what do the different lens sizes mean? ie 55-250mm

M

mizugori

What is the difference between the different kinds of lenses ? I know 35mm is the old fashioned style, but what does the mm size really translate to? are we talking about how thick the lens is, or the diameter? and what impact does that size have upon the video captured? also, when a lens says 55-250mm what do the two numbers mean - are they saying the camera comes with several lenses ranging from 55 to 250 mm? (seems unlikely) What does it mean?

Thanks and sorry for the newb questions!
 
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mizugori said:
What is the difference between the different kinds of lenses ? I know 35mm is the old fashioned style, but what does the mm size really translate to? are we talking about how thick the lens is, or the diameter? and what impact does that size have upon the video captured? also, when a lens says 55-250mm what do the two numbers mean - are they saying the camera comes with several lenses ranging from 55 to 250 mm? (seems unlikely) What does it mean?

Thanks and sorry for the newb questions!
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First off 35mm isn't the old fashioned style... 35mm film is a type of film stock, not film lense. Movies are still filmed on 35mm as well.

What you are talking about is something different. just do a search on lenses on wikipedia. you will find what you seek there.
 
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I'm confused... people on here have said that you could buy a newer camera and get an adaptor to let you put a 35mm lens on the camera to achieve a "real film" look. So isn't 35mm a lens type, in addition to a film type?

And I read that article before but I still don't totally understand it on a practical level.

And what about my question about the hyphenated lens sizes - ie 55-250mm ?

Thanks!
 
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mizugori said:
I'm confused... people on here have said that you could buy a newer camera and get an adaptor to let you put a 35mm lens on the camera to achieve a "real film" look. So isn't 35mm a lens type, in addition to a film type?
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By a 35mm lens, they mean a lens designed for shooting on 35mm film. When used in this context, "35mm" has nothing to do with the focal length of the lens.

mizugori said:
And I read that article before but I still don't totally understand it on a practical level.
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It doesn't matter! All you really need to know (for practical purposes) is that a longer lens has a narrower angle of view (more zoomed in), a shorter lens has a wider angle of view (more zoomed out), and how the focal length affects the composition of a frame, with longer lens making things look more "compressed"/closer together (see the picture on the right of the Wikipedia article).

mizugori said:
And what about my question about the hyphenated lens sizes - ie 55-250mm ?
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All that means is that the lens has a variable focal length - otherwise known as a zoom lens.
 
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we usually recommend a 50mm, an 85mm and a 24mm as they cover most of the regular spectrum ppl want.

but it all depends on the look you want for whatever ur making. so i would suggest that you go to google and type in something like canon 550d 50mm pics/video etc and see what it looks like. research different focal lengths like this and pick the ones that give you the look u want.
 
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Ernest Worthing said:
we usually recommend a 50mm, an 85mm and a 24mm as they cover most of the regular spectrum ppl want.

but it all depends on the look you want for whatever ur making. so i would suggest that you go to google and type in something like canon 550d 50mm pics/video etc and see what it looks like. research different focal lengths like this and pick the ones that give you the look u want.
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Yep, I'd agree with this - look at examples shot with different lenses and see what you like. It depends on your style of shooting as well; longer lenses are not as well suited to hand-held work but can bring the viewer closer to dangerous stunts or fires, and wide-angle lenses can introduce distortion around the edges of an image, but are usually "faster" (they have a wider aperture and can let more light in) and better for low-light work.

You also need to consider the crop factor of the 550D. Whereas the 5D MKII has a full-frame 35mm stills sensor, the 7D and 550D have an APS-C sensor, which is smaller (incidentally, the APS-C sensor is closer in size to 35mm motion picture film than the 5D's). This 1.6x crop factor means that the effective focal length of the lens increases - a 50mm lens used on a 550D is the equivalent of an 80mm lens on the 5D.

I hope I haven't managed to confuse you too much!
 
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chilipie said:
incidentally, the APS-C sensor is closer in size to 35mm motion picture film than the 5D's

I hope I haven't managed to confuse you too much!
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Thank you! I dont know how many times ive tried to tell ppl this. Everyone wanting to shoot video starts worrying abt the crop factor.

If you are not concerned with photography, ignore the 1.6 crop factor. it will be closer to wat ur used to watching anyway. Just look for the lenses that give you your desired image and get em.

Ofcourse having a larger sensor is a different matter...
 
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