Professional camera operators make a point of getting close to their subjects. Why? The footage looks better. Close shots are more dynamic, more three-dimensional, more involving. Most beginning camera users stand far back and zoom in. But it's worth noting that while amateurs use super-zoom lenses, professionals opt for wide-angle lenses—which allow them to get even closer to their subjects.

Of course sometimes a super-zoom lens is great: shooting a ravenous tiger in the wild, for example. But that’s the exception.