A lens is the most important part of your work as a film making. A good lens enhances your visual story; it is the eye through which the film unfolds. The best lens to use in filming is one that gives a sharp focus, lower apertures, faster lens speed and one that is more affordable. It is hard to find all these qualities in one lens and so a film maker needs to have a kit of various types of lenses that will help him achieve desirable cinematography effects.
Different lenses communicate scenery details differently. Here are the types of lenses you will need for different film scenarios.
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Zoom lenses 80-200 mm
they come in handy in all productions, and most certainly in film making. There upside is that you get to change the focal length for different situations; you don’t have to stop and change the lens. They are the best for shooting a scene where you want more of the background excluded. When you want the characters in your film to appear closer/ intimate in dialogue scenes then zoom lenses are the most preferred. You can also use zoom lenses for special effects in your film; a scene that requires flashback into the 70s and early 80s.
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Wide angle lenses 24-35 mm
they come in handy when you are shooting on a small location but you want your film to show more background. They are good for introductory shots in a film for example a street or suburb. They will let you capture amazing panoramas of features like mountains. They can also be used to make actors appear less intimate (further apart). They will also make a small space in a scene appear big, this can come in handy when you are shooting in a small crowded space.
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Fixed focal lenses
they have one point of focus and you cannot zoom in or out as in the case of zoom lenses. A filmmaker will have to physically change the lens to change from a close up to as long shot or vice versa. Their advantage; the image is sharper. Zoom lenses may create image aberrations with their movement but a fixed focal length gives clear recordings.
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Telephoto lenses 135 mm and above
When you want to compress your scenery this is the perfect lens to use. This can come in handy when you are shooting scenes like accidents; an actors will appear to be knocked down by a car when in real sense the actor and the moving car are so further apart.
Conclusion
When buying lenses to use in filming it is also important to consider their f numbers and the type of camera you will be using.