As a portrait photographer, your lens choice is extremely important when it comes to your growth. There’s a misconception among new photographers that zoom lenses are the way to go. This is mainly due to a lack of understanding about the real differences between a prime lens and a zoom lens. Beyond the technical benefits of shooting with a fixed focal length lens, there’s an advantage that often gets overlooked: it helps make you a better photographer. In the same way that I was taught to use a pen in my college classes, I used a prime lens to force me to work harder for each shot. There are several reasons why you should consider shooting with a fixed focal length lens rather than a zoom, and why so many portrait photographers shoot exclusively with primes.

Fixed Focal Length Lenses: At a Glance

This guide covers why prime lenses (also called fixed focal length lenses) can transform your photography:

• What Is a Fixed Focal Length Lens? – Understanding prime lens basics
• Wider Aperture – Better low light performance and background blur
• Sharper Images – Why simpler optics produce better results
• Skill Development – How limitations make you more creative
• Size and Weight – The portability advantage
• Best Fixed Focal Lengths for Portraits – Which prime to choose
• Frequently Asked Questions – Common prime lens questions answered

What Is a Fixed Focal Length Lens?

A fixed focal length lens, commonly called a prime lens, is a lens that has a single, non-adjustable focal length. Unlike a zoom lens that might cover a range like 24-70mm or 70-200mm, a fixed focal length lens is set at one specific measurement, such as 35mm, 50mm, or 85mm. You cannot zoom in or out with a prime lens. Instead, you physically move closer to or farther from your subject to change your framing.

This might sound like a limitation, and in some ways it is. But as we’ll explore throughout this article, that limitation comes with significant benefits in image quality, creative development, and overall photographic results. The term “prime” simply means the lens has a fixed focal length rather than a variable one. When you hear photographers talk about their “nifty fifty” or their “85mm portrait lens,” they’re referring to fixed focal length lenses.

Wider Aperture: The Prime Lens Advantage

What is the main difference between a 50mm prime lens and a zoom lens that covers 18-55mm at the same focal length? Aperture. When you compare any zoom to a prime lens of the same focal length, the most significant difference is the lowest f-stop, or how wide the aperture can open at that specific focal length.

Most zoom lenses under $1,000 offer a maximum aperture somewhere between f/3.5 and f/5.6, depending on the focal length. Even professional zoom lenses typically max out at f/2.8. Meanwhile, fixed focal length lenses commonly offer apertures of f/1.8, f/1.4, or even f/1.2. That difference is massive when it comes to your creative options.

Better Background Blur and Subject Isolation

If you’re a fan of bokeh or a nice shallow depth of field, a zoom lens at f/3.5-5.6 simply isn’t going to cut it. If you want to truly isolate your subject from the background, the shallow depth of field that a fixed focal length lens provides makes a huge difference. That creamy, out-of-focus background that makes portraits look professional? It comes from shooting at wide apertures like f/1.8 or f/1.4, which are typically only available on prime lenses at affordable price points.

Superior Low Light Performance

Another advantage of a wider aperture is the additional light it allows into the sensor. The wider the aperture can go, the more light reaches your camera’s sensor, allowing you to shoot without a flash in low light situations. A lens that opens to f/1.8 lets in over four times more light than one that only opens to f/4. This means you can use lower ISO settings (less noise) or faster shutter speeds (less motion blur) in challenging lighting conditions.

Learning to shoot in low light using a lower f-stop takes practice. Whether you’re working in dim conditions or simply want to create a dreamy out-of-focus background in good light, you have more control over how much you want in focus and how much you don’t with the ability to open your aperture to f/1.8 or wider. Focusing with a shallow depth of field can be difficult at first and takes time to master, but like shooting a small target, once you can hit the small one, the big ones become easy.

Sharper Images from Simpler Optics

When compared to a zoom lens, a fixed focal length lens has a less complicated optical design with fewer glass elements involved. This simpler construction allows for sharper images with less distortion, chromatic aberration, and other optical imperfections. Photographers who prioritize sharpness and image quality will almost always reach for a prime lens when it matters most.

Zoom lenses require complex arrangements of multiple lens elements that must work together across a range of focal lengths. All those moving parts and extra glass introduce more opportunities for image degradation. A fixed focal length lens, by contrast, is engineered to do one thing exceptionally well. The optical designers can optimize every element for that single focal length rather than making compromises to cover a range.

This is why even budget-friendly prime lenses like the 50mm f/1.8 (often called the “nifty fifty”) can produce sharper images than zoom lenses costing several times more. When you look at professional portrait photographers, wedding photographers, and commercial shooters, you’ll notice they overwhelmingly rely on fixed focal length lenses for their most important work.

Skill Development: How Limitations Make You Better

One reason to consider a fixed focal length lens over a zoom that often gets overlooked is simple: it can make you a better photographer. Developing your composition skills takes time, and learning to physically move your camera to get the shot you want, rather than standing still and zooming, is a game-changer for your creative development.

This may seem like a hindrance at first, but most creative photographers learn to use it to their advantage. When you have to physically move around, it changes your angles. It changes your relationship to the light. It makes you consider backgrounds more carefully. It forces you to adjust multiple variables to achieve the composition you envision. Put simply, it makes you think more.

The “Zoom With Your Feet” Philosophy

Having the ability to stay in one place and control your composition by zooming in and out may seem like the convenient approach, but convenience doesn’t always lead to growth. When you shoot with a fixed focal length, you learn to “zoom with your feet.” You become more engaged with your environment. You discover angles and perspectives you never would have found if you’d stayed planted in one spot twisting a zoom ring.

This active approach to photography builds muscle memory for composition. Over time, you start to instinctively know how a 35mm or 50mm or 85mm lens will render a scene before you even raise the camera to your eye. You develop a deeper understanding of how perspective, distance, and focal length interact to create different looks and feelings in an image.

Constraints Breed Creativity

Just like learning to draw with a pen instead of a pencil, working within the constraints of a fixed focal length forces creative problem-solving. When you can’t zoom past an obstacle, you find another angle. When you can’t get closer, you incorporate the environment into your composition. When you’re “stuck” at one focal length, you discover creative solutions you never would have considered with the easy option of zooming.

If a fence is in the way of you moving closer to your subject, shoot through it. You’ll either end up with a much more interesting image, or you’ll find another angle to get the shot. The limitation becomes a creative catalyst rather than a barrier.

Size and Weight: The Portability Advantage

Because fixed focal length lenses have simpler optical designs with fewer elements, they’re typically smaller and lighter than zoom lenses with comparable image quality. A 50mm f/1.8 prime might weigh just 6-7 ounces, while a 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom (which covers that same focal length) can weigh over two pounds.

This size and weight advantage matters more than many photographers realize. A lighter kit means less fatigue during long shoots. A smaller lens is less intimidating to portrait subjects. A compact setup is easier to carry for street photography or travel. Many photographers find they actually shoot more when their gear is less cumbersome, which means more opportunities to practice and improve.

