Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with lens

Keep bottle closed at all times

swrittenb — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:32:46 -0800

What are the risks of leaving a bottle of contact lens solution open on the counter regularly? The bottle itself says to "keep bottle tightly closed at all times," and not to touch the tip to any surfaces. We've been doing the latter, but leaving the lid off for convenience during the day. The bottle has a small tip, with a tiny hole, though it is a big bottle of solution. After borrowing a friend's bottle in a pinch, we found that the next morning, it seemed like our lenses were soaking in stinky swamp water. That was a bit of a scare! Ours has never been noticeably bad, and we didn't even give it a second thought until that scare. Now I'm paranoid, and imagining a slimy coating running over my eyes every time they go in.

Please help us convince ourselves to keep that dang bottle closed during the time we're not using it, or let us know why we're actually not at that much risk! Scary infected eye images and bacteria pictures are welcome. Eek!

Confused about a Sigma lens for Pentax

GuyZero — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:44:49 -0800

This new lens from Sigma (18-250 zoom) comes in a Pentax mount. Pentax puts their DSLR image stabilization in the camera body and not in the lens like Nikon or Canon. Yet the description for all the lenses is the same - image stabilization in the lens. Is this a case of cut&paste product descriptions or would using this lens on a Pentax camera have double image stabilization (both lens & camera body)? The Amazon description seems to indicate it's in the lens but the English is a bit wonky. I'm also curious whether this lens is worth the higher price versus the similar Pentax & Tamron lenses.

How can you see what I saw?

history is a weapon — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:40:32 -0800

In 35 mm terms, how wide angle are our eyes? Understanding that we have our main vision, what we're actually focusing on, and our peripheral vision, what we can sort of see, what're the answers to this? For example, can we focus the equivalent of a 22mm lens on a fullframe 35mm? I understand that our eyes and brain are much more complex than a lens; I'm more interested in the physical frame in terms of what lens would most closely replicate natural vision.

DSLR n00b

chrisinseoul — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:00:36 -0800

New to the DSLR world, and I need the hive mind's help with a couple questions. I recently picked up a used Nikon D70 body (decent older DSLR, decent enough for the purposes of picking things up anyway) and a couple lenses (a 28-70mm and a 70-210mm lens, both Nikon). Over the past couple days I've spent free time reading through a manual that seems almost incomprehensible in places. I come from a fairly advanced point-and-shoot type camera, so I'm familiar with most of the terms like white balance, shutter / aperture priority, and the like. The advice of 'just shoot stuff' is certainly good, but a few things are bugging me.

#1: The longer lens (70-210mm AF 1.4-5.6 D) has one area to turn for manual focus and an aperture ring closest to where the lens hooks up to the body. There's no way to zoom in / out though - am I missing something here?

#2: I know the D70 has a crop factor of 1.5x. When I take a picture, it looks nothing like what I saw through the viewfinder. It's a *much* tighter shot than expected. Is there a way to adjust this, or is it just a mental adjustment?

#3: Looking to buy one more lens, primarily used for landscapes or macro. Is it possible to get wide angle and macro in a single lens without the cost breaking the bank?

Thank you O hive mind :)

Help me find an odd magnifying glass.

dogwelder — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:16:17 -0800

Help me find an odd magnifying glass. A guy at the coffee shop was reading with a magnifying glass, but I'd never seen one like it. Just a chunk of glass, no frame. 3-4 inches in diameter. about an inch think, with a convex top that rose another half inch or so. THe man using it must have had horrible vision, so I was thinking it might be available through a medical supply house, but I can't find it.

Whats an ideal everyday lens for an EOS 450D?

WinnipegDragon — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:49:35 -0800

I need advice on a 'walking-around' lens on a sub-frame Canon DSLR. This is a followup to my previous question that I received some wonderful advice on. I'm hoping for more, hivemind!

My Rebel XSi/EOS 450D is now about four weeks old, and I've probably shot about 1,100 frames on it. I'm happy with the camera, I'm learning quickly and I'm ready to branch out into my first 'real' lens. I admit that this is partially fueled by my weekend rental of an EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM that I took to the zoo, and immediately fell in love with.

So, I'm looking for a 'walking around' lens to be my primary lens that will be on the camera as a default. Ideally it would be good for architecural, landscape and street photography but still have a decent amount of reach for the occasional shot that requires it. A good maximum magnification factor certainly wouldn't hurt.

