Understanding Specs

Understanding Specs

When shopping for lenses you will notice that some are bigger than others and they all have different numbers printed on them.To make things simpler, just know that any numbers with the mm after it are referring to its zooming capabilities and anything that has smaller decimal numbers are referring to its aperture (the opening at which light passes through). For the first set of numbers (zoom), any measurement over 50 is designed for greater zooming capabilities and any measurement lower than 50 is used to create a bigger picture and wider angles.The higher the zoom number you are at means the closer the image is to you.Therefore, if it is less than 50 that means the image is further away and you cover more ground than you would if you were zoomed in over 50.

The second set of numbers is referring to the lowest possible f- stop (aperture) possible.The lower the aperture number, the more sunlight is let in.You would use a lower aperture number in lower areas of light so that more sunlight can be brought in and your picture will appear brighter.

These two numbers work together.When you are not zoomed in on anything, the aperture is at its lowest, therefore, will be the brightest.When you do zoom in on something, your aperture number gets higher, therefore, darkening the photograph since it is essentially closing in on something.