The compact size of prime lenses also makes them more discreet. For candid photography, documentary work, or any situation where you don’t want to draw attention to yourself, a small fixed focal length lens on a mirrorless body is far less obtrusive than a large zoom lens.

Best Fixed Focal Lengths for Portrait Photography

If you’re convinced that a fixed focal length lens belongs in your bag, the next question is which one to choose. For portrait photography, certain focal lengths have proven themselves over decades of professional use.

35mm: Environmental Portraits

A 35mm fixed focal length lens is wide enough to include environment and context while still being flattering for portraits when used at appropriate distances. It’s excellent for environmental portraits, documentary work, and situations where you want to show your subject within their surroundings. On crop sensor cameras, a 24mm lens gives a similar field of view.

50mm: The Versatile Standard

The 50mm focal length is often called “normal” because it roughly approximates how the human eye sees the world. It’s incredibly versatile for portraits, producing natural-looking perspective without the distortion of wider lenses or the compression of telephotos. The 50mm f/1.8 is also the most affordable way to experience the benefits of a fixed focal length lens, with excellent options available from every major manufacturer for under $300.

85mm: The Portrait King

Many portrait photographers consider 85mm the ideal fixed focal length for headshots and traditional portraits. The slight telephoto compression is universally flattering for faces, and the working distance (how far you stand from your subject) feels comfortable for both photographer and subject. An 85mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 can produce stunning subject isolation with beautifully blurred backgrounds.

135mm: Compression and Reach

For photographers who want even more background compression and subject isolation, 135mm is a popular choice. This longer fixed focal length requires more working distance but produces incredibly flattering portraits with backgrounds that melt into smooth, creamy bokeh. It’s also useful for capturing candid moments from a distance without intruding on the scene.

Frequently Asked Questions About Fixed Focal Length Lenses

What does fixed focal length mean?

Fixed focal length means the lens has a single, set focal length that cannot be changed. Unlike a zoom lens where you can adjust the focal length (for example, from 24mm to 70mm), a fixed focal length lens stays at one measurement, such as 50mm. To change your framing with a fixed focal length lens, you physically move closer to or farther from your subject rather than turning a zoom ring.

Is a prime lens the same as a fixed focal length lens?

Yes, the terms are interchangeable. “Prime lens” and “fixed focal length lens” both refer to lenses that have a single, non-variable focal length. The term “prime” distinguishes these lenses from “zoom” lenses, which have variable focal lengths. You may also hear them called “fixed lenses,” though this can sometimes cause confusion with lenses that are permanently attached to a camera body.

Why are prime lenses sharper than zoom lenses?

Prime lenses are typically sharper because they have simpler optical designs optimized for a single focal length. Zoom lenses require complex arrangements of many lens elements that must work together across a range of focal lengths, introducing more opportunities for optical compromises. With a fixed focal length, engineers can perfect every aspect of the design for that one specific purpose, resulting in superior sharpness, less distortion, and better overall image quality.

What fixed focal length is best for beginners?

Most photographers recommend starting with a 50mm f/1.8 as your first fixed focal length lens. It’s affordable (typically under $300), versatile enough for many subjects, and available from every major camera manufacturer. The 50mm focal length is considered “normal,” meaning it roughly matches how the human eye sees, making it intuitive to use. It’s also excellent for learning to “zoom with your feet” and developing stronger composition skills.

When should I use a zoom lens instead of a prime?

Zoom lenses make sense when you need flexibility and cannot control your shooting distance, such as event photography where you can’t always move freely, wildlife photography where getting closer isn’t possible, or travel situations where carrying multiple lenses isn’t practical. Sports and action photography often benefit from zoom lenses for the same reasons. However, for controlled portrait sessions, studio work, or any situation where you can move around freely, a fixed focal length lens will typically deliver better results.

Conclusion

Simply put, fixed focal length lenses force you to think more, move more, and ultimately create better and more interesting photographs. You get sharper images, superior subject isolation, beautiful creamy bokeh, and better low light performance. The constraints of a single focal length become a catalyst for creativity rather than a limitation.

Zoom lenses are convenient and definitely have their place in photography. But if you’re looking to grow as a photographer, I don’t recommend relying on them exclusively, especially in the beginning. Get up, move around, and be more creative with your depth of field and compositions. Challenge yourself to see the world through one focal length at a time.

Don’t be afraid to use a lens that has a fixed focal length. Embrace the limitation, and watch your photography improve. Save your zoom lens for situations where you truly need it, and reach for a prime when you want to do your best work.

What Is a Prime Lens?

A prime lens is one of the most simple types of camera lenses: It is a single focal length, meaning, it does not zoom in or out. Depending on the exact focal length of the lens, it will give a specific angle of view. This means that if you want to fit more into your picture, you have to physically back up! Or, as some photographers call it, you must “zoom with your feet” and walk/move closer to a subject if you want it to fill the frame.

Photographers choose prime lenses over other types of camera lenses for many different reasons. One simple reason is that, without the ability to zoom, using a prime lens really forces you to think carefully about the framing and composition of every photo you take. This can be a setback at times, but it can also encourage creativity. Some of the most common prime lenses are 50mm, 35mm, and 85mm.

Other photographers may choose a prime lens because it is capable of having a faster, brighter aperture. This allows easier shooting in low light, faster shutter speeds, or increased background blur, AKA bokeh. Last but not least, one of my own favorite reasons for choosing a prime lens is its size. It’s usually just really small, lightweight, and portable!

Types of Camera Lenses: What Is a Zoom Lens?

A zoom lens, as you might guess, can zoom in and out, which means it varies its focal length. This allows you to zoom in on a subject and fill your image frame with it, or zoom out to add more of the surroundings to the frame.

There are different types of zooms, though. There are wide-angle zooms, normal zooms, and telephoto zooms, to name the three main categories. With a telephoto zoom, as you might imagine, zooming “out” doesn’t give you much of a wide-angle view. The opposite is true for a wide-angle zoom.

Zoom lenses are useful mainly because they are more versatile than other types of camera lenses like prime lenses. You can frame all kinds of compositions from the same spot, and/or you don’t have to change lenses! In some photography conditions where you are unable to move around, this is absolutely essential. In other photography conditions, where maybe you have plenty of time to change lenses, having a zoom is less critical.

Generally speaking, zoom lenses are also rather large, heavy, and expensive compared to prime lenses of relatively equal quality. There are some zoom lenses that are small and compact, but they usually have rather slow apertures and limited zoom ranges. Other zoom lenses that have extremely fast apertures may cost a lot of money and be extremely heavy.

What Is a Superzoom?

One special type of zoom lens is called a “superzoom”. These types of camera lenses get such a name because they have an impressive zoom range or zoom ratio. (More on this next!) Usually, superzooms offer both wide-angle and telephoto focal lengths, such as 24-200mm.

The drawback of a superzoom is that such optics are usually not perfect at one or more focal lengths. For example, the lens may be very sharp at its wide-angle half, but a little soft when used at its telephoto range. Also, they usually have relatively dark, slow apertures.

