Digital SLR lenses

[Jules001]

Can someone please give me a rough guide as to what the different sorts of lenses are generally used for. I have heard of the macro lens, but don't know what it does. I am asking as I might be buying one for my daughter's birthday as a surprise, so I can't really ask her. She has a Sony A200 camera which came with a 18-70mm lens which I assume is a general type lens as she has been taking mainly landscape shots. I know that she is wanting to take some long range wildlife (birds and zoo setting) shots, but also some extremely close up shots of insects and flowers etc. She is studying photography at college and would like to extend her portfolio, but obviously needs the right lens for the job. Don't want to make an expensive mistake in buying the wrong one, I understand that Minolta lenses will also fit this camera body, but would be grateful if someone is able to confirm this as well.

[VHG]

A Macro lens is for close up photography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macro_photography

[VHG]

Can I ask that you DONT buy her a lens as a surpise.

Lenses come in all sorts of quality, from poor, through to average, up to outstanding. Of course the better the lens the more you pay.

You may buy the lens you THINK she wants, but it might turn out to totally the wrong lens.

That is a waste of your time and money, and more waste of time when you have to take it back and exchange it.

Lenses can be VERY expensive and it is best to make sure you know the EXACT one she wants before buying it.

[VHG]

From my limited knowledge of lenses.

The lens size the best fits the "normal" view from the human eye is around 50mm.

Your daughter's zoom lens that covers 18-70mm does either side of that.

If she goes out to the 70mm end that is narrowing the image, but bringing it slight closer, so ok for landscapes but not good enough for nature photography.

As she moves towards the 18mm end this is making the picture wider and giving the impression of moving further away. This would be good for a landscape or wide angle shot.

For nature photography you need to go higher than the 80mm she has already got, so 150m, 200mm, 250mm, 300mm etc.

Obviously the higher the number the larger the object is magnified, and closer the object will appear in the lens. So a 300mm lens will magnify more than a 150mm.

You can get a "fixed" lens (so fixed at 150mm or 250mm) or you can get a zoom lens, say 70mm to 300mm.

I think the general rule is that a zoom lens is not as good a quality as a fixed lens, but of course does save you carrying around lots of lenses.

But I still stand by my original comment of NOT buying your daughter a lens but let her choose one and you pay for it.

[VHG]

The four pictures on this page explain it well (scroll down)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_lens

The second picture (50mm) is what the human eye would see.

The first picture (28m) takes the object further away and gives a wider view.

The third picture (70mm) brings it closer (but not much more than the 50mm).

The fourth picture (210mm) brings it very close (but offers a much narrower view)

[obNOXious]

Pretty much what the other aber's have said, a surprise might be entirely the wrong thing, but I have a sony A700 and have only ever really used two lenses which is the 18-70 mm and a 70-300mm which, for what it is, really gets you in close and has a macro capability:)

[vulcan]

I agree with everybody else, a lens is a personal thing and most photographers prefer to buy their own. If you want to buy something why not a 2x teleconverter. this is a lens that fits between the camera and the main lens and effectively doubles the length of that lens, i e the 18-70 lens becomes a 36-140 and a 300 would be 600.it isn't exactly double but close enough; you lose about a stop but a modern camera can deal with this. I've used one for years and it's a useful addition to any kit.like everything in this life, you get what you pay for but a good converter wont be as expensive as a lens.

[Jules001]

thank you all for your helpful answers, I won't buy one as a surprise for my daughter, I did tell her that I had asked on here for advice and we could then look into the options suggested together, We like the sound of the 2x teleconverter as we think this may help extend her range of shots without spending a fortune. thanks again I am more prepared for our visit to the photographic shop now :)