Topic: Lenses And Optics
Focal length, primes, zooms and what glass does to the image.
Bokeh Explained: Quality, Shape, and Onion Rings
Bokeh explained: what it is, what affects its smoothness and shape, why lenses show onion rings or cat-eye highlights, and how to…
Lenses And OpticsChromatic Aberration: Causes, Color Fringing, and Fixes
Chromatic aberration shows as colored fringes along edges; this lesson explains lateral and longitudinal types, which lenses suffer most and how to…
Lenses And OpticsControlling Depth of Field in Practice Explained
How to control depth of field in photography using aperture, subject distance, focal length and sensor size, for sharp landscapes or blurred…
Lenses And OpticsFast Lenses: Is a Wide Aperture Worth the Money?
What a fast lens really offers in light gathering, blur and autofocus, what it costs in price and weight, and who should…
Lenses And OpticsFocal Length Explained: Field of View and Magnification
Focal length explained: the millimeter number on a lens sets how wide the view is and how large distant subjects appear; this…
Lenses And OpticsLens Aberrations: Spherical, Coma, and Astigmatism Explained
Lens aberrations are the optical errors that keep a lens from focusing light perfectly; this lesson explains spherical aberration, coma and astigmatism…
Lenses And OpticsLens Coatings: Nano, ASC, and Why They Matter
Lens coatings control reflections inside a lens; this lesson explains how nano and ASC coatings work, what they cannot fix and how…
Lenses And OpticsLens Distortion: Barrel, Pincushion, and Mustache Explained
Lens distortion bends straight lines in a picture; this lesson explains barrel, pincushion and mustache types, their causes and the best ways…
Lenses And OpticsLens Flare and Ghosting: Control and Creative Use
Lens flare is stray light bouncing inside a lens; this lesson explains the causes, the ways to control it and creative uses.
Lenses And OpticsLens Vignetting: Causes, Correction, and Creative Use
Lens vignetting is corner darkening caused by optics and sensors; this lesson explains the causes, aperture effects, correction and creative use.
Lenses And OpticsPrime vs Zoom Lenses: Choosing the Right Type
Prime vs zoom lenses trade fixed focal length and wide apertures against flexibility; this lesson explains the differences and how to choose…
Lenses And OpticsReading MTF Charts for Lens Sharpness Explained
MTF charts plot lens contrast against distance from the image center; this lesson explains the lines, the numbers and the limits of…
Lenses And OpticsTelephoto Compression: What It Really Does Explained
Telephoto compression makes background and subject look closer together; this lesson explains why distance, not the lens, creates it and how to…
Lenses And OpticsThe 50mm Lens: Why It Is Still Everywhere Explained
The 50mm lens is a small, fast and affordable standard prime; this lesson explains how it sees, why it is so common…
Lenses And OpticsWide-Angle Lenses: Perspective and Stretching
Wide angle lenses fit more into the frame and exaggerate the size difference between near and far; this lesson covers use, stretching…