Modern technology has largely overcome the first drawback, and some new superzooms are very sharp throughout their whole zoom range. They still have rather slow apertures, though, and they get slower as you zoom in, such as f/4.5 at the wide-angle end and f/7.1 at the telephoto end.

What Is Zoom Ratio?

Photographers may refer to zoom lenses as a “3X” zoom, or a “10X” zoom. What does this mean? It’s a simple calculation of the zoom range. For example, a 50-100mm zoom would be a 2X zoom, just like a 100-200mm zoom lens, or a 200-400mm zoom lens. Even though the focal lengths are very different, the “magnification” of that focal range is the same.

Speaking of which, in case you’re wondering, a superzoom usually has a zoom range around 8-10X, such as 24-200mm or 24-240mm lens.

We’ll talk more about actual magnification later when we get to macro lenses, but “X zoom” is not to be confused with that type of spec.

Types of Camera Lenses: Primes VS Zooms

And now for the decision. “Should I buy a prime or a zoom? Which is better?” The “right” answer is a highly debated subject for many photographers. Thankfully, there is no right answer! This decision is made based on the type of photography you do, as well as your own unique creative style. Other factors include your budget or even how strong your arms and wrists are.

[Related: Photography 101 | Prime VS Zoom Lens]

Prime lenses do have some advantages for certain subjects because they can offer faster apertures which allow for brighter exposures in extremely dark conditions, as well as shallow depth for things like portrait photography.

Zoom lenses are excellent for anything where versatility comes in handy, whether it is a restriction on your vantage point or a fast-paced situation where changing lenses isn’t an option.

Types of Camera Lenses: What Is a Telephoto Lens?

A telephoto lens is any lens, prime or zoom, that has a longer focal length such as 100mm, 200mm, 400mm, etc. A telephoto lens is very useful for photographing far-away subjects that you simply cannot get any closer to.

It could be a moonrise over a distant landscape or an action sports game where you are stuck on the sidelines. Or, of course, telephoto lenses are immensely useful for any type of wildlife photography where the animal is either unsafe to approach, or just too elusive and shy.

Common telephoto focal lengths are zooms such as 70-200mm, 70-300mm, or 100-400mm. Many primes exist covering virtually every telephoto focal length, too.

Telephoto VS Super-telephoto

While any lens that is 85mm or longer is considered a telephoto lens, some telephoto lenses also fall into the category of “super-telephoto.” This is a more vague term that is a little bit subjective. However, most photographers consider 300mm to 400mm to be the transition zone from telephoto to super-telephoto.

Super-telephoto lenses often reach 600mm or 800mm. Some truly exotic ones reach 1000mm or 1200mm!

Zoom Lenses Are Not Telephoto Lenses!

There’s one important thing to clear up. Some photographers may hear the term “zoom” and think it implies zooming in on your subject. Therefore, there might be confusion that a zoom lens is a telephoto lens.

As you’ve already learned, though, there are many types of camera lenses, and many types of zooms. Not all of them reach telephoto focal lengths! So, keep this in mind when you are talking about lenses to anyone who might not be familiar with photography terminology.

What Is a Wide-Angle Lens?

A wide-angle lens is any lens, prime, zoom, or other, that offers a very wide angle of view. This allows you to include a lot in your frame. Wide-angle lenses work great for landscapes and any type of scenic view. Also, these types of camera lenses can be very handy when you are indoors and want to include a whole scene but cannot just back up.

Common wide angles include 24mm and 14mm for prime lenses, or, 14-24mm, 16-35mm, or 17-28mm for zooms. In comparison, the least-wide wide-angle lens would be somewhere around 35mm.

Wide-Angle, Ultra-Wide, …Super-Ultra-Wide?

Just like how some telephoto lenses can also be labeled as super-telephoto lenses, some wide-angle lenses may be called “ultra-wide.” This is once again a slightly subjective descriptive term, but anything wider than 20mm is usually considered ultra-wide, and anything wider than 14mm might be called super-ultra-wide. You can just call them all wide-angle lenses, though!

Types of Camera Lenses: What Is a Normal Lens?

A “normal” lens is any type of lens that has a focal length in the middle zone between wide and telephoto. Usually, this is a  simple 50mm prime. However, a “normal zoom” or standard zoom is one that has 50mm as its approximate middle between wide and tele, such as a 24-70mm zoom lens.

Less common prime lenses such as 40mm and 60mm are also classified as normal or standard focal lengths. Any lens within this range makes a great tool for general photography because the angle of view feels “normal” to the human eye. You may have to do a lot of “zooming with your feet,” but the results can be very creative.

Other Types Of Camera Lenses

Wide, normal, and telephoto are categories that literally all types of lenses can be a part of. However, there are still many other types of lenses that fall into these main categories! Let’s dive into those now, with the understanding that each of these camera lenses is still one of the above categories…

Crop-Sensor Lens

A crop-sensor lens is any lens that is designed to optically “fit” an image onto a sensor smaller than the standard of “full-frame” which is based on the 35mm film standard frame size.

There are many different size sensors, and therefore, different types of lenses are made to suit them perfectly. The main two are APS-C and Micro Four Thirds.

For example, if you mount any 50mm lens on a full-frame camera, it usually gives a 46.8-degree angle of view. However, if you mount the same 50mm lens on an APS-C crop-sensor camera, its smaller sensor will result in a 1.5x “crop” of the resulting image, equivalent to a 31.4-degree angle of view. This is about the same as a 75mm lens, hence the “1.5X” crop.

If you like the perspective/angle you get from that 50mm on full-frame, however, you might instead want to use a 35mm lens, which when cropped by 1.5x, gives a similar angle of view, 43.8 degrees.

Note, both a full-frame 35mm lens and a crop-sensor 35mm lens would give this same angle of view. The difference is, the crop-sensor 35mm lens creates an optical image that is only big enough to cover the crop sensor. In other words, you can’t mount a crop-sensor lens on a full-frame camera unless you crop its image down to the APS-C size too.

For more info about crop-sensors VS full-frame, read this article here.

Macro Lens

A macro lens is any lens that allows you to get really close to a small subject. A “dedicated” macro lens usually has so enough up-close focusing capability that it can “magnify” a subject to 1X magnification on the image sensor. This means, for example, a tiny bug that is only 5mm long in real life would actually be rendered as 5mm long in the optical image on the physical sensor.

Other lenses truly do magnify a subject to be larger than life, reaching 2X magnification and beyond. Meanwhile, many lenses have “macro” in their name, but they don’t actually magnify a subject to dedicated macro reproduction, they are often just 0.5X or 0.3X magnification. This is still useful for many types of photography.

Types of Camera Lenses: Macro Lens Magnification VS Reproduction

This is covered in-depth in our complete article about macro lenses here, but macro lenses have two important measurements that are actually the same thing: magnification, and reproduction ratio.

