There are many types of lens available in the market for both film and digital DSLR. What types to get depends on what you like to shoot. It is important that we use the correct tool for the correct job.

The few common types of lenses used are standard, wide angle, telephoto, macro and etc. It is important that we know the difference between these lenses in order to properly fulfill your photography needs.

Standard zoom lens also commonly known as Kit-lens is a good starter for those who are new in photography. Its focal range typically ranges from 18mm to 55mm, which is very suitable for landscape and portraits.

Telephoto lens offers long focal lens typically beyond 70mm. This lens is good if you want to get close to the actions and isolate the subjects. You can see that photographers who likes to shoot sports or wildlife will own telephoto lens with focal length of at least 300mm!

Beware of blurry photographs due to camera shake when you are using lens of long focal length.

If you prefer shooting landscape or like to step up close to your subject, wide angle lens is your answer. Some wide angle lenses have focal length as short as 10 to 12mm.Wide angle lens will be useful if you want to include as many things as possible into the frame!

If you enjoy shooting insects or flower at a real close distance, you will need to get a macro lens. You will need a macro lens too if you enjoy shooting jewelry or products of smaller size. Macro lens is able to let you achieve a life-size shot, where the subject will be recorded as the same size it would be if it was placed directly on the sensor.

Prime lens offers single focal length and do expect its quality to be better than zoom lens due to its less complex lens construction. Price of prime lenses are generally lower too due to the same reason. 50mm is a common lens used by many photographers for portraits and it offers very wide aperture of at least f/1.8 to enable a good bokeh.

Now that you have a general knowledge on the different types of lenses, you will be able to make a better choice when you know what you like to shoot!

Yong Sak is a Singapore Freelance Photographer who runs a Photography Portal to share Photography Fundamentals and Photography Tips to friends out there who are keen in this exciting hobby.