VIDEO 101

The Lens

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Start of this lesson

Lesson Outline
Introduction
Zoom Lenses
Focal Length
Telephoto
Wide Angle
Aperture
Focus & Zoom
Depth of Field


Lens > Zoom lenses

This is the same zoom as before--except that now wide angle and telephoto are labeled. (Normal is about half-way in between.) Again, this may seem pretty simple, but it's critical you grasp these basic ideas before we move on to the complex stuff.

It is important that you understand the three basic "ranges" of a typical zoom lens.

1) Telephoto: This is the term for zooming your lens all the way in--that is, maximizing your magnification. Binoculars, for example have a telephoto setting (but it's fixed, not a zoom).

2) Normal: this is the amount of magnification that approximates what your eyes see.

3) Wide angle. This is the term for zooming your lens all the way out. You minimize magnification so you have a wider field of view. That is, you can see more stuff, but it all seems further away.

Play the clip at the right and the words "telephoto" and "wide angle" will pop up at the appropriate times.

 

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Michael Trinklein