Reading Response: Chapter 2

                  The chapter on lenses was extremely helpful in understanding different aspects of my camera lens and also the different options that are out there for lenses. What I didn’t like, however, were the first two paragraphs that introduced the topic. These paragraphs, rather than delving right into talking about topics that would be applicable to my interests in camera lenses, it discussed the ways that you could create a lens from a box and a magnifying glass. Although that is an interesting odd fact, it is not particularly useful to the reader.

                Thankfully, the rest of the chapter is extremely useful for those who are looking to get the most out of their lens and to expand on their knowledge of photography. The first part of the chapter discussed focal length and how this affects the angle of view (ie: how much of the scene is actually captured on camera) as well as the magnification of the shot (how large the objects in the frame appear). What I highlighted to remember for my personal knowledge is that the shorter the focal length, the more of the scene there will be in the frame and the smaller the objects will appear. I believe if that thought is kept in mind, then how focal length works can easily be remembered.

               The one section of the article that I had trouble grasping initially was when they talked about lens speed. Not to be confused with shutter speed, lens speed actually has more to do with aperture and how much light can be seen in the lens. The faster the lens speed, the more light and it will be better in dim settings or with a faster shutter speed. By calling it lens SPEED, it can get difficult keeping it separate in your mind from shutter speed. Unfortunately, it’s one of those useful tips that will just have to be memorized if it doesn’t seem to logically make sense at first.

My favorite part of the chapter was the series of images on page 31 to help display the differences in focal lengths. I have two lenses for my Nikon d5100. I have my 18-55mm lens that came with my camera. I also have a 55mm-200mm lens. My 55-200mm lens is fairly new and so the examples in the chapter that showed how close or far away the same scene looked depending on the focal length helped to show the range my camera is now capable of with the two lenses.​