"One camera one Lens" It might be more applicable now than ever before..

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

The "One Camera, One Lens" applies for all makes, Pentax, Canon, Nikon, you name it. I own Pentax equipment and therefore I show Pentax equipment on this blog.

Hi Photographer friends,

Have you compared  2012 prices of lenses to just a few years ago? Lenses have become more expensive than ever. I believe that the ratio of camera$ / lens$ prices is out of control.

We used to say that the camera bodies were replaceable every-so-often, but that lenses were an investment for life. I don't think that holds true anymore. The sensors are so advanced now, that they often outresolve the lenses, especially the older lenses. So maybe lenses are not a lifetime investment anymore.

In addition, manufacturers are making us believe that, to be a good photographer, we need an arsenal of lenses that we couldn't possibly bring to all of our photo shoots even if we wanted to. Some preach that prime lenses are the only quality lenses one should use, while other recognize that today's zoom lenses are far better than the old school zooms. The reality is that everybody is right, (regarding primes or zooms)  but we don't all have a bank account that allows us to purchase all we want. Most of us have a bank accounts that allows us to  purchase what we need and maybe a little of what we want.

If you want to become a better photographer, all the lenses in the world won't do you much good if you don't learn how to use them efficiently and wisely. An extreme zoom lens or telephoto will bring a far away object in the viewfinder, but the perspective will be all screwed up. It's the same for a wide angle lens, you may catch the scene almost behind you, but the perspective will also be screwed up.

Try to get acquainted with each of your lens, and practice a lot. In most situations, a normal lens (that is a lens that shows you the scene about the same as what your eyes normally see)  will render the best quality images. For an APS-C DSLR, 28 - 30 mm lens is a normal lens, for what we now call "Full Frame", a 45 - 50 mm is a normal lens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_lens

Film/Sensor format	Image dimensions	Image diagonal	Normal lens focal length
9.5 mm	8 × 11 mm	13.6 mm	15 mm
Half-frame	24 × 18 mm	30 mm	30 mm
APS-C	16.7 × 25.1 mm	30.1 mm	28 mm, 30 mm
135- 35mm (Full Frame)	24 × 36 mm	43.3 mm	45 mm, 50 mm
6 × 4.5 (645)	56 × 42 mm	71.8 mm	75 mm
6 × 6	56 × 56 mm	79.2 mm	80 mm
, 6 × 7	56 × 68 mm	88.1 mm	90 mm
6 × 9	56 × 84 mm	101.0 mm	105 mm
6 × 12	56 × 112 mm	125.0 mm	120 mm
Large Format 4 × 5	93 × 118 mm (image area)	150.2 mm	150 mm
Large 5 × 7	120 × 170 mm (image area)	208.0 mm	210 mm
Large Format 8 × 10	194 × 245 mm (image area)	312.5 mm	300 mm

Only after you master photography with a normal lens, should you venture into the Wide Angle, Telephoto and Zoom lenses. Okay...you don't have to, but it would make you a better photographer in the long run.

Even if you currently have an arsenal of lenses, maybe you should spend some time practicing with a normal lens. It's the old adage "One camera, One lens". Most of today's photographers seem to have forgotten the correct usage of each lens. We see photographers stand at the same position and change the angle of view (zoom lenses).  This changes the coverage area without a corresponding change in perspective. Perspective changes not because of the focal length, but due to the position of the lens in relation to the subject. Changing to a normal lens and changing the position of the camera can drastically change the perspective. The "One camera, One lens" teaches you to use your legs (instead of zooming from one position), and puts you,  the camera and the lens in the most appropriate position to obtain the natural perspective. Once you try and practice this, you will get to know each of your lens intimately and will be a better photographer because of it...and who knows what other photographic opportunities will be discovered by walking closer or farther to your subject.

May the light be working with you :)

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Prime Love

by Miserere

Back in the old days all lenses were primes; zooms weren’t introduced to 35mm photography until Kilfitt released the 36-82mm f/2.8 Zoomar in 1959, although zoom lenses had been used in movie cameras since the 1930s.

Just about every point-and-shoot camera on the market today uses a zoom lens, and every brand of DSLRs boasts a wide selection of them. Prime lenses seem to have gone the way of the tie-dye T-shirt, and many amateur photographers still wonder what they’re for.

Low-light candid portraits.

Despite the clear advantages of a lens offering multiple focal lengths, it can also create a clear disadvantage in the long run, and it’s that it makes us lazy and comfortable. When you can just plonk yourself in one spot and zoom in or out to compose a shot, your creativity suffers (a special case is wildlife photography, but that’s not what I’m talking about here). Creativity comes from challenge, instability, ignorance, dissatisfaction…not from remaining immovable in one spot with one eye closed watching Life pass you by.

Live music concerts with bad light.

