Lens News

Sun & Games Fun with the sun...and more

1. Sun Stars
Your wide-angle lens at its smallest aperture can turn the sun into a star in your photos—fitting, since the sun actually is a star. The effect occurs because the tiny aperture diffracts the incoming light rays a lot. This diffraction causes the star effect. You can include the sun as a compositional. Photo by...

We’re always amazed to see photographers shooting with high-end cameras and premium glass, without a hood on their lens. Often that’s because hoods are an optional purchase when buying a lens, while other times photographers fail to realize the significant difference an affordable hood can make in the quality of their images.

While more and more landscape photographers are turning to long telephotos when shooting in the field, the trusty wide-angle is still the go-to choice for most of us. And there’s a good reason: The perspective provided by short focal length lenses is often perfect for capturing dramatic, expansive vistas.

A tilt-shift lens can be thought of as a flexible visual tool in the many ways it allows you to image the world. Unlike a standard lens, even a zoom, with a set point of view enforced by stance, elevation, focal length, and, within certain limits, depth of field, the tilt-shift lens opens visual doors a “fixed” lens will not. By tilting the lens within the mount you can enhance or greatly diminish depth of field beyond the “normal” abilities of the focal length and aperture setting. By shifting the lens you can “fix” perspective distortion or exaggerate it for “trick” effects.

Winter is officially over and spring has finally sprung, and that means it’s time to pull out a macro lens and bone up on your skills. The quick video below provides five very helpful tips that are different from those we’ve discussed in the past.

Because Amazon is one of the world’s largest marketplaces for digital camera gear, checking out the best sellers in photo related categories provides a sense of what’s popular—and maybe even a few surprises.

Does size matter in boudoir photography? Well, that depends but when it comes to lens choices, it's a very interesting question, according to boudoir pro Yuliya Panchenko.