The magnification of a macro lens is stated as “1X” or “2X”, and the reproduction ratio is stated as “1:1” or “2:1”.  The latter of each means the same thing: the subject is magnified to twice its actual size.

Tilt-Shift Lens

A tilt-shift lens, or just a shift lens, is one of the more highly specialized types of camera lenses that is mostly useful for architectural, real estate, and landscape photography. This article covers these lenses in greater detail.

The basic concepts are these: the tilt function is used to change the angle of the plane of focus, to more easily focus on surfaces that are at a different angle from the camera. A shift lens allows a photographer to change the angle of their composition (up, down, left, right) while avoiding the common perspective distortion of parallel lines “leaning” one way or another.

Cine/Cinema Lens?

Cinema lenses are basically any lens, whether prime, zoom, tele, wide, etc, that is physically built to suit videography instead of photography.  Cine lenses often have mechanical aperture control that is seamless and smooth, and sometimes have physical gears for control by an accessory knob or motor. Also, cine lenses can have other features such as power zooming for smooth, steady zooming. Last but not least,

Types Of Camera Lenses | Conclusion

Did you make it all the way through this article without losing track of all the numbers and different types of camera lenses? Congratulations! You now understand virtually every type of camera lens in existence.

If any one type of lens piqued your interest, then you should definitely check one of them out! If you are merely curious about a new genre of photography, such as macro photography or super-telephoto wildlife photography, I highly recommend simply renting or borrowing a dedicated lens, before you dive in and spend a lot of money on a specialized lens.

Leave a comment below with your own stories about your journey in choosing the right lens for the type of photography you do, whether it is prime VS zoom, wide-angle VS telephoto, etc!

What is The Reciprocal Rule?

One of the most basic rules of photography is the reciprocal rule. The basics of this rule states that if you’re hand holding your camera, your shutter speed should not be slower than the reciprocal of your effective focal length (but not lower than 1/50th of a second) in order to avoid “camera shake,” i.e. the blur that results from any slight movement of the camera during the capture of the image.  It’s important to note that these are very general guidelines, and actual results will vary depending on the lens, your camera, the stillness of your objects, and the steadiness of your hand.  Furthermore, “camera shake” is not to be confused with motion blur, i.e. the blur from moving objects within the image.  Freezing a moving object is an entirely different subject.

Reciprocal Rule Photography Video

To get started with understanding the reciprocal rule in photography, we recommend you watch this video from our Photography 101 Workshop.

Reciprocal Rule Photography Example

The Reciprocal Rule essentially states that the shutter speed needs to be at least the inverse of your focal length. Although it sounds a lot more complicated, it’s actually really simple.

For example, if you’re shooting with a 50mm lens, then your shutter speed should be at 1/50. If you’re shooting with a 100mm lens, then your shutter speed should be at least 1/100.

The reason being, the longer your lens, the more exaggerated your movement becomes. Therefore, you need to shoot at faster shutter speeds in order to minimize movement so that the image doesn’t have any camera shake.

The Pole Analogy in Understanding the Reciprocal Rule

So, why does my minimum shutter speed increase as I zoom in and decrease as I zoom out? Well, imagine your lens were two relatively light metal poles, the lengths of which would represent your focal length.

One of the metal poles is only 1′ long, while the other is 20′ long. Now imagine trying to hold the pole out on one side with both hands, while trying to keep the other side of the pole steady. You would probably find it is relatively easy to keep the 1′ pole steady, while the 20′ pole would be shaking violently on the side opposite your hands as any movement from your hands is amplified as it travels to the end of the pole. Speaking in terms of lenses, by zooming in, you are effectively increasing the length of your “pole.” Any movement made at the base of the pole (lens) is amplified as you travel out to the end of the pole (zoomed focal length). Thus, the longer the zoom, the higher your minimum shutter speed.

Exceptions to the Reciprocal Rule

The reciprocal rule is a rule and not a law. Why? Because this rule doesn’t always work, particularly when you start slowing down your shutters beyond 1/50th of a second. For example, the reciprocal rule would state that you could use a shutter speed of 1/20th of a second if you are zoomed at 20mm on your lens. However, when you drop below 1/50th of a second, regardless of what lens you use, it will be difficult to avoid camera shake. If you have an extremely steady hand and/or image stabilization on your lens, you may be able to get down to 1/30th of a second with no problems. However, just keep in mind that this rule becomes less effective when shooting slow shutters (below 1/50th of a second).

Additional Terms For More Clarity

Reciprocal – The reciprocal of a number is the multiplicative inverse of the number or, in other words, one divided by the number.  For example, the reciprocal of 100 is 1/100.

Focal length – The Focal Length is simple to understand on a practical level, but deeper understanding requires knowledge rooted in physics and mathematics.  For practical purposes though we won’t go too deep. Focal length can be thought of as the distance from the center of a lens or the surface of a mirror to the point at which light passing through the lens or reflected from the mirror is focused.  These are expressed in terms of millimeters, so, for example, on a lens such as the 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, 24mm is as zoomed out or wide as the lens goes, while 70mm is zoomed in fully. 

If you’re fully zoomed out on this lens, the reciprocal rule states that your shutter speed (if this speed actually existed) could be as low as 1/24th of a second (keep in mind our shutter speed rule above); and if you were fully zoomed in, you would need a shutter of at least around 1/70th of a second.  For practical purposes, rounding up is always safer; and in general, keeping it at the safe shutter for the fully zoomed in focal length is preferable, as there are already enough things to worry about; and it’s not always practical to change shutter speed for every change in focal length.

Full Frame vs. Crop Frame – An important note is that these rules apply directly to cameras with a full-frame sensor, such as the Canon EOS 5D Mark II (and higher models and their Nikon/other brand equivalents).  For cameras with a crop-frame sensor, such as the Canon 40D, 50D, 30D, 20D, or Rebel (and their Nikon/other brand equivalents), the focal length is multiplied by a 1.6 crop factor.  So, for example, the same 24-70mm f/2.8L USM mentioned earlier would actually have focal lengths closer to 38.4-112mm.  So when using these crop-frame-sensor cameras, you would theoretically need to bring your shutter speeds closer to these higher focal lengths.

Image Stabilization/Vibration Reduction (IS & VR) – Another important note is that with IS (Canon) or VR (Nikon), you should be able to safely reduce the shutter speed one additional full stop. With newer technology, the new lenses claim two and even three stops, but in general, and from our experience, it’s safer to keep it at around one.  For shutter speeds this would mean cutting the denominator by about half.  So, for example, if you’re fully zoomed in at 200mm on a full-frame camera on a 70-200mm f/2.8L Zoom Lens, your 1/200 safe shutter becomes 1/100 because of the image stabilization.

Conclusion

The most important take away is that if you’re looking for crisp, non-blurry images, the higher/faster the shutter speed, the better.  In lower light, you can safely go down to your focal length’s reciprocal (on a full frame camera) and even one to two stops lower with image stabilization if your subjects are not moving or not moving quickly.  We hope this helps, and as always, any feedback or comments are welcomed.