The best of these sorts of lenses always seem to be more than 20mm focal length at the wide end, and on a 1.6x crop body, it's far too wide for anything architectural or landscape. The few that are good at the wide end tend not to have a lot of reach so you end up with the opposite issue. There are one or two contenders in the EF-S series of lenses, but I'm wary about them since an upgrade to a full frame camera is not out of the question in the future.

I have a nifty fifty and have used it as my primary lens, as well as the 18-55 kit lens, but there are situations where these are just not the right lenses.

So, the contenders that I am considering, and their major concerns, are:

- EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM (expensive, not wide enough, slow)
- EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM (expensive, not wide enough, no IS)
- EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM (no IS, slow, practically no reach)
- EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (not wide enough, slow)
- EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EF-S mount, slow, questionable optics)

Is there another option out there that I'm missing?

Help a DSLR Noob

Ziggy500 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:36:59 -0800

[DSLR Noob Filter] Do I need to invest in a VR (vibration reduction) lens? Hi, I'm buying an entry-level DSLR (Nikon D60) and have the choice of buying a Nikkor VR 18-55mm lens or a non-VR 18-55 lens. The non-VR option costs about £60 less.

I don't really want to throw pots of money at this camera, but I don't want to skimp unnecessarily either, as I'm very keen to improve.

Do the photographers among you find the vibration reduction feature useful? Thanks for your help! :)

How to repair designer sunglasses?

pines — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:01:49 -0800

I've cracked the lens on a pair of designer sunglasses. Where and how do I get them fixed? The sunglasses are made by Mosley Tribes but the manufacturer's website does not provide any repair info. The lenses are not prescription. Will any optician/sunglass store be able to put in a new lens (or maybe, put in two new matching lenses)? If lens replacement is simple and I'm asking for new lenses, is there any particular kind of lens/coating I should be asking for? Thanks

Where, oh where, do I go?

the NATURAL — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:48:13 -0800

PhotographyFilter: What's the next logical step up from an 18-55mm kit lens? I bought my first dSLR a month back -- a Canon Digital Rebel XT -- and I love it. But I'm beginning to see the limitations of my kit lens, the Canon 18-55mm. What's the next, logical step-up?

18-55mm seems to me to be decent at midrange photography, but particularly good at portraits and close-ups. Is the logical complement a long-range lens? One with better aperture? A high-speed lens? I'm so bewildered by the wealth of selections; general suggestions as well as specific lens recommendations welcome. Thanks, MeFites.

Help me title my PhD thesis?

meerkatty — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:15:10 -0800

Help me title my PhD thesis! Cool Photography/Cinema/Camera phrases wanted! The subtitle will be: Aspects of Photography and Cinema in the Fiction of XXX. But I need a cool front title. Something along the lines of:

Through the Lens: Aspects of....
Adjusting the Lens: Aspects of...

But those are kind of lame. I'm trying to come up with something that incorporates both photography and film, so "camera" and "lens" work but "shutter" doesn't, for example. The thesis focuses on the various angles of this visual field, so something that indicates a multiplicity of meaning would be great. Bonus points if it's a quotation from someone like Sontag.

You will get full credit in my thesis acknowledgments!

Do contact lenses that compensate for color blindness work?

Elmore — Sun, 17 May 2009 10:36:35 -0800

Are those contact lenses that compensate for red/green colour blindness actually any use? I had a long overdue appointment with the optician today. When I told them I was red/green colour blind, the optician then told me that there are contact lenses available that have a red dot that covers the pupil on the dominant eye. She gave me a test lens to try and it did make a difference on the test cards with all the coloured dots where you have to say (guess!) the number.

I imagine these lenses are pretty expensive, and I'm not sure that apart from getting through those test cards it would actually make any difference to my experience of the world. My level of colour blindness isn't very bad, it doesn't impact on my ability to make a living or enjoy life in any way - it's only trivial things that can be a bit frustrating (playing board games and computer games in particular). But, that said, part of me would love to see the world the way most people do.

While I know that my colour blindness is not a big deal, when I used vizcheck (website is gone it seems, but it was a photoshop plugin that converted images to how they would be seen by people with different types of colour blindness) on some photos to show my girlfriend how things look to me (sort of) she got pretty upset and explained to me that the colour red was supposed to be bright the way that yellow is bright. That was a bit of a shock, and while I'd like something as simple as a contact lens that would show this to me... I'm dubious.

Does anyone have first hand experience of using these lenses that compensate for red/green colour blindness? Do they actually make a difference to you when you use them, or is it just a scam, or a device that lets people determined to get their pilot's license pass the test?

