Backgrounds are an important part of any image. They set the context, and can make a dull image interesting. Most of us are constantly in search of a background with character, feeling it will add something extra to shot. And it does, but sometimes it does so at the expense of what’s truly important. Here [...]

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opinion The Key To Great Photography Is A Good Lens, Right? You wouldn’t be the first one to think that. Quite a few inexperienced (and sadly, experienced) photographers seem to believe this, and it’s completely false. In the grand scheme of things, the lens you’re using is one of the least important aspects of photography. [...]

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If you only had one lens to use, what would it be? That’s the question we’ll attempt to answer. Lenses come in all shapes and sizes, but some of them are better at capturing the majority of what’s out there. As you’re about to find out, there is no answer that applies to everyone. There [...]

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In my regular Ask David column, I answer common questions from my readers. By answering them here, I hope to help everyone else who might have this problem, and not just the person who asked the question. Today, we have a bumper edition covering why you shouldn’t get a film camera; how shots get out [...]

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It’s one of the weird relics from the transition to digital. We’ve still got the old lenses, but the cameras we’re attaching them to are no longer the same. When you use an old lens with a digital camera, you have to multiply the lens’ focal length by a number known as the crop factor. [...]

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Your camera has a bunch of different modes, probably many more than you would ever care to learn. Each of them is designed to help you out with one or more shooting situations. In this article, we’re going to take a look at aperture priority mode. It’s one of the main shooting modes on most [...]

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This question comes from reader Heart Cruz (awesome name by the way). Heart owns an 18-55mm digital SLR kit lens, and although she’s gotten a lot of use out of it, she’d like to know which lens she should purchase next. This is an easy one. You should get a 55-200mm lens. Here’s why.

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Oh no. You scratched your lens. You’ve done it. You promised yourself you wouldn’t allow it to happen. You swore that you’d watch your every move, but it was inevitable. Now one question remains. How much will it impact your images? Do you need to get your lens replaced or repaired right away, or can [...]

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A new lens can really push your photography in a new direction. It can help you get a different perspective on a subject and throw it into a more interesting light. But new lenses are expensive, and you can still push your creative limits without spending any more money than you need to. How can [...]

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You’ve got two lenses. One of them is a 70mm lens that does not zoom (called a Prime Lens), and another is a 70mm to 200mm zoom lens. If you were to take two photos, each with one of the different lenses, which photo would have the best picture quality? Will it be the single [...]

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If you own a digital SLR, you know there are a lot of lenses on the market, and most of them are definitely outside most people’s price range. Purchasing the wrong one can be a costly mistake. While no lens will ever do everything you want it to do for you, you can get yourself [...]

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So you’ve had a cheap Point-and-Shoot camera for ages and are looking to upgrade. But should you go with another Point and Shoot (because, they are easy to use and don’t have any complicated features), or should you get a more expensive, but also more capable, DSLR camera?

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If you own a digital point and shoot or SLR camera, you may have been sold on its the built-in image stabilization system. For some camera models, this is available through the lens. On others, it is in the camera. Either way, you probably want to know what it means for your photography and whether [...]

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In a word, MM shows the focal length. But I’m sure you wanted to learn much more than that. You want to know what focal length means and how an understanding of it can improve your photography. As you have probably noticed, a lot of different lenses have different focal lengths. Some of them have [...]

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Welcome to the first in a series where I explain what all the numbers and symbols mean on your camera. It’s a problem almost as old as cameras. Manufacturers want to impart as much information as they can about an item, but they don’t have room on the product to place paragraphs of explaining information. [...]

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