Do Your Research and Get There Early

When you’ve decided which mountains you want to photograph, it’s time to do a bit of research. Which trail or route are you going to take? How long will it take you? What should you wear? How much equipment do you want to carry? Then, once you think you’ve answered all these questions, remember to give yourself extra time, in case you see something else you want to photograph too!

If you’re already a seasoned hiker, you’ll find it much easier and faster to get out into the mountain wilderness compared to someone who is new to it, and you’ll be able to plan a more advanced trip that may involve wilderness camping.

Are you more accustomed to a stroll in the park or on a path, than a tough mountain hike? Then you’re hopefully going to start with mountains that are not hard to reach. There are many beautiful destinations you can reach by the side of the road, but, don’t let that stop you from dreaming of seeing jagged peaks up close.

With a telephoto lens, you can even shoot some mountains from the side of the road and make it look like you’re a lot closer than you are! You’ll want to get to your chosen location early so that you can find the best compositions before you start. This will save you time when you start taking your mountain photos.

Find Good Mountain Landscape Photography Ranges

“Do your research” is great advice, but where should you even start looking? Don’t worry, we’re here to get you started and inspired.

Right in the middle of the US, any good list of ranges to start your mountain landscape photography will include the Rocky Mountains, with over 300 miles of hiking trails. Spring and summer offer fantastic wildflower blooms which can be used as a foreground for your mountain photos.

Going back East, the Great Smoky Mountains offer a different look, with the fog that hovers around the tree-shrouded peaks giving these mountains their name.

Out West, the California Coast ranges include the iconic Big Sur region, and you can drive the Pacific Coast Highway if you don’t want to hike. Of course, there is the most famous mountain range in California, with the highest peak in the contiguous USA: The Sierra Nevada.

Those looking for a more remote and lesser-traveled mountain landscape should check out the Alaska Range, which includes Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America.

If you want to travel further afield, and are ready to travel internationally, the Italian Dolomites as well as the Patagonia area of Chile offer the most jagged mountains in the world and always make for some amazing images.

The Scottish Highlands provides the Cairngorms, and also Black Cuillin on the isle of Skye, while Norway has the beautiful Lofoten mountains. In Australia, there are the stunning Snowy Mountains, which include Mount Kosciuszko.

Use Different Focal Lengths

There are two main ways to photograph mountain landscapes: creating wide-angle images using the mountains as a backdrop to a foreground scene, and/or using a telephoto lens to zoom in on the mountain peaks themselves, or other alpine detail photos.  The most common is the wide-angle approach, but for a different flavor try using a tripod with a  telephoto zoom lens from around 100mm to 500mm to get much closer into the mountain itself.

Getting closer to the peaks means you can capture the winds blowing snow off the edges, or the light playing over the textures of the rocks. Sunrise and sunset are great times to capture mountain photos with a longer focal length. Zooming in can also help when the weather and light isn’t working well for your mountain images as a whole. (Just be sure you have a heavy-duty tripod for shooting at telephoto focal lengths in windy conditions! Otherwise, your sharp, exotic tele zoom lens will give you nothing but soft images.)

Find Light That Creates Shape and Texture to the Mountain

In portrait photography, flat and soft light is often the most desired light to use.  In mountain landscape photography, however, flat and soft light can actually lack interest and character.  Unlike a person’s face, we generally want to see all of the detail, the bumps, and the shadows of a mountain.  Sometimes, this means that the most interesting light can come from the left or right sides of the frame.  Also, the light doesn’t always have to be soft or diffused to look interesting.

Use the Foreground for Strong Composition

It doesn’t matter what time of year you choose to do your mountain landscape photography, there will always be opportunities to include plenty of foreground interest.   We mentioned using foregrounds in our general landscape photography tips article, and we’re mentioning it here again because foregrounds are especially important in mountain landscape photography.  Foreground elements help provide scale for the mountains in the middle ground and background of the image.

Use the foreground to lead the viewer’s eye into the mountains. You can use grass and wildflowers in the spring and summer, ice and snow in the autumn and winter.  Foregrounds should ideally be there to help your main subject – the mountain – stand out. With this in mind, try to avoid too much distraction in the foreground, and look for leading lines and color contrasts to give your image depth and interest.

Try Bracketing Your Exposures

The bane of the landscape photographer is surely the massive range of landscape shadows and much brighter skies that can throw off your exposure. Add in stormy weather, or even just a good sunrise or sunset, and the level of contrast present in a scene can easily be more than even the latest digital camera sensors can handle.

Graduated filters are often used in landscape photography to solve this problem by darkening down the sky, however, because mountains tend to be jagged the GND filter solution doesn’t work well with them. The transition zone of a graduated filter is in a straight horizontal line, and any bits of mountain sticking up into the darker area will become darker compared to the rest of the mountain.

Therefore, bracketed exposures are a way around this problem for your mountain photos. Bracket between three to five images at different exposures that capture good detail from shadows to highlights, and merge them into an HDR image in your image editing software. You can also use luminosity masking in Photoshop to create your image so that you get a balanced exposure for both sky and shadows.

Watch Your Crops

Just like you wouldn’t crop off a body in a random place in a portrait, ensure that you don’t crop the mountain range haphazardly as well.  Leave ample room above the mountain range to give the top of the mountain some breathing room.  And ideally, find and good place to crop on the sides as well.  For example, try having part of the mountain range lead in from the top corner of the frame, like in the image below.

Use Juxtaposition for Scale

Capturing the immense scale of mountains can be challenging. To effectively portray their grandeur, consider including a human figure, a structure, or a plant or tree in your shot.  This provides context and a relatable sense of scale via juxtaposition. However, it’s crucial to introduce these elements with purpose, not merely as afterthoughts. Here’s how to do it:

Position with Clarity and Purpose – Ensure the subject is positioned where they are easily discernible. A hidden figure amidst dense foliage won’t aid in conveying scale.  It could just look like a mistake

Ensure Contrast –  Make sure the subject stands out.  If it’s a person, dress him or her in colors that stand out against the mountainous backdrop. Vibrant colors enhance the visual appeal and emphasize the scale effectively.  You can also make the subject pop off the mountain background with light, using flash or natural light in the scene to bring them out.

Final Thoughts

Mountain landscape photography can be one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, types of photography. You need to be adaptable to the constantly changing weather and light conditions, so it pays to be patient. There are many great spots where you can take awesome mountain photos just a few feet from the comfort of your car, but for those who want to get more adventurous, hiking the mountains is the way to go. Or, to reach even more remote mountain destinations, try backpacking overnight!

If you’re planning on doing some trail hiking, you need to be safe and aware of your surroundings. Use a GPS device to help you keep to the right trail. Ensure you have a way to contact help in an emergency (a satellite phone, for instance), and always keep an eye on the weather.  As the great climber Ed Viesturs said: “Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.”

