the object pass through the film 
and are inverted (upside down).
USES OF CONVEX LENS: 
1. CAMERAS: 
A camera consists of three main parts. 
a) The body which is light tight and contains all the mechanical parts. 
b) The lens which is a convex (converging) lens). 
c) The film or a charged couple device in the case of a digital camera. 
2. Magnifying glass, Microscopes, Telescopes 
3. Human eyes 
4. Spectacles 
5. Rear View Mirrors
BICONCAVE LENSES 
1. Concave lenses are thinner at the middle. Rays of light that pass through 
the lens are spread out (they diverge). A concave lens is a diverging lens. 
2. The image formed is virtual and diminished (smaller)
USES OF CONCAVE LENS: 
1. FLASHLIGHTS 
2. LASERS 
3. PEEPHOLES 
4. REFLECTORS 
5. STREET LIGHTS
TYPES OF LENS IN PHOTOGRAPHY 
Lens Focal Lengths Lens Type Photography Type 
Less than 20mm Extreme Wide 
Angle 
Architecture 
21mm - 35mm Wide Angle Landscape 
35mm-70mm Normal Normal Street and 
Documentary 
80mm-135mm Medium Telephoto Portraiture 
135mm-300mm Telephoto Telephoto Sports 
and Wildlife 
Greater than 
300mm 
Super Telephoto Wildlife
EXTREME WIDE ANGLE LENSES 
Super-wide lenses provide a dynamic perspective of the world around us, well 
beyond the scale of eyesight. 
Normal vision comfortably takes in a 45-50° angle of 
view, corresponding to the standard 50mm lens in 35mm film photography. 
The extreme-wide perspective begins with a 90° field of view, which emerges through 
lenses of 21mm and shorter focal length in 35mm film photography, and 15mm or 
shorter focal length in most digital cameras. 
Yet extreme wide-angle photography is available for 
everyday picture-taking, expands visual horizons and can even warp space.
IMAGE RESULTS OF 
EXTREME WIDE ANGLE LENSES
WIDE ANGLE LENSES 
A wide-angle lens is a lens with a short focal length that takes in a wide view. 
This type of lenses can be called wide-angle, short focal length, short lens and 
zoom out but refer to the same thing - lenses that capture a wide expanse of a 
scene. 
Wide-angle lenses are typically used when the subject is in the extreme 
foreground and the photographer wants the background in focus as well. 
This property can be used to create a dramatic effect and change the perspective 
in your images as objects very close to the camera loom much larger than those 
farther in the background.
DISADVANTAGES OF WIDE ANGLE LENSES 
Lens Flare 
Lens flare is a "sun spot" or light from some other source that hits the lens and scatters, forming 
bright streaks, random polygonal shapes, or a glowing halo effect. Wide-angle lenses are more 
prone to picking up these stray beams of light than are regular lenses, and the flares can be 
distracting within the image. 
Image Distortion 
A wide-angle lens has a tendency to distort cylindrical objects at the edges of the lens, curving 
straight lines. The wider the angle, the more distortion. A fish-eye lens is an extreme example of 
this distortion. Straight lines or objects--such as buildings--appear to curve upward. These objects 
are actually bent by the optics of the lens. 
Vignetting 
Some wide-angle lenses may produce a vignetted effect, where the image tends to become 
gradually darker towards the outer edges. This is due to more light reaching the center of the 
image than the outer edge of the frame.
IMAGE RESULTS 
WIDE ANGLE LENSES
NORMAL LENSES 
In photography, a normal lens is a lens that reproduces a field of view that generally 
looks "natural" to a human observer under normal viewing conditions, as compared with 
lenses with longer or shorter focal lengths which produce an expanded or contracted field 
of view that distorts the perspective when viewed from a normal viewing distance. 
For still photography, a lens with a focal length about equal to the diagonal size of 
the film or sensor format is considered to be a normal lens. 
Its angle of view is similar to the angle subtended by a large-enough print viewed at a 
typical viewing distance equal to the print diagonal, this angle of view is about 53° 
diagonally.
ADVANTAGES OF NORMAL LENSES 
A lens of normal focal length has several advantages over a lens that is substantially 
longer or shorter. 
