Lenses play very important role when it comes to automotive photography, or any genre of photography and without each other, they are incomplete. We know that while purchasing a camera kit, we get a body and a lens to start off with. You can capture great images with it if you have an eye of a photographer. However, understanding the need of the profession, one requires different lenses for different purposes. Any professional photographer has a dream of investing in a variety of lenses. We need to understand that we got to invest in a body or two but when it comes to lenses there are different types of lenses used for different occasion. Let's have a look at different type of lenses, and which one are best for car and bike photography.
Also Read: Smart Tips For Car Photography
| Type of Lens | Focal Length |
|---|---|
| Fisheye | 4mm - 14mm |
| Wide angle | 14mm - 35mm |
| Standard | 24mm - 70mm |
| Short telephoto | 70mm - 135mm |
| Telephoto | 135mm+ |
| Macro | 35mm - 200mm |
| Tilt-shift | Undetermined |
To explain further, the table above gives you information about various type of lenses, not all is needed when shooting car or bike or both. Let's go one by one and check which lens is suited for what occasion.
(A fish-eye lens is best suited for shooting interior of a car)
Fish-eye lenses are ultra-wide-angle lenses with a focal length between 4mm to 14mm. It gives the image a convex appearance that distorts straight lines. The lowest focal lengths can result in circular images that provide a 180 degree view. They are commonly used when shooting interior of a car which has limited space and lots to show. Fish-eye lens does the job good, but few use it. It is mostly used in advertorial projects and maybe for experimentation purposes.
(Wide-angle lenses help create a large depth of field)
Wide angle lenses have a short focal length, commonly ranging from 14 to 35mm. Wider field of view allows you to capture more of the scene in a single shot. This lens is commonly used when shooting interior of car. Shooting front and rear of the car with this beauty captures the image with less distortion (compared to fish-eye lens). Key features of these types of lenses are their ability to create a large depth of field. This allows to capture shots where most of the scene is razor sharp. This is one lens which need to be packed when shooting car interior.
Also Read: Smart Tip For Motorcycle Photography
(A standard lens is a do-it-all kind of a lens. Handy in most situations)
Standard lenses or normal lenses have a mid-range focal length, usually between 24mm and 70mm. Also known as "normal lenses," their human-like viewpoint is especially valuable in shooting exterior, interior, details of car and bike. Where we have less space to move away from car or bike to capture the image at that time this lens comes handy. This lens is multi-purpose and can fit on any occasion. This lens can also be used when shooting action shots. Let it be from car-to-car tracking or panning, this is one of the most appreciated lens used, to take that wonderful action shot.
(A telephoto lens offers higher magnification and a narrower angle of view)
Focal length, usually represented in millimeters (mm), is the basic description of a photographic lens. The focal length of a lens is determined when the lens is focused at infinity. Lens focal length tells us the angle of view - how much of the scene will be captured - and the magnification - how large individual elements will be. The longer the focal length, the narrower the angle of view and the higher the magnification. The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle of view and the lower the magnification. Telephoto lenses range from 70mm to 200mm, 300mm, 400mm, 500mm till 600mm. Lenses above 200mm are called Super Telephoto lenses which is used for wildlife photography, sports photography and in automotive photography. Taking pictures on a race circuit with this lens is possibly the best use of the lens. We get perfect frame and composition with this lens. Clicking static images of car or bike with Telephoto lens delivers great results.
(Macro lenses offer excellent levels of detailing)
Macro lenses have a unique internal structure that allows them to capture close ups with accurate detail, sharpness, and contrast. The purpose of this type of lens is to display subjects at 1:1 reproduction. These lenses allow the photographer to focus very close to the subject and reproduce them at a 1:1 life-size ratio on film or an imaging sensor. These lenses are popular for subjects such as flowers, insects, small products. However, using this lens for automotive genre is not much. Cars and bike do have some beautifully handcrafted parts, leather, stitches, logo and many more. Clicking such details with the help of Macro lens give stunning results.
If looked in detail, there are wide range of lenses to offer. Every manufacturer has their best lens to offer for different genre. Prime lens, Tilt shift lens are some which can be counted and be used but rarely. Even mobile phone has come with lenses used for variety of photography and they do deliver great results. Selecting correct lens for the right occasion is like selecting correct tyres for a car or bike.
