Zoom or Prime Lenses

If you are taking photographs using a camera with interchangeable lenses than you will be making various decisions about what lens to use. Why not take a look at my previous photography post on Focal Length of Lenses.

This post will quickly discuss why you might choose a zoom lens or a prime lens for you photography.

- What is a Prime Lens?

• Prime Lenses have only one focal length.
• They come in many many different focal lengths (i.e. 20mm, 50mm, 100mm and so on.)
• You cannot zoom in and out.
• Usually cheaper in relation to quality.

- What is a Zoom Lens?

• A Zoom Lens has a range of focal lengths.
• This means that as you turn the zoom ring it moves through 20mm-100mm (for example).
• This is zooming.
• Zoom Lenses are convenient.
• Its like having many lenses all in one.
• They are a wide angle and telephoto at the same time.

The focal length specification of a prime lens will describe itself as 50mm (one number). A zoom lens will describe it’s focal length as 20mm-100mm (two numbers). In other words, the zoom lens is like many prime lenses in one.

So why would you bother with a prime lens? It sounds restricting.

Zoom lenses are said to be improving in quality but are still regarded as not as good a primes.

Prime Lenses are considered to assist in better quality, sharper and cleaner photographs.

One is designed for a sole purpose and one is multi-tasking.

At university we were all required to use prime lenses and not zoom lenses. There are many reasons for this other than quality. It also makes you think much harder about what you are doing.

Thinking Harder:

Prime Lenses make you think harder. Rather than being able to control your environment by bringing it closer to you or farther away whenever you desire, you are forced to concentrate you energy on a common mode. You have to think harder to plan how you will photography the subject given the circumstances. You choose a certain prime with a certain focal length for a certain purpose and then stick to it.

It also takes  a lot of pressure off you – you do not need to photography everything in sight in 20 different focal lengths. As you cannot zoom in, you don’t!

Thinking more about the process will also get you more in touch with photography as a medium as you learn not to take the photograph for granted. Your input is increased and you final shot is achieved through higher levels of creativity and understanding of how the camera works in relation to your viewpoint, the world and the science of the lens.

There a benefits to zoom lenses of course. Freedom to take one lens with you means you needn’t worry about photographing all sorts of moments and subjects.

Thanks for Reading,

Dan

Packing Your Bag & Things Not To Forget

If you are like me, you don’t like carrying to much. Sometimes I wouldn’t bring my text books to school because they were too heavy – everyone did it – no wonder we were all sharing.

Anyway, First there is a tip that will help you pack in the first place.

Its not always possible, but could you choose only one lens to take with you?  Sometimes it pays to keep things simple. If you are going out to shoot landscapes you don’t need a telescopic/telephoto lens. If you are shooting wildlife, then you won’t want a wide angle lens.

If you packed a wide angle lens and then a parrot arrives and sits on a branch near you, you may just have to let that moment pass and enjoy it with your eyes instead. Sometimes it helps you to focus your skills if you don’t bring a whole arsenal of lenses with you. Its up to you.

So what’s in your bag?

1. Blower (if dust or fluff gets on your lens you can blow it off).
2. Spare Film (in case you need more or bugger up some).
3. Film Containers (to protect the finished films).
4. Cable Release (if shooting in low light)
5. Lens Hood
6. Do you need a Tripod?

That may be all you need. In a well padded bag. Buy one with sections. There are even nice rucksacks now, expensive in some places. Shop around or buy one second hand, its only a bag not your duvet covers.

I was going to put cloth on the list. You need a cloth or piece of kitchen roll too. Its not on the list because I do not want to influence the way in which you clean your lens, that is another matter. I don’t clean lenses out on the field.

I use UV filters (see my UV filter post). This protects the lens. But if rain gets on my filter, I wipe off the droplets and blow any fluff off. That’s safe enough – but lens cleaning is a much more sensitive issue. DO NOT clean lenses with kitchen roll – use a brillo pad (that’s obviously a joke, but you can’t be too careful, so I should state that it is a joke to use brillo pads or kitchen roll to clean lenses.)

When you’re out you might ruin a film or two just by making mistakes. It happened to me a lot during my university course. So take plenty of film.

I used to forget to take the lens cap off when using my rangefinder. You wouldn’t make that mistake with an SLR. See my post on rangefinders.