Video: 3 Ways to Level Up Your Creativity Without Buying Additional Gear

It’s really quite simple. You can use simple techniques and the gear you already have (a camera, a lens, and maybe a tripod) to level up your creativity. This article expands on concepts covered in our Photography 101 workshop.

[Related Reading: How to Use the Lightroom Panorama Tool | Quick Reference]

Technique #1: Wide Aperture Panoramic Stitch

This technique was popularized by Ryan Brenizer and is often referred to as the “Brenizer Method.” The benefit of using this technique is that it allows you to create a wide angle image with an impossibly shallow depth of field. I say “impossibly shallow” because capturing this wide of a shot with this shallow depth of field in a single frame would require something like a 24mm lens at f/.2 (that’s f-point-two, not f-two), which—to my knowledge—doesn’t exist.

How to Capture a Wide Aperture Panoramic Stitch

1. Grab a prime lens (preferably a 50mm, but whatever you have should work).
2. Widen out the aperture as wide as it’ll go, preferably anywhere between f/1.4-f/1.8.
3. Shoot your subject at the right distance. In other words, your subject should fit vertically into an entire frame (see the sample above). This makes it easier to stitch your images together, especially if the subjects are moving a bit. If you’re too far away from your subject, you lose the added depth of field that a wide aperture pano-stitch photo offers.
4. Dial in your settings and lock your focus onto your subject. This is critical. Make sure your lens is set to manual focus after locking onto your subject so that you don’t refocus for each new shot in the series.
5. Shoot the Panorama. I prefer to start in the center and then work my way to the left, and then to the right. From there, if I want to include more vertical space, I would start at the center again and then work my way to the far left at a lower level to include more vertical space, and so on (see image collage above). It’s good to overlap each shot so that the stitch is possible in post.

Keep in mind that the final stitched image will be a super large, high-megapixel image, given that it’s comprised of multiple high-resolution photos. For this reason, I recommend shooting in a medium or small RAW format. Otherwise, the amount of resulting data for the stitched photo will slow your computer’s performance and require extra time to process.

Additional Shooting Tips

For the image on the left, I lit the subject using a Profoto light for external flash inside a softbox. The image on the right was captured using natural light. You can play with different lighting effects to achieve a variety of looks.

As you can see in the image above, using different lenses will open up the possible outcomes for your wide aperture panoramic stitch portraits as well. For this image, I used a tilt-shift lens and set my focus right to the subjects’ faces. This allowed everything else to fall out of focus and in an ultra-negative space-type shot.

How to Edit a Wide Angle Panoramic Stitch

1. Open the images in Lightroom and select all of the images that will be used in the panorama.
2. Hover over one of the images, right click, and select Photo Merge > Panorama (see above).

Lightroom will merge the series of photos into a DNG file of the panorama. This will give you the full editing flexibility of a RAW file.

Technique #2: Pan for Motion

One of the easiest techniques you can use to level up your creativity is adding motion. When we pan for motion, we need to do the following:

1. Slow the shutter speed down to a sweet spot (usually between 1/10 and 1/50) that allows you to capture motion. The exact shutter speed will vary, depending on the speed of the movement you’re capturing, lighting conditions, etc. Just remember, faster moving subjects will require a faster shutter speed while slower moving subjects require a slower shutter speed. If the shutter speed is too slow, you’ll have a hard time keeping the focus on your subject sharp.
2. Set your exposure with ISO and Aperture.
3. Choose a focal point. You’ll want to place your focal point somewhere in the frame that complements your composition. Use the focal point to lock focus on your subject as the subject moves past.
4. Position the camera close to your body for stability. It can help to use the viewfinder for this effect because it allows you to keep the camera tucked close to you. Holding the camera away from your body will increase the risk of introducing camera shake into the photo.
5. Set your camera to high speed and shoot through the entire sequence of your subject passing by. This will give you a better chance of capturing a sharp subject.
6. Pan to follow your subject, moving in the same direction and at the same speed.

Expect to practice this technique in order to master it.

[Related Reading: Panning Video Tutorial for Photography – Shooting Moving Subjects]

Technique #3: Shutter Drag for Motion

Instead of moving our cameras with the subject to create motion, we can use shutter drag to capture movement. We just need to hold the camera still and slow the shutter speed enough to show the surrounding environment. Here’s how to do it:

1. Place the camera on a tripod.
2. Dial in your composition and move your subjects into place. Before placing your subjects, make sure that you’ve instructed them to hold completely still while you capture the shot. The slow shutter speed can quickly render your subjects out of focus if they move.
3. Slow the shutter speed enough to show motion. Here’s a quick breakdown for typical shutter drag shutter speeds:
   1. .5″ to 2″ for “wispy” water
   2. 10″ to 20″ for a foggy effect. This may require creating a composite with one frame exposed for the subjects and another for the motion in the water.
   3. The maximum amount of time that subjects can hold still without getting blurry is one to two seconds, so you may need to create a composite and expose for the subjects in one frame while capturing the movement (of passing cars, crashing waves, etc.) in another frame.
4. Dial in your exposure with ISO and aperture.
5. Capture the shot.

In the image above, 1/10″ was enough to capture the entire scene in motion. You can learn more about how we created this shot here.

If you’re doing this technique in broad daylight and you image is still overexposed after lowering your ISO and closing down your aperture, you may need to invest in a Neutral Density filter, preferably one that dims your exposure by 3-5 stops.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed these tips on three ways to level up your creativity without having to buy additional gear. You can revisit these and other concepts in our Photography 101 workshop and dive further into the fundamentals of portrait photography.

Be sure to catch our next episode of Mastering Your Craft on Adorama’s YouTube channel next week! If you want to catch up on all the episodes, make sure you check out our playlist!

Video: 5 Recipes for Great Portraits in Any Location

In this article, we’re going to share five “recipes” for great portraits that you can use anywhere. Give these recipes a try the next time you head out, and enjoy your newfound freedom from relying on location to make or break your session.

These tips are based on concepts covered in our Engagement Photography 101 workshop.

Recipe #1: Repeating Patterns

A common compositional element to look for when arriving on location is repeating patterns. Something as simple as a solid block of leaves (such as the vines on the wall pictured above) can offer consistent color & tone and add texture to the image, further drawing our focus to the subjects. If possible, try to find backdrops like this in shaded areas to take advantage of softer, natural light.

Recipe #2: Directional Light Location

Try to find an overhang or someplace that produces directional light. In portraits, directional light (which means your primary light source is falling on your subject from one direction) adds depth to your subjects and creates contrast and interest.

Consider it an added bonus if you can find such a location that also features a darker background for a dramatic portrait. Whenever you have a highlighted subject against a darker background, you can create portraits in what is known as the chiaroscuro style.

Bonus Tip: Shoot a variety of angles (wide, medium, and tight) in scenes that allow for wider environmental portraits. You already have your subjects in place, so take advantage and explore the location to look for additional interesting angles. Don’t get stuck standing the same distance from your subjects while shooting with the same focal length.