1. A normal lens suits the requirements of most photographic situations. It is ideal for the subjects 
that interest the majority of photographers. 
2. It is usually faster than lenses of other focal lengths, allowing for easier framing and focusing, 
higher shutter speeds to stop more action, and full exposures under dimmer lighting conditions. 
3. It is generally sharper and better corrected than telephoto, wide angle and zoom lenses although 
the difference is usually quite small. 
4. Even with its extra speed and clarity a normal lens is smaller and lighter than any telephoto or 
zoom lens and most wide angle lenses. 
5. For complex optical reason, normal lenses are able to focus much closer than those of longer 
focal length. Although wide angle lenses often have this ability too, their enormous depth of field 
makes precise focusing more difficult than with normal lenses.
IMAGE RESULTS NORMAL LENSES
TELLEPHOTO LENSES 
(MEDIUM AND SUPER) 
A telephoto lens is a camera lens designed to enable people to take long focal length 
pictures using a lens with an actual length which is shorter than the focal length. 
In photography , a telephoto lens is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the 
physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by 
incorporating a special lens group known as a telephoto group. 
Telephoto lenses are sometimes broken into the further sub-types of 
MEDIUM TELEPHOTO: lenses covering between a 30° and 10° field of view (85mm to 
135mm in 35mm film format). 
SUPER TELEPHOTO: lenses covering between 8° through less than 1° field of view 
(over 300mm in 35mm film format)
DISADVANTAGES OF TELEPHOTO LENSES 
Depth of Field 
Because telephoto lenses have such long focal lengths, often 200 mm or longer, the depth of field 
you can achieve with them is drastically lower than with a standard or wide-angle lens. 
Perspective 
A telephoto lens has a much narrower perspective than both the human eye and other lenses. This 
narrow perspective drastically limits the amount of a scene or subject you can include in your 
picture. 
Portability 
Telephoto lenses are more cumbersome than standard or wide-angle lenses, and carrying them can be 
difficult while traveling or attending crowded events. Super telephoto lenses can weigh 10 to 12 lbs. 
(5 to 6 kg). 
Expense 
Telephoto lenses are often much more expensive than standard lenses (up to several hundred dollars 
more for an entry-level model), giving you one final reason not to buy one unless you want to do 
sports or nature photography.
IMAGE RESULTS OF TELEPHOTO LENSES
SPECIALIST LENSES 
1. The Fisheye Lens 
The widest optic is the fisheye lens, designed to capture half of the total 
field of view surrounding the photographer; that is, a 180° diagonal view. 
In the case of at least one major lens manufacturer, fisheye optics were initially 
produced to aid in police work, to enable the recording of an entire crime scene in a 
single photograph. 
Only after some years were the lenses made available to the public.
IMAGE RESULTS OF FISHEYE LENSES
SPECIALIST LENSES 
2. Macro Lens 
Marco lenses or lenses with a macro mode are used for close up photography of insects or 
flowers. They have similar properties to a normal lens, but they are able to focus a lot closer to 
the subject. 
The camera lenses with the longer focal lengths come in very handy for taking close ups of 
subjects that might otherwise be scared away. The optical quality of a macro lens is normally 
very high.
IMAGE RESULTS OF MACRO LENSES
Lens Accessories 
If your camera has a fixed lens, you may be able to use lens converters to 
decrease or increase its focal length. There are two popular accessories for 
cameras with interchangeable lenses. Both fit between the lens and the camera 
body. 
1. Extenders extend the range of the lens. For example, a 2x lens converter will 
make a 100mm lens into a 200mm lens. 
2. Extension tubes are used to increase magnification in macro close-up 
photography.
Considerations When Buying a Lens 
The optical quality of the lens: The better the lens, the better it can capture - resolve - fine 
details. In most cases, the optical quality of digital camera lenses go hand in hand with the price of 
the camera and the resolution of the sensor. 
The speed of the lens: A lens' speed is determined by the maximum amount of light the lens is 
capable of transmitting- the largest f-stop value. Some camera lenses can capture larger amounts of 
light than others, generally because they have a greater diameter that can transmit more light. 
