Monthly Archives: September 2013

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Why is the lens the most important part of the camera?

The lens IS the most important part of the camera and dont let anyone tell you otherwise. I have heard “technologists” spout that in the digital age the pixels and the processor do all the work.. this is nonsense! As with all good work it starts with good foundations and in photography you have to start with good image quality, after all the lens is the first point of contact for the light and the quality of that lens dictates the quality of that image from that point onwards. Ask any worthy professional photographer and he/she will tell you that they spend more on their lenses than they do on their cameras.

Being a spectacle wearer I am acutely of this, I have to ensure that my “lenses” are clean and good quality otherwise my view of the world is diminished…..after all its why bathroom window glass is frosted to stop folk seeing you on the john!

So lenses are the most important and will continue to be, make sure they are glass and have a fairly wide aperture as this ensures that the manufacturer has to correct to the very edge of the lens and they care more for the quality of the glass. Dont get hung up on “tied” lenses – that is the same manufacturer as your camera, there are some great lenses from the likes of Sigma, Tamron and Tokina and it is a good idea to have a couple of prime lenses in your bag too (not zoom lenses) as they are better quality in general than zoom lenses and will improve your technique.

My favourite lens of all time is the Leica 35mm f2 Summicron…………whats yours?

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Is the death of the DSLR near?

As Compact System Cameras become more popular and pretty much every manufacturer has one now, the question has been raised “is this the death of the DSLR?”. Well the brands who only manufacture these would have us believe it, but there is still life in the big dog yet! For the paparazzi, sports and wildlife photographer nothing is going to prise the DSLR from their grip, not only because of the investment in their gear but CSC’s dont cut it when it comes to the viewfinder (TTL) and the super fast long lenses.  A TTL view through a DSLR gives a fully live look at whats going in real time and is bright, sharp and easy to see, these are mandatory requirements for the sports and wildlife photographer and the SLR form was designed to be ultimately ergonomic and easy to hold steady. I do love the retro looks on a lot of the CSC’s and they are certainly lighter and more compact plus very fast, but I do feel more happy using a DSLR and there is another problem to overcome…client confidence! A lot of clients may not feel quite so happy if you turned up at a shoot with just a CSC and a couple of lenses, well certainly not the first time anyway and it will take time for them to overcome their prejudice. The death of the DSLR i dont think so – there is place for everything and everything has its place.