To stop this I sellotaped a card on the back of my camera saying to TAKE THE LENS CAP OFF! You can do the same for other procedures you are not familiar of. An example for digital users, what about a note that says, “Am I Charged?”

Remember to tear off the flap of the cardboard box the film came in. The flap that has the name of the film and therefore the film speed. On some cameras you can slip it in a neat holder on the back of the camera or “film back”. Then you are reminded what speed to set both: your camera and “light meter” to.

Which brings me to another point. Remember to set the film speed on your light meter. It is easy to forget (if you are forgetful). If you have made this mistake and taken a whole roll of film based on incorrect settings on the light meter, take note of the ISO (film speed) you set it to. There is a way to save that film… potentially. For now I will just give you a link – “PUSH OR PULL” its very complicated.

Don’t forget, if you are bringing a tripod, where is the screw piece? It might be on another camera still and you may end up carrying a heavy tripod out for nothing.

I tend to set up my camera a little before I go out to. Whether that be setting the ISO on my digital camera (and choosing RAW or JPEG), or loading the first film at home. Screw the piece for your tripod into your camera before you leave. I think you do more prep work in Winter!

Good Luck out there.

 

Thanks for reading,

Dan Larsson.

Black & White or Colour : B+W / Color

Do you want to pack black and white film or colour film today?

The Strengths of Black and White:

Black and White is great for emphasising form, shape and texture. Its well known that to describe elegence of form or interesting textures, black and white does a superb job.

Sometimes you have to make the descion based on the concept and emotion, rather than just the subject. Is it moody, miserbale or timeless and still?

Another good example is architecture. Here you are concentrating on the shape of the building, and it will probably be more powerful in black and white. Removing the colour means that the viewer is concentrating on the form and detail, and that is all.  The same goes for portraiture.

The Strenghts of Colour/Color:

Colour photography is like another subject. We see the world in colour so you could argue  that we can relate better with colour photography and that black and white photograph puts us at a distance in which the photograph becomes a relic. for exmaple, modern snapshot style photography is in colour.

You may photograph something ordinary and banal and decide not to give it black and white status. Black and White is now old fashioned – you have to choose to use black and white now. Some photo shops won’t do your black and white films now. More people are using colour now.

I tend to only use colour when I am photographing something colourful. Sounds a little odd perhaps? It is as if, by photographing something, I am saying that the subject is of importance, or worth telling the world about. It doesn’t have to be St Pauls Cathedral, it can be a chair. However, you decide the method which best to emphasis the particular qualities of that subject.

It may be worth asking youself why you are choosing that method and then it will become clearer. Or, shoot it with both and decide later!

Heres an example of some photographers that only use black and white, and to make it interesting, Two are incredibly famous and that you would find in your text book and two are people I’ve never heard of that I came across randomly.

Paul Politis

Benjamin Herbert

Bernd and Hilla Beche (very well known and historical)

Ansel Adams (likewise)

All the best,

Dan Larsson

Tea Time Tips : A few handy tips on photography to take in

Here are a few photography tips to take in over a cup of tea and a hobnob (chocolate).

• Take you time. You have already decided its worth photographing. Stay and take photographs from many different angles – a tiny adjustment to the left or right could make all the difference.

• Use Brackets. On a Digital camera there will be a BKT (brackets setting) or with a fully manual camera, you can do it yourself. Brackets means that you take 3 photographs at once. One will be underexposed, one will be normal and one will be overexposed. It means you are playing a safer bet by ensuring you have a decent exposure to choose from. Also, in photoshop you can combine elements of each.

• Don’t zoom. Move closer. Certainly never use digital zoom (as oppose to optical zoom). It is argued that zoom lenses are best when you are zoomed in half way. You’ll have to see for yourself. If you are buying a new lens soon, buy a prime lens instead of a zoom lens. I will make a post about this choice soon.

• If you are feeling that you image is boring but the subject is exciting, here’s a tip! Don’t stand up straight like your mum taught you. Try and crouch, lay down, bend your knees a little. You will eliminate the photographer from the image – its harder to relate to the human behind the camera. (unless that was what you were trying to do. That’s for another day.) It also just gives the viewer a more interesting perspective of the world.

