How It Works ... What To Look For |
Digital camera lenses come in all sizes, shapes, dimensions and abilities. And the quality of your lens is the single most important deciding factor in controlling the quality of the pictures you take. So it's always smart to pay attention to the lens when you're thinking about buying a new digital camera, or adding a lens to the one you already own.
If you're buying a Compact Digital camera - some call them "point & shoots" - the lens is already chosen for you. It comes as part of the camera. So be aware of the lens's particular features to make sure you're getting a camera that will perform the way you want.
Lens Features for Compact Digital Cameras
What is the focal length of the lens? Today, chances are that the lens on your Compact Digital will be a "Zoom Lens."
If so, what is the effective zoom range? This will be shown as "2x" or "12X" or something in between. What this means is that the lens can zoom from its widest setting (for example: 35 mm, which gives moderately wide view) to a telephoto setting that may be two, or twelve or whatever times the widest setting.
A lens that is "3x" would therefore be capable of covering an area from 35 mm to 105 mm (3x35=105).
What About "Digital" Zoom?
In Compact Digitals there is also the possibility of "digital" zoom as well as the "optical" zoom. Optical and digital zoom are two very different things. Optical zoom describes the lens's range based on the actual movement of the various glass elements within the lens, whereas "digital" zoom is basically an electronic trick that can be used after the maximum optical zoom has been reached.
Well, it isn't really a "trick." But think of digital zoom this way: The lens "appears" to reach out farther - step-by-step. What is actually happening is that the camera's "computer" (yes, every digital camera is, in fact, a computer) is resizing the pixels that make up the image, making them larger, and therefore making the image appear to get closer and closer.
Digital zoom works well in some cameras and at some ranges. But Digital zoom can also become awful - really grainy and contrasty. So you'll want to experiment to see just how good the digital zoom in your camera is, and if the quality of the resulting images is acceptable.
Be wary when looking at a new Compact Digital camera, because some manufacturers advertise their camera's zoom range using the word "combined." In other words, the lens might be advertised as having a combined zoom range of 12x. But, on closer inspection, you see that it has 2x optical zoom and the rest is digital.
Of course, there are some Compact Digitals that have outstanding optical zoom range + digital zoom. My little Nikon 5700 for example, has an optical range of 8x (35mm to 280mm) plus a digital zoom range that's at least two or three times greater in magnification. I discovered, though, that I really didn't like the resulting pictures when I pushed the digital zoom range past the first or second step in the range.
Close Up - ("Macro" - Mode)
Many Compact Digitals have a "Macro" setting which allows you to get REALLY close to your subject. This feature is especially fun to use if you (like I) enjoy taking pictures of little flowers and crawly things in my back yard.
If your camera has preset "Modes" on the control dial, you'll see this mode illustrated as a flower. This feature can also be handy if you want to photograph small items such as jewelry or coins for your home inventory or, perhaps, to sell over the internet.
If, on the other hand, your Compact Digital doesn't have a Macro feature, assume that you can't take a picture closer than about 18 inches away, simply because the camera won't be able to focus properly.
Lens Construction
There's not too much to say about the construction of a lens that's built into the body of a Compact digital camera. The quality of the lens will be equal to the quality of the entire camera.
But lens quality can be pretty poor on low priced Compact cameras. Some lenses - believe it or not! - are actually made of low grade plastic, rather than glass. And even a glass lens can be either low grade or high grade. This is one of those places in life where you really do "get what you pay for."
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