Wide-Angle Lenses
Wide-angle lenses cover an angle of view greater than 60, capturing scenes that are wider than normal. The wide-angle focal lengths also have the ability to expand the space between objects that are in the foreground and those in the background, making the whole scene seem bigger.
Wide-angle lenses can cause perspective distortion. The closer to the camera an object is, the larger it appears in comparison to the rest of the scene. This is important to keep in mind if you are shooting people.
Normal Lenses
A normal lens is any lens where the angle of view is about 50 degrees. This used to be the 50mm lens when on a 35mm camera. With the lens crop factor, this is now closer to the 35mm lens, which is equivalent to a 52.5mm lens..
The view through a normal lens is approximately the same as the view through your eyes, which is why it is called a normal view. When a scene is shot using a normal focal length, everything in the photo seems to be in correct perspective. This is a great lens for portraits and group shots because the view is very familiar and can add a real sense of intimacy.
Telephoto Lenses
Telephoto lenses get you closer to the subject. The longer the telephoto, the closer you can get. This is especially important when there is no other way to get closer to the subject. When you’re trying to get a photo of a lion at the zoo, it isn’t possible to just walk up closer, so a longer lens is needed. Using telephoto lenses is an absolute necessity when shooting sports, concerts, and wildlife because there is no way to physically get any closer to use normal lenses.
While most people think of telephoto lenses as a way to get closer to the subject, there are some other advantages to using a long lens. Long focal lengths combined with a shallow aperture can be used to isolate a subject from the background. Using a 200mm lens and a f/2.8, the background will be pleasantly out of focus, making the subject of your photo stand out.
Because the focal lengths of these lenses are longer than normal, the shutter speed needs to be increased to reduce camera shake.
In addition to the camera shake and shutter speed problems, a form of distortion also occurs when using a long focal length. Because subjects are far away, everything can seem to be compressed.
Macro Lenses
Macro lenses are specialty lenses that let you create extreme close-ups of your subject.
Tele-Converters
Tele-converters are specialized lenses that go between the camera and the lens that increase the focal length while reducing the maximum aperture of the lens. Teleconverters used to be very popular before zoom lens manufacturing started to produce affordable compact zoom lenses that matched the quality of the prime lenses.
If you do have the opportunity to shoot with a tele-converter, it is important to remember to either stabilize the lens with a tripod or use a shutter speed faster than the new focal length of the lens. Note that when you use a tele-converter, your images may not be as sharp as those shot without the converter.
See also:
Prime vs. Zoom Lenses