I’ve had photographers give me puzzled looks when I show them one of my prime lenses; they’ll often ask what it does, as if taking photos might not be its purpose. After I’ve explained the advantages of the prime in question they’ll usually want to confirm what I said with “so it really doesn’t zoom?” It’s a shame the concept of a fixed focal length has become so alien to photography newcomers.

Night photography without a tripod.

For those that just joined us, a prime lens is one that has single focal length. Instead of the lens going from 18 to 55mm, it will be only 50mm, or 35mm, or 24mm. So, you might ask, if you want to replace your 18-55mm zoom with primes, you have to use 4 lenses? (18mm, 24mm, 35mm and 55mm.) “I’d rather just carry one lens, thank-you-very-much. And it will be cheaper, too.” And this is the strong point of zooms, their selling point: They are convenient on many levels. Just to show some practical examples I've peppered the article with photos taken using primes, so you can see the range of subjects they're useful for.

Cute animals.

I am not against zooms; my most used lens is a 28-75mm f/2.8. It’s versatile, relatively fast and with good IQ. It does a lot of what I need. But when it can’t, I know a prime will. I like taking candid portraits, and my opportunities for doing so are when I’m out with friends and family. Funnily enough, they don’t walk around with bright lights to one side and gold reflectors to the other. In fact, they tend to stay in dark pubs or indoors, away from windows. I also like shooting live music, which again, usually takes place in pubs under bad lighting. An f/2.8 lens just won’t cut it, and I’d rather not use ISO102400.

Walk-around.

Primes are easier to design and build than zooms are, so it’s easier to make them fast. For a zoom, f/2.8 is fast, but that’s just normal for a prime. There are primes going all the way down to f/0.7, like the Zeiss which Stanley Kubrick famously used to film candle-lit scenes in Barry Lyndon, but most are somewhere between f/1.4 and f/2. Best of all, they don’t need to be large; the Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 fits easily in a coat pocket, and at $200 will not break the bank. This is the first fast prime recommend to beginners because, despite its low price, it is a stunning performer. On a digital APS-C camera it is not as versatile as on full-frame, but I use it often at family gatherings as a short tele.

Not only are primes are fast and compact, but because they are simpler to build and incorporate less lens elements, they also offer better image quality. Many photographers who are obsessed with obtaining the sharpest, cleanest, most contrasty pictures will shoot only primes. I can’t blame them! Faster apertures also mean shallower depth of field, which is an effect you might want to exploit when isolating a subject from their surroundings.

Safari.

OK, so apart from making coffee, primes have many advantages that are tangible and measurable, but let me go back to the beginning of this article and address the creativity issue. I talked about it in my article last week, where I exhorted you to take a prime and go walk around looking for opportunities. When you think you might be lost, off balance and slightly uncomfortable with your camera, when you’re not quite sure what you’re doing…chances are you are going to be more creative. That’s how a prime makes me feel. I know what it looks like through the viewfinder, but it doesn’t always reflect what I want, so I’ll move forward, or backward, or sideways, and often I end up in a completely different place to where I had imagined I’d bee. My photography benefits from this, because although I take many photos that exist in my head, often it is the unplanned shots that are the best, and you have to be slightly unstable and moving to find the magic angles.

But if you’re standing in one spot with one eye closed watching Life pass you by…

Thank you for reading.

Miserere

PS: If you're wondering what different primes I used for all these photos, I'll tell you: They were all taken with the Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 mounted on a K10D. :-)

Current Pentax Lenses not good enough for you?

Hi Pentaxians and friends,

Pentax Lenses

How many times have I heard or read that Pentax didn't have enough lenses to compete with the other DSLR makers. Although this may somewhat be true in the extreme telephoto and extreme zoom lenses, I can't imagine it being a reason not to get a Pentax DSLR. The current available new lenses have a range of 10mm all the way on up to 300mm. They are not all f/2.8 or faster lenses, but with the capabilities of today's DSLRs, I'm not convinced that faster lenses are really that indispensable. You also have a choice of good lenses with Sigma and Tamron. Don't discount the used lens market where the Pentax 400mm and 600mm "A" lenses can still be purchased at a decent price. No, they're not AF but there was good photography before AF you know!

It's not uncommon to shoot with a DSLR @ ISO800 or higher with very acceptable results. Also, with the shake reduction technology, depending on the lens in use, steady shots can be achieved at a slower speed and thus smaller aperture. I had a discussion with a friend the other day and he was complaining that in the 35mm era, he could easily get a 300mm f/2.8 lens. Well...giving that all Pentax DSLRs are APS-C sized, and that the photographic community keeps comparing/converting APS-C sized lenses to 35mm lenses, the current DA* 200mm f/2.8 is really the equivalent of a 300mm @ f/2.8 for the APS-C sensors. Other than sport photography, not too many people really need extreme telephoto while not using a tripod. Even sport shooters don't usually shoot handheld. They all use a monopod at minimum.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque