A zoom lens allows you to capture more detail.
As far as non-digital cameras go, the 35 mm is by far the most popular single-lens reflex camera. In addition to choosing a fully automatic, fully manual or partially automatic model you can change lenses depending on your needs. Lenses of normal focal length and wide-angle lenses are the most-used lenses for a 35 mm camera, but zoom and telephoto lenses and lens extenders or mirror lenses are extremely useful and used on a regular basis as well.
Normal Focal Length Lenses
Lenses of normal focal length, or the regular lens that comes with the camera, allow the photographer to see images in close approximation to that of the human eye. These lenses boast no tricks or special capabilities, and are a general-purpose lens. You must be in close proximity to the subject to take a close-up photo with a normal focal length lens; the viewfinder displays the same view from the same distance as the naked eye.
Wide-Angle Lenses
Wide-angle lenses feature shorter focal lengths than regular lenses and they offer a wider range of coverage depth. Wide-angle lenses are typically used for dramatic landscape photography because they allow for more expansive photo composition. Objects in the foreground of a photograph appear closer and larger than they do to the naked eye, and objects in the background appear farther away and apart from one another. Wide-angle lenses allow for a more-artistic representation of the objects and scenery than regular lenses.
Zoom & Telephoto Lenses
Zoom and telephoto or long-focus lenses feature a longer-than-normal focal length, allowing the photographer to take close-up shots from farther away or to zoom in on smaller objects. Zoom and telephoto lenses are typically used for portrait or close-up art photography; they most easily allow for extreme close-ups and abstract photographs. The picture quality is less than that of lenses of normal focal length depending on how the lens is constructed, but the difference can be at least partially made up for by adjusting the camera settings.
Lens Extenders & Mirror Lenses
Lens extenders can increase the focal length of any lens 200 percent to 300 percent when placed between the camera and lens. The quality of lens extenders is less than that of zoom or telephoto lenses of the same focal length unless used with specifically designed lenses by the same manufacturer. Some telephoto lenses are made with mirrors rather than glass lens elements; they are lighter and less expensive than glass lenses, but the quality of prints is also less than glass.
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