The focusing range of the lens: The minimum focus distance of a lens determines how close you 
can get to a subject. If too close, the image will be blurry. Some camera lenses can focus closer than 
others. The ability to get up-close and personal with your subject can be very important in some 
types of photography. 
The magnification range of the lens: The zoom range determines how much or how little of a 
particular subject you can include in an image from a particular shooting distance. At the widest 
settings (wide-angle settings), you can take in broad sweeps of landscape, whereas in the narrowest 
view (telephoto), you can reach out and bring a distant object much closer.
LENS CARE: 
There are four main types of external damage sources to be concerned about. 
A. Dirt C. Shock 
B. Scratches D. Water 
Dirt: 
Dirt is a daily challenge for your lens. Dust and other dirt on the surface of your lens will 
create horrible images. One stray spec of dust is probably not going to be noticed but if your 
lens is obviously dusty it can cause problems. Dirt causes even more problems as it is more 
difficult to remove from your lens surface. 
Scratches: 
Scratches are a killer of your lens. There is no good way to repair them yourself. The best thing 
you can do is prevent scratches. The easiest thing you can do to protect your lens against 
scratches is to use a filter. A filter is a small piece of glass that fits in front of your lens.
Shock: 
Shock is when your camera lens is hit or hits something else with considerable force. If you 
drop your lens or if someone slams a car door on your lens it will probably cause damage. 
Sometimes this damage can be repaired by an professional repair shop but it is almost 
always very expensive. The best way to protect your lens is to carry it (and your camera) in 
a padded camera bag, and to be aware of your surroundings. If you have your lens (and 
camera) out of the bag, pay attention to what is around you and be prepared to move your 
camera, and yourself, out of harm's way. 
Water: 
Water is a mortal enemy to your lens. The electronic circuits and motors inside most of 
today's lenses can be destroyed by water. Also, most lenses actually have several elements, 
or other lenses, inside them. If water gets on these internal lenses, it leaves water spots that 
you cannot clean yourself.
Types of Lenses used in photography

Types of Lenses used in photography

  • 1.
    TOPIC: TYPES OFLENSES AMIT KUMAR DASH AMITY UNIVERSITY, UTTAR PRADESH BACHELORS IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION
  • 2.
    WHAT IS ALENS ? Lens works on the principle of refraction, which means bending of light as it passes from one medium to the other. A lens is an optical device which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element. A compound lens is an array of simple lenses (elements) with a common axis; the use of multiple elements allows more optical aberrations to be corrected than is possible with a single element. Lenses are typically made of glass or transparent plastic.
  • 3.
    TYPES OF LENSIN RAY OPTICS The most commonly used lenses are: 1. Biconvex 2. Biconcave
  • 4.
    BICONVEX LENSES 1.These lenses are converging in nature. The light rays refracts inwards after passing through the lens. 2. Such lenses creates Real Images. The image formed is said to be real because the rays of light from the object pass through the film and are inverted (upside down).
  • 5.
    USES OF CONVEXLENS: 1. CAMERAS: A camera consists of three main parts. a) The body which is light tight and contains all the mechanical parts. b) The lens which is a convex (converging) lens). c) The film or a charged couple device in the case of a digital camera. 2. Magnifying glass, Microscopes, Telescopes 3. Human eyes 4. Spectacles 5. Rear View Mirrors
  • 6.
    BICONCAVE LENSES 1.Concave lenses are thinner at the middle. Rays of light that pass through the lens are spread out (they diverge). A concave lens is a diverging lens. 2. The image formed is virtual and diminished (smaller)
  • 7.
    USES OF CONCAVELENS: 1. FLASHLIGHTS 2. LASERS 3. PEEPHOLES 4. REFLECTORS 5. STREET LIGHTS
  • 8.
    TYPES OF LENSIN PHOTOGRAPHY Lens Focal Lengths Lens Type Photography Type Less than 20mm Extreme Wide Angle Architecture 21mm - 35mm Wide Angle Landscape 35mm-70mm Normal Normal Street and Documentary 80mm-135mm Medium Telephoto Portraiture 135mm-300mm Telephoto Telephoto Sports and Wildlife Greater than 300mm Super Telephoto Wildlife
  • 9.
