6 Types Of Camera Lenses That you Should Know

Updated on June 13, 2023 in Photography by Alifiya Mustafa

Welcome to the world of photography and different types of camera lenses. One needs to have a creative mindset and will to master the science and art of photography in order to become a great photographer.

If you’re into photography, you must know a few things beyond just the camera. And those are camera lenses. The camera lenses are the heart of your camera since, without them, the camera is of no use.

We recently shared the best camera for product photography and in this article, I’ll be telling you about the 6 basic types of camera lenses that every photographer should know after entering the photography world.

What Are The 6 Types Of Camera Lenses?

1. Standard prime lens

Focal length: 4mm to 14mm | portrait, street, travel

Prime lenses have been around since the cameras have come into existence. They are these classic lenses with a fixed focal length. This means you can’t zoom out or zoom in. But, this is what makes the primes lens faster and sharper.

Since the focal length is fixed in the Prime lens, they are specialized in it. This means they are precisely tuned to deliver a particular type of photography, unlike other lenses such as zoom lenses that can be used for various types of photography.

This also allows the prime lens to capture much higher-quality images, but you must know the correct setting to use them. The lightweight of the prime lens makes it travel-friendly.

2. Zoom lens

Focal length: 70mm to 200mm | flexible for multipurpose

A zoom lens is one of the most versatile types of camera lenses that allows you to capture anything from almost any distance. You can capture anything from a baby in your room to the animals in the jungles of Africa.

If you’re a beginner, you can explore a great range of photography styles with a zoom lens. The need to produce various styles of photography can be fulfilled since you can zoom from 70mm and all the way up to 200mm.

Zoom lenses are available in other ranges too such as an 18 to 270mm that you may use if you’re traveling and looking for something lightweight in zoom lenses.

3. Telephoto lens

Focal length: 100mm to 600mm | sports, nature, astronomy

A telephoto lens is a scale-up from a zoom lens. These huge types of camera lenses range from 100mm to 600 mm. Telephoto lenses are heavy and often need a tripod to support them.

Telephoto lenses are usually used by high-level professionals and they may not be budget-friendly for beginners.

These are perfect for wildlife photographers, night sky photographers, or sports photographers.

4. Wide-angle lens

Focal length: 16mm to 35mm | architecture, landscapes

A wide-angle lens allows you to be at a close distance and still be able to capture a wide area without having to step farther from the subject. Wide-angle lenses have a wide focal length that makes them a perfect choice for photographing landscapes and architecture.

These types of camera lenses have a focal length between 16mm and 35mm.

5. Fisheye lens

Focal length: 4mm to 14mm | creative, abstract, indoors

If you’re looking to capture an even wider view, then the fisheye lens is the choice for you. These types of camera lenses create a beautiful fisheye angle view, similar to the GoPro cameras.

Fisheye lenses are ultra-wide lenses that capture the complete 180-degree view that makes the image look like placed in a bubble. These lenses are specialist lenses and are not for every photographer. Fisheye lenses are very useful for indoor photography or design work. The focal length of these may go as low as 4-8mm

6. Macro lens

Focal length: 35mm to 200mm | nature, products, creative

As the name suggests, macro lenses are used for macro photography. These types of camera lenses are useful for product photography or nature photography when you want to sho-off the details or focus majorly on a particular part.

The focal length of macro lenses is 35 to 200mm which takes exceptional close-up shots. They have a unique design that enables them to capture extremely sharp images even from a very close range.

Bonus Read

Different types of camera lenses can be used for different types of photography. If you’re a beginner, you may want to have a prime lens, a zoom lens, and a macro lens if necessary. 

However, if you’re a professional, I’d recommend you add all types of camera lenses to your photography equipment. If you’re a product photographer, I’d recommend you check out these best product photography cameras and lenses.

And, don’t forget to claim your free trial for PixelPhant’s professional product photo editing service. Take your free trial now 👇.

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