What appears normal to you?
We don’t ask this because we’re deep and philosophical. What is your normal field of vision? Unless you walk around with a telescope attached to each eyeball, you have a normal range of view. When it comes to composition in photography, we all start composing our image by using our normal range of view.
Have you ever gazed upon a spectacular view of the mountains, coastline, cityscape, then tried to capture the feeling through your camera? You want to take in as much of the view as possible, so you use a wide angle or set your zoom to it’s widest point and take the shot. When you see the image you just shot, is it disappointing? Does it appear flat, the mountains appear smaller, and it’s simply not the view that you are seeing with your eyes?
We have an affordable lightweight lens that will capture what you see with your eyes. Horn Photo calls it the Normal Lens.
You may have heard of the Normal Lens by another name. If you have a full frame camera, the Normal Lens is a 50mm lens, otherwise known as the “Nifty 50”. But, many of you have DSLR cameras with cropped sensors, or mirrorless cameras with four-thirds cropped sensors. In those cameras, the 25mm lens becomes equivalent to the 50mm lens.
Can we all agree that it sounds pretty lame to say the “Nifty 25”? That’s why we are referring to the 50mm and the 25mm as a Normal Lens. Who knows? Maybe that term will catch on.
Here are a couple of terms that you may have heard, but didn’t want to ask what they mean, because you didn’t want some snooty photographer to look down their nose at you. We’re going to explain them to you. Both of these terms apply to the Normal Lens.
Prime Lens: A fast lens that doesn’t zoom in and out.
A fast lens: A lens that can open up to a very wide aperture, such as f/1.2, f/1.8.
Most prime lenses will set you back a fair amount of dough, and are only used for specific types of photography. A Normal Lens is versatile, and is a MUST for every camera bag.
Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about which lens to purchase:
1. Why is a Normal Lens important?
A Normal Lens is the closest you can get to the human eye. This means low amounts of distortion and a similar field of view to what your eyes see. What you see is what you get.
Why is that so great? Because when you see a scene you want to capture, the Normal Lens will capture it as similar to your vision as possible. Using a wider or telephoto lens will give you a different view, fitting more or less into the frame than the Normal Lens. There’s no distortion when using a Normal Lens, whereas there’s going to be some distortion when using a wide angle lens.
2. How much will I pay to be Normal?
The Normal Lens is the most affordable and cost effective prime lens you can buy. A 50mm f/1.8 or a 25mm f/1.8 typically cost a fraction of most 24-70mm f/2.8 telephoto lenses.
It’s a great starter lens, and could be the only prime that you need. The Normal Lens is the most true lens and the most value for the investment. You just can't go wrong with buying normal.
3. Can I carry the Normal Lens in my camera bag?
The Normal Lens is lightweight and small. It’s very easy to carry in a small camera bag, or just leave it on your camera.
A zoom lens can be heavy due to the motors and extra glass. Wide angle lenses also have a lot of heavy glass in them. The lightness of the Normal Lens becomes more important the longer you carry your camera and gear.
4. What kinds of pictures can I take with a Normal Lens?
You can take a variety of pictures. Anything you can take with telephoto zoom and wide angle lenses. You can take portraits, and get that creamy background, or use the Normal Lens for street photography.
Of course it does not zoom in or out, but seasoned photographers know how to get around this. Need to zoom in or out? Use your legs! Simply move closer or further away from your subject!
5. Which Normal Lens should I get?
What kind of camera do you have? Each maker has their own Normal Lens. Click on your Brand, (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Lumix), to see what we have for you, or come into Horn Photo and ask our experts to show you the right lens for your camera so that you can be normal.
6. Will this be the only prime lens I’ll need?
Yes. If you are only to get one prime lens, make it this one. You will fall in love with this lens, and may want to get others. Please do! We love it when our customers shell out money for lenses at our store.
7. When can I use my Normal Lens?
For anything and everything. Landscapes, portraits, street photography, flowers, food, selfies, UFOs (if they’re pretty close or you’re being abducted).
A wide angle lens is useful for landscape photography, but not great for close-ups or still life. Wide angle lenses will distort subjects shot at close range.
A telephoto lens is perfect for portraits, but not great for landscapes and street photography. Plus, they’re heavy, enormous and will draw attention to yourself. That’s not good if you’re an introvert with weak biceps.
Getting a Normal Lens has lots of advantages. It is versatile for many types of photography. It offers a fast aperture and accurate auto-focus while being affordable.
Thanks for reading!
Questions? Come See us or call the Camera Dept 559-225-5080 Extension #3
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