Lens News

Filmmaker John P. Hess at Filmmaker IQ brings us this highly informative video that expertly documents the science behind the evolution of photography’s most vital tool—the lens. 

It can be discouraging for many photographers to see their well-healed counterparts shooting with a camera-lens combo that runs far beyond five figures. But one pro says you really shouldn't feel bad that you can't afford expensive gear, because it's possible to capture great images with bargain cameras and lenses if you know a few tricks.

You’ve no doubt marveled at colorful nighttime light trail photos, and assumed they required advanced skills and special gear. As you’ll see in the tutorial below, nothing could be further from the truth.

We all fall into a creative rut on occasion, and that’s often because we take the same approach to whatever we shoot. For portraits we typically reach for a short telephoto, and a wide-angle lens is usually our choice for landscape photography.

The first thing many photographers do after investing in a new lens is to screw on a UV or haze filter. The idea is that these filters protect the front element of your lens from dirt and impact damage while improving contrast and eliminating atmospheric haze.

After seeing yesterday’s post about a new 1000mm telephoto lens Canon has in development, reader Jim Headley let us know he has a rare Birns and Sawyer Omnitar 1000mm f/4.5 telephoto for sale. The one-of-a-kind lens was commissioned by NASA in 1964 through Birns and Sawyer in Los Angeles and built by Astra in Germany.

With the growing popularity of D-SLR cameras with sensors of various sizes, most of the manufacturers are working to expand their line of lenses. As expected, many of the latest products are “digital only”: designed for the majority of D-SLRs with the APS-C or Four Thirds size sensor. But (as specified in the text), some are multi-platform products suitable for all 35mm and digital...