[Related Reading: How to Create Dramatic Portraits with Just Natural Light]

Recipe #3: Flat Light Is Flattering

This recipe offers a completely different look than the previous recipe. One thing that flat lighting does not bring is drama, but we don’t need it to. In fact, you can use flat lighting to take flawless selfies and portraits because of its flattering effects. Place your subjects in open shade and position them so that they’re facing the light source, be it the open sky or a window if indoors. The light should minimize the appearance of wrinkles and other contours of the skin.

Bonus Tip: Simple backgrounds work just fine for flat light portraits, but try to add some props to the scene for visual interest.

Recipe #4: Light & Shadow Play

It’s great when you can find shadows being cast on a wall. They offer a great opportunity to get creative. In the scene pictured above, we placed our subjects a short distance from a wall so that we could capture their shadows to create a unique portrait.

Recipe #5: Backlit Grass

If you can find it, tall, backlit grass always looks great. In situations where the surrounding area is full of distracting elements, just switch to a tighter focal length lens (ideally a wide aperture prime lens to separate the subjects from the background with a shallow depth of field). The bonus in this location is the large wall which is reflecting light back not the scene and serving as a fill light.

[Related Reading: When SHOULD You Blow Out the Highlights?]

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article/video with five recipes for great portraits in any location. Now, rather than Googling “Photo Locations Near Me” for your next session, look for ways to make the most of unexpected spots. You might be surprised at how much you can do with just a little creative inspiration, even when you’re shooting next to (or sometimes in) a parking lot.

If you’d like to find more great photography education, check out our Premium subscriptions, which offer access to 30+ workshops on everything from posing, lighting, and editing to running a photography business.

The format is simple: All of the gear we review is on loan from either Adorama or B&H or we’ve purchased it ourselves; no fewer than two people will share the review to help eliminate or minimize bias; we’ll be sure to share both the good and bad regarding what we liked and did not like about using the gear. While you can always find technical details in spec guides, our goal with the Head to Head Series is for you to walk away from the review knowing what it’s like to live with these products and use them in real-world situations.

Fujifilm X100V Review | Head to Head Series

To kick off the series, Pye Jirsa and Justin Lin, Co-Founders of Lin & Jirsa Photography and SLR Lounge, review the Fujifilm X100V camera, which was released back in March, the latest in a long line of X100 premium digital cameras. Here’s a quick overview of the basic specs and price before we jump into the review:

• Fixed focal length, Rangefinder style camera
• 26.1 Megapixels
• Fujinon 23mm f/2 Lens
  • With crop factor, the focal length is equivalent to 35mm
• 11 frames per second with mechanical shutter
• 4K at 29.97 frames per second (for cinema)
• 1080p at 119.88 frames per second
• 10-Bit 4:2:2 External Recording
• Price: $1,399

Camera Body Design

Pye’s Take: The Fujifilm X100V looks and feels good straight out of the box. It’s a small, compact body with beautiful styling. While it’s quirky at times, it has soul (as a piece of technology that makes you think differently) and is “cool” enough to put on the table when out to lunch with friends.

Justin’s Take: While the camera looks great, the small form factor is really what stands out (in a good way). No bag? No problem. The camera can literally fit into your pocket, as Justin discovered when he couldn’t find a bag before heading out to test the camera.

User Experience for Exposure Button Layout (Shutter Speed, ISO, Aperture)

Shutter Speed

Justin’s Take: The shutter speed button layout was strange, so much so that it seemed as though Pye purposely messed with the settings to make the camera difficult to use (since Pye had the camera first). You can adjust the shutter speed in three locations using either your thumb, index finger, or either of those on the top dial. The top dial, in fact, is the master control for the shutter speed (as you can see in the image above). It’s hard to see a need for the way the shutter speed button layout is designed.

Pye’s Take: The shutter speed button layout for the Fujifilm X100V definitely seems as though it was designed to satisfy a taste for nostalgia rather than usability.

ISO

Justin’s Take: The ISO mechanism is equally confusing. In order to adjust the ISO, you have to pull out the dial. Among other concerns, this raises the issue of durability. How many times can this dial be pulled out before it breaks? Also, there’s no tactile indicator that lets you know how much you’ve adjusted the ISO. In other words, there’s no click or stopping point; it just spins in one fluid motion.

Pye’s Take: Adjusting the ISO is not intuitive on the Fujifilm X100V and learning how to adjust it required a Google search. When testing a new product, it’s nice to not have to read the manual before taking it out to see how it feels, so this was definitely a little disappointing in terms of design. The biggest downside in all of these button layout issues is that making adjustments during a shoot requires you to slow down and pull the camera away from your face, effectively disrupting the flow of your shoot. If you’re less concerned with working quickly to get the shots you need, then this might not be an issue for you.

Note: To adjust the aperture, you’ll need to turn the dial around the lens, as was the case in the older rangefinder style cameras.

[Related Reading: Fujifilm X-T3 Review | 8 Things You’ll Love, 7 Things You Might Not]

Still Photography

Shooting

Pye’s Take: The focus speeds, tracking, and other features all performed well. The lightning fast frame rate (11 frames per second with mechanical shutter) is impressive, unless you’re shooting in RAW, which brings up buffering issues.

One of the things that the Fujifilm X100V does really well is capture beautiful images, which is clearly important for a camera. Also, the fixed focal length allows you to focus more on composition and moving through physical space to capture great images as opposed to worrying about which lens you’ll need to capture a shot from this angle or that.

Justin’s Take: The frame rate buffering issue when shooting in RAW is a definite downer. The camera uses a UHS-I bus interface instead of UHS-II, so don’t think there’s a buffering issue with your memory card. There isn’t. Of course, you can always shoot jpeg instead of RAW to take advantage of the high speed frame rate, but doing so limits your editing potential. Choosing to use outdated technology leaves plenty to be desired in terms of performance.

While some may appreciate how a fixed focal length forces you to move to change your composition, there’s something to be said for the convenience of swapping out a lens or using a zoom lens to quickly adjust your focal length, especially in fast-paced shooting scenarios. Moreover, a fixed focal length of 35mm is never going to give you the lens compression you’d get with a 70-200mm (or similar) lens. Depending on the backdrop, you may have to shoot portrait (vs landscape) to minimize distracting elements. If you get too close to your subject to crop out those elements, you have to deal with lens distortion, especially at 35mm.

Image Quality

Pye’s Take: The image quality is surprisingly great. The images surpass what many would expect from a $1400 camera. The price in and of itself is not cheap, per se, but compared to a $5,000 setup with a body and lens (which is not an uncommon setup for a great number of photographers), the Fujifilm X100V delivers on quality at an affordable cost.

Justin’s Take: After sending some of the test photos to the family, Justin’s sister responded that she needs to upgrade her iPhone because she assumed the images were captured with a smartphone. It’s not exactly high praise for image quality.