• You don’t need to include the sky. In fact stop it for a day. Don’t have the sky in your shots today.

If you would like me to help you with your photographs, you can email it to me and I can make a comment or two.

dan.how2photo@googlemail.com

Thanks for reading,

Dan

Whats On – Brighton and London UK : Art & Photography Summer ’09

Photofusion Gallery, London, UK

Dana Popa – Not Natasha

24th July – 18th Sep 2009

V&A, London, UK

Reg Wilson – Capturing the Moment

18th March – 10th Jan 2010

Michael Hoppen Gallery, London, UK

Ofer Wolberger

Until Sat Jul 25th 2009

Brighton Museum, Brighton, UK

The American Scene

Until 31st Aug 2009

Naked Eye Gallery, Brighton, UK

Kiya Uncovered

Until 21st Aug 2009

Pride, Brighton, UK

August 2009

Dan Larsson

What Size Format? 6×4.5 6×6 6×7 6×9

120 film is the film used in medium format cameras. This is oppose to 35mm film which if you are a beginner, you may be more familiar with.

The exciting thing about 120 film is that it is 6cm wide but the camera decides the length. Your decision on the length is up to you but this post will outline them briefly to help you decide.

Ultimately, you can crop a photograph so why care what shape the negative is. Well that’s not all there is to the size.

6×45

• 6×4.5 is 2 times bigger than 35mm
• 16 photos per roll of film.
• Camera example: Mamiya 645

6×6

• 6×6 is almost 4 times bigger than 35mm.
• 12 photos per roll of film
• Camera Example: Hasselblad 500

6×7

• 6×7 is 4 times bigger than 35mm.
• 10 photos per roll of film
• Camera Example: Mamiya 7, Mamiya RZ67, Pentax 67

6×9

• 6×9 is twice as big as 6×45, and about 5 times bigger than 35mm.
• 8 photos per roll of film
• Camera Example: Fujica GW690

Where size is compromised the amount of shots you get per roll is increased. Think of the cost here. There is a balance. Should you go for quality or cost? I suggest you choose quality and choose your shots more wisely, and try not to make simple mistakes. Bring lots of film with you. Or, go out with a 645 camera first and then you can do your final shots in a larger format.

The bigger the negative the better the quality, its not that different from digital images. More pixels more quality.

I have had trouble with 6×9 in the past and do not recommend it. Its out of date and many photo shops do not cater for it and will charge extra to do things by hand. Also in darkrooms you need an adaptor that is hidden somewhere. Nobody else will be using it – that may be a good thing if you like to be different, but it means you wont find equipment set up and ready for you. The nice thing about 6×9 is the shape, its nice and long and if you like landscapes, then you’ll like this shape.

6×6 is interesting because it is square. Some argue it makes you think harder about forming a composition, some say it removes the hard work. You loose the landscape/portrait decision altogether.

6×7 is a nice standard, you can’t really go wrong here.

645, there a two sides to this coin.

Negative -

• almost as big and heavy as a larger camera.
• Much less quality than 6×7
• not much better than 35mm

Positive -

• 16 shots rather than 12 or 10
• smaller
• that’s it really…

For those of you who came here for a quick answer = 6×7.

Thanks for reading,

Dan

UV Filters : Two Second Tip

What is a UV filter?

Apparently it brings out details that the haze of the sun stops. Its a bit like wearing polarised sun glasses.

Do I need one?

Use them to protect your lens. Once you’ve scratched your lens, you’re buggered. So why take the risk?

The argument is that it will reduce the quality of the final image in some cases. Its true, that if you are going to go to the bother of buying a lens in the first place then spending £30 on a very good B+H UV filter is worth it.

Look at it this way: you buy a nice lens and then stick a crap piece of glass in front of it. Why? Cos you don’t know any better you silly plonker!

If you don’t want to buy a filter the alternative is a lens hood. This is meant to protect from wind, dust, rain and light. It therefore protects the lens, and stops your fingers getting near it too.

If you scratch the filter, you buy another, your down £30, not £300. Sounds good to me.

Remember, before buying, check the size you need (in mm) if you don’t know, google your lens and check the specs.