Lens recommendation for Nikon d70 for close-up indoor photography of kids

stuehler — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:00:47 -0800

I'm loooking for a lens recommendation for a Nikon d70 specifically for close-up indoor photography of kids. Apologies in advance for asking a question that's very close to several others here at AskMeFi, but here's the twist... I'm looking to buy this lens as a gift for my wife, and I don't know ANYTHING at all about photography.

So, I know you can find TONS of information about this all over the web, but everything I find presumes much more knowledge than I have (f-stop, focal length, aperture, etc... all lost on me).

Anyway, she has a Nikon D70, and the only lens she has is the one that came with it: AF-S NIKKOR 18-70mm.

I'd like to find on that's best suited to taking pretty close-up pictures of our kids, mostly indoors. In particular, I'm after one that tends to create really sharp focus on the face, and significantly blur the background.

I'd really appreciate recommdations for specific models, if possible.

Many thanks in advance!

Cheap DSRL for low-light?

Monday, stony Monday — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:20:21 -0800

What cheap kit should I get to take relatively low-light photos? So I found out that shooting hockey indoors is out of my price/skills range. Still looking for a camera. My subjects would be people in low-light situations, at close range (players on the bench, people in the crowd). Later, I'd use that setup to shoot family gatherings. Ideally, I'd like to spend less than $1000. I own no lenses, or body. It seems that a DSLR with an APS-sized sensor + a fixed lens would offer me the best compromise in terms of low-light performance vs. weight vs. cost.

This leads me to:

This Nikkor lens + a D40 (or D60 if I should) seems like the cheapest/lightest setup with a "normal" (like a 50 mm lens on a 35 mm camera) perspective. Amirite? Is there a good reason to avoid the D40?
Should I step up to a Sigma 30 mm/1.4? Here in Canada it's more than double the price.

Fast 50 mm lenses are relatively cheap. Would putting one on an APS body be an hindrance, given that I intend to shoot in close quarters (e.g.: people in a living room)?

Finally, am I overthinking this? Would whatever cheap kit zoom be enough for my purpose? For "shooting around a hockey game", a zoom would be nice since I could get relatively "close" to the players on the opposite bench.

Oh, and should I care about stabilisation, since I'm shooting people?

What DSLR + lens to shoot hockey (indoors)?

Monday, stony Monday — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:48:50 -0800

I want to shoot indoor hockey with a DSLR. What should I get for ~$1000-1500? I'm looking at Canon and Nikon. I have some extra money, and my brothers are playing in a hockey tournament in a few weeks. I'd like to buy a DSLR and a lens so I can get OK-quality pictures. I've used P&S digitals to shoot hockey before, but there really isn't much lighting in an arena, and hockey players move fast, so the photos tend to come out blurry and/or noisy beyond repair.

I'd like to get a DSLR with a lens. I'm willing to pay extra if that means I can get much better results, but my funds aren't unlimited. Given my $1000-1500 ($2000 max) budget, it seems that a DSLR with an APS-sized sensor + the best zoom I can get (low aperture + fast AF, not necessarilly a huge focal range -- the rink isn't that large) would be my best bet. Am I aiming in the right direction? Alternatively, could I realistically shoot hockey with a fixed lens (and a single body)?

The camera would be used for general photography thereafter (which is why I'm looking mostly at Canon and Nikon), but hockey is likely to remain an important subject.

Also, if you have any tips or links to articles on shooting hockey, feel free to share.

Find it: Website with a unique explanation of lens focal lengths.

odinsdream — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:46:08 -0800

Find-that-website filter: Website with a unique explanation of lens focal length with respect to photography and zoom lenses. This page explained lens focal length and related it to viewing a very large 2-D print of a scene from different positions in the room. Moving closer, further back, etc., with the point that zoom lenses aren't really zooming into the picture so much as they're cropping, or something along those lines.

Best low-light lens for Nikon D80?

bollockovnikov — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:03:51 -0800

I am looking for a lens for my Nikon D80 that works well in low-light conditions. Something relatively compact and not too expensive would be best. I already own a 18-200mm VR lens, which is OK in low light, but not very compact.

I would obviously like my new lens to be useful in a range of situations, but I am more interested in the portrait to 10 metres range.

I do not own a flash unit and don't intend to buy one.