    EXTREME WIDE ANGLELENSES Super-wide lenses provide a dynamic perspective of the world around us, well beyond the scale of eyesight. Normal vision comfortably takes in a 45-50° angle of view, corresponding to the standard 50mm lens in 35mm film photography. The extreme-wide perspective begins with a 90° field of view, which emerges through lenses of 21mm and shorter focal length in 35mm film photography, and 15mm or shorter focal length in most digital cameras. Yet extreme wide-angle photography is available for everyday picture-taking, expands visual horizons and can even warp space.
  • 10.
    IMAGE RESULTS OF EXTREME WIDE ANGLE LENSES
  • 12.
    WIDE ANGLE LENSES A wide-angle lens is a lens with a short focal length that takes in a wide view. This type of lenses can be called wide-angle, short focal length, short lens and zoom out but refer to the same thing - lenses that capture a wide expanse of a scene. Wide-angle lenses are typically used when the subject is in the extreme foreground and the photographer wants the background in focus as well. This property can be used to create a dramatic effect and change the perspective in your images as objects very close to the camera loom much larger than those farther in the background.
  • 13.
    DISADVANTAGES OF WIDEANGLE LENSES Lens Flare Lens flare is a "sun spot" or light from some other source that hits the lens and scatters, forming bright streaks, random polygonal shapes, or a glowing halo effect. Wide-angle lenses are more prone to picking up these stray beams of light than are regular lenses, and the flares can be distracting within the image. Image Distortion A wide-angle lens has a tendency to distort cylindrical objects at the edges of the lens, curving straight lines. The wider the angle, the more distortion. A fish-eye lens is an extreme example of this distortion. Straight lines or objects--such as buildings--appear to curve upward. These objects are actually bent by the optics of the lens. Vignetting Some wide-angle lenses may produce a vignetted effect, where the image tends to become gradually darker towards the outer edges. This is due to more light reaching the center of the image than the outer edge of the frame.
  • 14.
    IMAGE RESULTS WIDEANGLE LENSES
  • 15.
    NORMAL LENSES Inphotography, a normal lens is a lens that reproduces a field of view that generally looks "natural" to a human observer under normal viewing conditions, as compared with lenses with longer or shorter focal lengths which produce an expanded or contracted field of view that distorts the perspective when viewed from a normal viewing distance. For still photography, a lens with a focal length about equal to the diagonal size of the film or sensor format is considered to be a normal lens. Its angle of view is similar to the angle subtended by a large-enough print viewed at a typical viewing distance equal to the print diagonal, this angle of view is about 53° diagonally.
  • 16.
    ADVANTAGES OF NORMALLENSES A lens of normal focal length has several advantages over a lens that is substantially longer or shorter. 1. A normal lens suits the requirements of most photographic situations. It is ideal for the subjects that interest the majority of photographers. 2. It is usually faster than lenses of other focal lengths, allowing for easier framing and focusing, higher shutter speeds to stop more action, and full exposures under dimmer lighting conditions. 3. It is generally sharper and better corrected than telephoto, wide angle and zoom lenses although the difference is usually quite small. 4. Even with its extra speed and clarity a normal lens is smaller and lighter than any telephoto or zoom lens and most wide angle lenses. 5. For complex optical reason, normal lenses are able to focus much closer than those of longer focal length. Although wide angle lenses often have this ability too, their enormous depth of field makes precise focusing more difficult than with normal lenses.
  • 17.
  • 18.
    TELLEPHOTO LENSES (MEDIUMAND SUPER) A telephoto lens is a camera lens designed to enable people to take long focal length pictures using a lens with an actual length which is shorter than the focal length. In photography , a telephoto lens is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a telephoto group. Telephoto lenses are sometimes broken into the further sub-types of MEDIUM TELEPHOTO: lenses covering between a 30° and 10° field of view (85mm to 135mm in 35mm film format). SUPER TELEPHOTO: lenses covering between 8° through less than 1° field of view (over 300mm in 35mm film format)
  • 19.
