VIDEO 101

The Lens

Navigation
Video 101 Home
Start of this lesson

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


Lens > Telephoto


This clip is an attempt to hold the camera steady while shooting telephoto--but the end result looks bad. That's because it is impossible to hold the shot steady when you shoot telephoto. The professional's solution: use a tripod!

The second important characteristic of telephoto lenses is this: Telephoto lens settings exaggerate camera movement.

So if you handhold a camera and then zoom in, everything will bounce around. This is something most amateurs don't understand. It's one reason your uncle's videos are so shaky and annoying.

If this still isn't clear, think about the last time you used a binoculars. Do you remember how the images bounced around? Do you remember how fatiguing that was?

And those fancy "steady-shot" controls on some camcorders don't really solve this problem (although they do help a bit). They come by a variety of brand names, but the idea is the same--they purport to smooth out shaky camera work. They DO work at wide angle settings, but when you zoom in, their benefit is reduced.

As a result, when shooting with a telephoto lens setting (zoomed in) you should ALWAYS use a tripod. Again, never shoot with a telephoto setting when handholding a camera. Was I clear on that?

Are you a teacher using this site in a class? Stay legal (and get some great teaching resources!)

Copyright © 2000, 2001,
2003
Michael Trinklein