Thanks

Different exposures of the same scene

FidelDonson — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:32:25 -0800

Exposure difference between two lenses at the same aperture? I just noticed that using the programmed exposure on my d80 with two different lenses at the same aperture produces different shutter speeds - even though the scene is the same. First i measured the exposure with my Nikkor 50mm 1.4 at an aperture of 2.0. This yielded a shutter speed of 25.
Next i did the same with my Sigma 20mm 1.8 at aperture 2.0. This gave me a shutter speed of 15.

Can someone explain this difference to me?

Camera lens question

Beautiful Screaming Lady — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:25:11 -0800

What kind of camera lens would have been used to get such dramatic angles and straight lines on this photo of an office? I don't know much about photography, but I know what I like. And I like this effect. The stark, bold geometry is very appealing. Is it a conventional wide angle? Something unconventional? Or is it more likely a post-process photoshop effect? If it is photoshop, what kind of lens would do this in-camera?

stupid computers, always cutting things short

Lucinda — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:49:12 -0800

Question for those of you who have seen "Knee Deep": My recording cut out - how much did I miss? (spoilers inside) The last thing I saw was Josh Osborne standing on the deck of one of the houses that was being built in the development that was once his father's farm. The camera was pulling away, wistful music was playing, he was staring into the distance.

Was that it, or did I miss any sort of epilogue?

(It doesn't look like it's scheduled to be on again any time soon, or I'd just re-watch it.)

oil lens spectacles

Taksi Putra — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:56:03 -0800

I remember reading about these spectacles that'd let you control their focal lengths by varying an oil film between two rectangles of glass that were held together by the frame ('oil inside the lens'). Links?

Is my Sigma lens dead?

stackhaus23 — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:50:50 -0800

Is my Sigma lens dead? Well... in short no it's not. However, whilst cleaning it today I had a look down through the glass and noticed tiny bubbles of condensation on one of the glass elements.

It's an autofocus lens for a Pentax film camera and I've never had a film through using this lens – it's been in a camera bag for a couple of years so I don't know how long the condensation has been there, it's definitely not progressed into fungus and all the mechanisms are working fine.

I'm going away to shoot some indoor live photography in tiny dirty venues and will more than likely not use it again afterwards, it's just got such a great wide angle. I can't really afford to buy another one right now, so I'd like to use it but I obviously don't want to run 20 rolls of film through the camera and they all turn out to be totally useless.

So really, I'm asking – will I notice the condensation in photographs or will it work out just fine? They're most likely going to be lo-fi black and white indoor shots with the built in flash – people doing stagedives and dancing in the crowd.

Zoom me in!

Spurious — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:27:53 -0800

How "zoom" is a 55-200mm zoom lens? I have a Nikon camera with the standard 55-80mm kit lens. I take many pictures of ships in the bay and have been looking for a cheap zoom lens.

I stumbled across this Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens.

However, I (not being a photographer) do not really now how much zoom this lens gives. That is, how much "closer" will this lens get me?

Note: I am well aware how stupid this questions sounds.

I really don't like the soft focus effect

chrisbucks — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:50:07 -0800

I'm going to be taking photos this weekend in an artificial ski field, (mixture of cold and warm environments), the people facilitating the event have said that last time they had someone shoot at a similar event their lenses fogged up when moving between the snow and the heated cafe. How can I prevent this? I'm going to be shooting in what is essentially a huge refrigerator (SnowPlanet), which also has a heated cafe/other facilities, also the outdoor temp will likely be between 15 and 20 degrees. The people I'm dealing with said they had someone else taking photos for them in the past and their lenses fogged up when they moved between the cold and warm areas.

I'm using a 400d + a variety of lenses. Has any one else worked in a similar environment, or have any ideas of how to prevent any condensation within or on the lens?

Bonus question: Is the low temperature likely to shorten battery life significantly?

Bokeh galore

johannahdeschanel — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:38:55 -0800

What are some of your favourite bokeh lenses and settings for head-and-shoulder portraiture?

Used camera equipment marketplaces

backseatpilot — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:20:18 -0800

I'm looking for non-Ebay, online or offline marketplaces for used camera lenses. I'm looking to buy some "new" lenses for my Pentax, but none of the camera stores near me seem to carry used ones. I'm trying to be cheap and avoid buying brand new - what I'm really looking for is a used lens with an aperture priority mode that is a quality piece of glass. Ebay seems to be populated with junk, and I'm a bit leery of using them now anyway.

So where do people go to trade camera lenses nowadays, especially older Pentax lenses? Online shops or stores near Boston are equally acceptable