Deciphering Lens Categories. Lenslocker Camera Hire and Lens Hire.

At lenslocker Camera and Lens Hire we know that having the right camera lenses can really help to improve your photography and give you a real sense of creative control over what you are trying to achieve.  However, choosing the right lens can be a complicated task especially when terminology and categorisation of lenses between manufacturers isn’t always consistent.

As a photographic accessories and DSLR camera lens hire company we get many people asking for advice about what type of lens they should hire for a particular job and we endeavor to provide them with consistent and practical advice to help them make the right decision.

To remove the mystery and help reduce confusion we adopt a relatively simple approach to the categorization of lenses and we focus on focal length.  The focal length of a lens determines its angle of view and therefore how much the subject will be magnified for a given photographic position.  Wide-angle lenses have short focal lengths (e.g. 10-20mm) while telephoto lenses have longer focal lengths (e.g. 70-200mm).

The following table provides an overview of lens categorization according to their focal length and an idea of what you might use that lens for.  Please note that the focal lengths listed are just rough ranges and actual uses may vary considerably as people will use a lens that feels comfortable for them and it doesn’t always fit into what is outlined below.

Lens focal length	Category	Photography style
< 21mm	Ultra Wide Angle	Architecture & Landscape
21-35mm	Wide Angle	Landscape
35-70mm	Normal	Landscape, Weddings & Documentary
70-130mm	Medium Telephoto	Portraiture
>130mm	Telephoto	Sports & Wildlife

Of course there are always other factors to consider when choosing the right lens including cost, size, weight and lens speed but hopefully the information above will help reduce the confusion over what type of lens you might need.

If you’re still unsure about what will work best for you, why not try out a lens before you invest in it, this will ensure that it is really is right for you.  Visit our lens page http://www.lenslocker.co.uk where we have a wide range of Canon, Sigma and Nikon lenses for hire. We also provide camera hire.

Hire lenses and Cameras, we also stock other photographic equipment