focallength

I’ve long strived for depth in certain photos. I like a line that begins in the lower corner and heads for the diagonally opposite upper corner.

One of the most basic and common terms in the world of photography is the focal length of a lens. In this guide, we will dive down deep into what focal length is and how it works.

Most photographers I know have lens preferences and tend to utilize a favorite lens for their photography. Maybe it’s the way the lens captures the sun flare or the way the lens sees what they picture in their mind. But what if you could only shoot one?

Recently, the more I study my photographs, the more I feel that bokeh is cheating me out of a more substantial image. I really like photographs with a lot of visual complexity -- well presented, not chaotic, but a clear arrangement of multiple elements.

Getting started in landscape photography and not sure what focal length lens to use? Here's a 26-minute video by photographer Nigel Danson on how to go about making that decision.

For many years, the only lens focal length I felt comfortable with when doing street photography was a 50mm.

I started photography on perhaps the most popular focal length, 35mm, in the form of my RX1R, which I shot through my time at university. From there I moved to 50mm, which was a revolution to me in the way I saw and thought about my images. I now shoot the majority of my favorite images on a 90mm, which although not entirely unconventional is still far from the “standard.”

The "dolly zoom," also known as the "Hitchcock zoom" or "Vertigo effect," is a filmmaking technique that involves changing a zoom lens' angle of view while moving the camera toward or away from a subject to keep their relative size in the frame the same. Here's a 4-minute video by Now You See It that explains this technique and how (and why) it's used.

Have you ever asked yourself what the best focal length for your first (or your next) prime lens should be? If you use mostly zoom lenses, Adobe Lightroom may be able to help.

Just before sunset a few days ago, a gorgeous double rainbow appeared over the San Francisco Bay. I happened to have a fisheye lens attached to my camera, so I ran outside and snapped the shot above.

Computers are changing photography in a big way—from colorizing black and white photos automatically, to telling how memorable your photos are. And now, a new imaging technology can change the apparent focal length of a photo, making it look like a wide-angle selfie was taken from further way with a portrait lens.

I know this topic is covered here and there and everywhere: in school and online, in workshops and lectures, on street corner posters and graffiti under freeway overpasses… However, one way or another this topic seems to either elude a lot of photographers entirely or perhaps they ignore it knowingly. Either way, after continually seeing tight headshots done with lenses possessing an obviously incorrect focal length, my personal OCD has reached a boiling point and I decided to finally do this little post complete with a demonstration.

Want to see that ultra-rare Canon 1200mm f/5.6 L USM lens we told you about a couple of weeks ago in action? Well, you're in luck, because the folks over at MPB Photographic have delivered on their promise to create some content with it by putting this monster through its paces in London.

Put together by photographer Steve Perry, the video tutorial above shares a collection of useful tips, advice and examples that help explain how to best think of and use focal lengths when you're out capturing landscape photography.

Editor's Note: Due to some issues with the camera, this video is very shaky at times. It didn't bother us much, but if you're easily distracted this video might annoy more than it educates you. You've been warned.

If you're just getting into the world of cameras and lenses, the term "crop factor" and phrases like "this is a 35mm equivalent lens" might still confuse you. Well, that shouldn't be the case much longer.

The video above offers a clear, concise and simple explanation of crop factor that will hopefully clear all of this up and equip you with some important knowledge that will come in handy the next time you're shopping for a lens or crop sensor body.

Here's a little gear porn to keep your G.A.S. revving this Thursday. Japanese lens manufacturer Tamron has officially announced that it is working on a 150-600mm f/5-6.3 ultra-telephoto zoom lens that will replace the company's current 200-500mm lens and become the longest focal length zoom in its lineup.

I'm hoping this post can explain a lot of the confusion beginning photographers have about focal length and crop factors. Some understanding of basic geometry is required for you to fully grasp this post. Also note that I'll be rounding the math decently well. Just run through the calculations if you want exact answers.

After two years of testing, renting, buying and selling just about every level of Nikon and Canon lenses and cameras, I have learned quite a bit about what works and what doesn’t. Pretty much you can’t go wrong with Canon or Nikon, and just about everything they make is top notch.

We've shared some funny pictures in the past that illustrate how distance, not focal length, changes perspective -- but nothing beats a video walk through. So, in this short video, photographer Mike Browne explains why you should treat your zoom lens as a series of prime lenses, and not the equivalent of getting physically closer to your subject.

We've written a couple of times in the past on how you can achieve drastically different portrait looks by choosing different lens focal lengths and subject distances. Basically, your choice of glass can make a huge impact on what your subject's face looks like... and how much they appear to weigh.

Reddit user Popocuffs wanted to demonstrate this, but instead of using a human subject, he used his cat.

We've shared this same topic here a couple of times before, but Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens created this video lesson showing some examples of how profound of an impact your focal length choice can make.