Pye’s Response: Because you don’t have the ability to swap out lenses and you’re less likely to use it in scenarios where you aren’t pressured to take super creative shots, you have to work with this camera with intention. The secret to great imagery has more to do with how you take a photo rather than what you use to take a photo. Great expressions, authentic posing, solid composition, lighting, matching tone and mood, etc. have a lot to do with the photographer’s creativity and ability to direct subjects, and very little to do with the gear.

In terms of the RAW files, they offered great dynamic range and were very flexible for post-production, allowing for the recovery of a lot of details in Lightroom. After sharing the images on social media, many people mistook them to have been captured with a Canon 5D Mark IV, which is impressive.

Film Simulation Modes

Pye’s Take: Film enthusiasts will love the access to film simulation modes that come with the Fujifilm X100V. These simulations are great as they’ve been simulated by Fuji themselves, which is about as close to the real thing as you can get with a digital camera. The in-camera colors are great. Of course, these are better used with jpegs as opposed to RAW files.

Justin’s Take: If you’re a fan of in-camera “filters,” then you’ll enjoy this feature. Otherwise, consider shooting RAW+jpeg in order to test the simulations on the jpegs but still have the full editing capabilities of the RAW files. At the end of the day, when you’re using the same filters as everyone else, you’re going to have very similar looks, which may or may not be okay for you. Of course, your composition, posing, etc. will differentiate your work, but these simulations seem to serve as more of a hobbyist feature.

Built-In 4-Stop ND Filter

Pye’s Take: For any naysayers out there, it’s almost impossible to bash this feature. With a simple swipe of a button, you can activate a built-in 4-stop ND filter.

Justin’s Take: This is a pretty cool feature for photographers, but it can’t be used when shooting video. Again, it’s hard to understand this decision.

Cinema

No Built-In 4-Stop ND Filter

Pye’s Take: As mentioned above, we don’t get the ND filter when shooting video, which is kind of a big deal.

Justin’s Take: One of the reasons you might purchase the Fujifilm X100V is to serve as an upgrade from an iPhone for capturing photos and videos. Portrait mode on an iPhone doesn’t capture depth of field and other features that you’d expect in a dedicated camera. However, with no ND filter when shooting video, you’re limited in how wide you can open your aperture based on lighting conditions. Shutter speed options are extremely limited when shooting video (for most cameras), so videographers have to either stop-down their aperture (which expands depth of field and makes it harder to separate subjects from the background) or use an ND filter, which allows a wider aperture for more shallow depth of field.

No IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization)

Justin’s Take: On the topic of portability, not having in-body image stabilization is a big deal. If you want to minimize the gear you have to carry, you’re still going to have to pack a solid tripod or other stabilization device when capturing video with this camera.

Pye’s Take: Having no IBIS certainly takes away from the portability of the camera, especially for videographers. If the ND filter and IBIS were included with this camera, it’d be a content creator’s dream, so they missed the mark here.

[Related Reading: Fujifilm Launches Compact & Lightweight Mirrorless X-T200 Camera]

Who Is This Camera For?

At this price point and with the features discussed so far, this camera is definitely a good fit for somebody, but whom?

Justin’s take: Thinking back to feedback from family, this camera would be ideal for someone who wants to improve his/her photography skills and is looking to make an upgrade from an iPhone. The camera doesn’t have some of the priority modes featured in other cameras (such as aperture priority mode, for example), but there are workarounds. For example, you can set the aperture to “Auto” and then adjust your shutter to simulate Shutter Priority Mode, or set your shutter to “Auto” and then adjust your aperture to simulate Aperture Priority Mode. The different approaches to adjusting exposure make this a great camera to learn with, especially once you realize you want more control with how you create images.

That said, as a professional photographer who already owns a quality setup, this camera would struggle to find a place in the lineup.

Pye’s take: This IS a great camera for someone who wants to learn photography. Most of the “negative” things one can say about this camera can be flipped to show how it can help a photographer improve her or his skills. On the flip side, if you don’t intend to learn how to compose a shot, maximize dynamic range, post-produce for further improvement and other aspects of taking quality photos, then this may not be the camera for you. Honestly, the type of person I just described (not motivated to improve) would probably best be served by sticking with an iPhone or something comparable.

For enthusiasts and pros who already understand and practice the fundamentals of photography and are looking for a small, portable camera with great image quality, the Fujifilm X100V would make an excellent choice.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed our review of the Fujifilm X100V in this first episode of Head to Head. We ended up with one for and one against purchasing this camera. At the end of the day, the answer really rests with how the camera fits into your workflow, and more importantly, how you intend to use it.

If you’re interested in learning more about photography and want to improve your photography skills, be sure to check out our Premium education at slrloungeworkshops.com.

Technical explanation of Focal Length

To most photographers, the term “focal length” simply refers to a number on a lens that indicates how “wide” or “telephoto” that lens is. The higher the number, the more telephoto the lens.

However, the term itself does correlate to a specified “length of focus”, and to understand this number we have to understand how a lens itself works, both in theory and in practice.

A lens’ purpose is to focus light very sharply at a specific point behind that lens, like a magnifying glass focusing sunlight on a piece of paper a short distance behind it.

Camera lenses, however, have multiple glass elements and an aperture iris, which are all used in conjunction to sharply project a scene onto the image sensor inside the camera.

Of course an astute photographer will point out, those blue lines sure don’t look very wide-angle, and that lens is in fact an ultra-wide-angle zoom! Is that diagram wildly inaccurate?

Indeed, each of the glass elements in a modern lenses will bend light in one direction or another. There are two reasons for this: first, to create a flat plane of focus instead of a curved one, and second, to create enough empty space behind the rearmost lens element to fit a shutter, and in the case of SLR cameras, a mirror.

This next diagram is also inaccurate compared to the actual optical formula of the particular lens, however it depicts the general concept of a multi-element lens construction: Light may enter the first element of the lens at a very sharp angle, and “bend” to a more manageable angle as it travels through the lens. In other words, if you wanted to create an 11mm lens on a 35mm full-frame sensor, with just one piece of glass, then yes, the nodal point of that lens would need to be 11mm away from the surface of the sensor, which is impossible on many cameras, and impractical or at least sub-optimal on all cameras.

Focal Length and Angle of View

Therefore, optics are used to bend light in a way that moves the nodal point forward away from the sensor, making the focal length distance purely theoretical.

This is why, in modern photography, a listed focal length is merely used to indicate that lens’ angle of view when focused at infinity. A 50mm lens has a 46.8 degree angle of view. A 24mm lens has an 84 degree angle of view, while a 200mm lens has a 12.3mm angle of view. The two numbers are always inversely proportional.

Measured focal length

Unfortunately, the listed focal length of a lens does not always perfectly correspond with an exact angle of view, at normal shooting distances. Many lenses change their angle of view slightly when they are focused closer than infinity, and some lenses change their angle of view by a very noticeable amount. Therefore, some photographers measure the “true” angle of view when focusing on a subject at the distances they normally shoot at, such as 5ft or 10ft from the lens.