In the Lens Advisor, marks a lens that will fit on a still photo film camera, but which has a smaller imaging circle so it only works on cameras with digital sensors smaller than a 35 mm film frame, such as the APS-C size sensors used in most Canon and Nikon SLRs. Doesn’t include lenses for purely digital systems like the 4/3 System.
In the Lens Advisor, marks a lens that is no longer being manufactured. Compare in-production.
A very wide, non-rectilinear lens.
The area in the camera where the image is captured, typically either on film or a digital CCD or CMOS sensor.
In the Lens Advisor, marks a lens that is still being manufactured. If the lens can only be bought new by special order, it’s still considered “in production.” Lenses are considered to be discontinued when the product stops showing up on the manufacturer’s marketing pages, even if stock of new lenses is still available from some sellers.
1) A lens that can focus closer than 10 times its focal length. 2) In the Lens Advisor, a lens is marked as a macro lens if its manufacturer says it’s a macro lens.
In the Lens Advisor, marks a lens designed for a motion picture camera, either video or film.
A lens with a fixed focal length. Compare zoom.
A lens with the ability to add controlled amounts of spherical abberation to the image, giving a soft focus effect unlike that of simply being out of focus. (Confusingly, such a lens is sometimes said to have a “defocusing” control.) Typically such a lens is a medium-telephoto prime lens intended for portrait photography.
In the Lens Advisor, marks a lens with a diagonal angle of view between 35° and 65°. On a 35 mm camera, this is a lens with a focal length between 35 mm and 70 mm. See the section on angle of view terms below.
In the Lens Advisor, marks a lens designed for still photo cameras. This has nothing to do with the existence of adapters that let you use the lens on a video camera.
In the Lens Advisor, marks a lens with a diagonal angle of view < 35°. On a 35 mm camera, this is a lens with a focal length ≥ 75 mm. See the section on angle of view terms below.
Of a lens, means its body is articulated in such a way that the photographer can change either the angle between the imaging plane and the focus plane, or move the lens’ optical axis away from the center of the imaging area, or both. This allows the photographer to change the photograph’s perspective by moving the lens instead of the camera. Sometimes called a perspective control lens. Many large-format cameras have a flexible body so the lens mounting surface on the front of the camera can tilt and shift, giving giving the same effect as an articulated lens. This is sometimes called “swing” instead.
In the Lens Advisor, a lens designed for a video camera.
In the Lens Advisor, a lens with a diagonal angle of view > 65°. On a 35 mm camera, this is a lens with a focal length ≤ 28 mm. See the section on angle of view terms below.
A lens with a continuously-variable focal length over a set range. Compare prime.