Thanks for reading,

Dan Larsson

Focusing in the Dark: A Quick Tip

Focusing in the Dark

Whether it be a rangefinder or an SLR here is a tip:

• Bring a torch, or use your flash on your camera phone.
• Get someone to stand in line with where you want to focus on.
• Have them shine the light at you.
• TURN OFF AUTO FOCUS, which you shouldn’t have on anyway, naughty naughty!
• focus on the light.
• If you use a rangefinder it is easier as you just make the two lights come together as one.
• If you really want to play it safe, stay higher than f16 to assist in focusing (i.e. f32).

Obvious really, but I didn’t realise until I was told, so now you know too. What are you doing out in the dark anyway?

Best,

Dan

Rangefinders and SLRs

A quick post to identify and examine Rangefinders and SLRs.

Its most likely that you are familiar with SLRs. Mirrors inside the camera allow you to see through the lens itself via the viewfinder. When you press the button (shutter release) to take the photo it makes a loud noise, which is the mirror dropping thus you cannot see anymore. The mirror has to fold away, doesn’t it? because the film is behind it.

On a SLR you focus the lens as usual and you see the image go from blury to not blury.

Rangefinders are different. You may not have used one yet but they are good fun and provide a different experience which you may find has advantages over SLR, or not…

One advantage is they are thin as there is no mirrors inside. They are also light.

In a rangefinder you look through a viewfinder but not through the lens. Like on a compact digital camera that fits in your handbag… or briefcase… the viewfinder is to the side. It is the same in a rangefinder.

When you look through the viewfinder you see two images. Like layers. These two layers need to sit on top of each other exactly.As you turn the focus ring these layers move together or away from each other. Where you want to focus, the two images should match. The areas not in focus will remain as two layers, out of sync. Just as in an SLR the bits in focus are sharp and the bits out of focus are blury. In a rangefinder, the bits in focus are sharp and the bits out of focus are out of sync or seperated.

You may find it harder to use or easier to use, so go and try.

Here are some rangefinders I know and have tried:

Mamiya 7ii

Fuji GW690 (there are many editions)

If you want to know more about them individually, click them. I am not recommending them, rather, I am showing you them. (though I do recommend the mamiya!) (if you clicked the links above, did you notice how flat they are?)

Good Luck, and don’t worry about messing it up (but do worry about dropping them.)

Thanks for reading,

Dan

Two comments to add to this post 24/07/09:

Fujica GW690 – is a fixed lens camera, meaning you cannot change the lens. The lens on it is wide angle, and you can also focus on things reasonably close up. There is also a superwide version of this camera.

Secondly, Just a note to say, rangefinders give a feel that resembles 35mm cameras more than other medium format cameras.

Thanks for reading,

Dan Larsson.

What camera to buy.

What camera should I buy?

Are you a student? If you are, and you know the basics skip 35mm and go straight to photography. The reason is, you’ll need to be finishing you course using  medium format or large format so there’s every reason to get used to it straight away and be confident enough to use large format in you second and final years.

When I was at school I progressed naturally through experimenting with all sorts. This meant I ended up spending enormous amounts of money too.

If I could equip you, I would give you one of the following:

Mamiya 7II, Mamiya RZ67 and, but not just, a half decent DSLR (digital SLR).

Cost: £1000 -£2000 ish.  For the DSR spend around £500-600. If you think that’s expensive, you are right! But you’ve just paint £3000 in tuition fees anyway. Think of it like this: buying two cameras that are half the price but are not as good and then buying a better one at a later date, now you are bankrupt and cant even buy film for the bloody thing.

The bottom line of my advice here is, for best quality use a large negative. In order to match the quality of the large negatives in digital you need to spend a fortune on a camera. More on that another day.

The numbers at the end of the camera models above refer to the size of the negative: 6cm x 7cm. For medium format photography, this is the optimum.

For example, walk into a photo shop with 6×9 negs and you are likely to pay extra. 6×7 is large and to get bigger you should move on to the very different and expensive world of large format. More on neg formats another time, plenty to say, plenty ways to get complicated.

Thus, to conclude, a medium format camera of 6×7 format will set you up for years of timeless (until they ban it, like they ban everything) photography. Its easy, it college-future-proof, its brilliant, top notch quality and nobody can fault it. You can now go out and think about the images rather than the bloody camera.

Thanks for reading,

Dan Larsson.