    DISADVANTAGES OF TELEPHOTOLENSES Depth of Field Because telephoto lenses have such long focal lengths, often 200 mm or longer, the depth of field you can achieve with them is drastically lower than with a standard or wide-angle lens. Perspective A telephoto lens has a much narrower perspective than both the human eye and other lenses. This narrow perspective drastically limits the amount of a scene or subject you can include in your picture. Portability Telephoto lenses are more cumbersome than standard or wide-angle lenses, and carrying them can be difficult while traveling or attending crowded events. Super telephoto lenses can weigh 10 to 12 lbs. (5 to 6 kg). Expense Telephoto lenses are often much more expensive than standard lenses (up to several hundred dollars more for an entry-level model), giving you one final reason not to buy one unless you want to do sports or nature photography.
  • 20.
    IMAGE RESULTS OFTELEPHOTO LENSES
  • 21.
    SPECIALIST LENSES 1.The Fisheye Lens The widest optic is the fisheye lens, designed to capture half of the total field of view surrounding the photographer; that is, a 180° diagonal view. In the case of at least one major lens manufacturer, fisheye optics were initially produced to aid in police work, to enable the recording of an entire crime scene in a single photograph. Only after some years were the lenses made available to the public.
  • 22.
    IMAGE RESULTS OFFISHEYE LENSES
  • 23.
    SPECIALIST LENSES 2.Macro Lens Marco lenses or lenses with a macro mode are used for close up photography of insects or flowers. They have similar properties to a normal lens, but they are able to focus a lot closer to the subject. The camera lenses with the longer focal lengths come in very handy for taking close ups of subjects that might otherwise be scared away. The optical quality of a macro lens is normally very high.
  • 24.
    IMAGE RESULTS OFMACRO LENSES
  • 25.
    Lens Accessories Ifyour camera has a fixed lens, you may be able to use lens converters to decrease or increase its focal length. There are two popular accessories for cameras with interchangeable lenses. Both fit between the lens and the camera body. 1. Extenders extend the range of the lens. For example, a 2x lens converter will make a 100mm lens into a 200mm lens. 2. Extension tubes are used to increase magnification in macro close-up photography.
  • 26.
    Considerations When Buyinga Lens The optical quality of the lens: The better the lens, the better it can capture - resolve - fine details. In most cases, the optical quality of digital camera lenses go hand in hand with the price of the camera and the resolution of the sensor. The speed of the lens: A lens' speed is determined by the maximum amount of light the lens is capable of transmitting- the largest f-stop value. Some camera lenses can capture larger amounts of light than others, generally because they have a greater diameter that can transmit more light. The focusing range of the lens: The minimum focus distance of a lens determines how close you can get to a subject. If too close, the image will be blurry. Some camera lenses can focus closer than others. The ability to get up-close and personal with your subject can be very important in some types of photography. The magnification range of the lens: The zoom range determines how much or how little of a particular subject you can include in an image from a particular shooting distance. At the widest settings (wide-angle settings), you can take in broad sweeps of landscape, whereas in the narrowest view (telephoto), you can reach out and bring a distant object much closer.
  • 27.
    LENS CARE: Thereare four main types of external damage sources to be concerned about. A. Dirt C. Shock B. Scratches D. Water Dirt: Dirt is a daily challenge for your lens. Dust and other dirt on the surface of your lens will create horrible images. One stray spec of dust is probably not going to be noticed but if your lens is obviously dusty it can cause problems. Dirt causes even more problems as it is more difficult to remove from your lens surface. Scratches: Scratches are a killer of your lens. There is no good way to repair them yourself. The best thing you can do is prevent scratches. The easiest thing you can do to protect your lens against scratches is to use a filter. A filter is a small piece of glass that fits in front of your lens.
  • 28.
    Shock: Shock iswhen your camera lens is hit or hits something else with considerable force. If you drop your lens or if someone slams a car door on your lens it will probably cause damage. Sometimes this damage can be repaired by an professional repair shop but it is almost always very expensive. The best way to protect your lens is to carry it (and your camera) in a padded camera bag, and to be aware of your surroundings. If you have your lens (and camera) out of the bag, pay attention to what is around you and be prepared to move your camera, and yourself, out of harm's way. Water: Water is a mortal enemy to your lens. The electronic circuits and motors inside most of today's lenses can be destroyed by water. Also, most lenses actually have several elements, or other lenses, inside them. If water gets on these internal lenses, it leaves water spots that you cannot clean yourself.