explain what digital camera lens 18-55mm means?

Question

OK a dumb question. I understand analog lenses but don't understand this digital range thing

Answer 1

It is the focal length of the zoom function. What that means is that the camera lens is adjustable from a "normal" angle to a wide angle. On a 35mm film camera the 50mm setting is approximately the same area of view that your eye sees. On some digital cameras the 30mm setting is closer. The smaller the number the wider the area the camera lens "sees." If you play around with it you should be able to figure it out pretty quickly.

Answer 2

Typically, the "digital lens" is nothing more than a zoom feature, where the camera takes the analog picture, then digitally zooms in on it, just like you would do in a photoshop program. From there, you can take your picture.

As a warning, most cameras with this feature will take grainier pictures as you digitally zoom in closer to your subject. The idea is, for example, that if you have a 5 megapixel camera, then it will take a 5 mexapixel shot as far out as the analog lens projects. When the digital zoom takes over after that, you being to lose your finer details, and your picture is no longer a true 5 megapixels. The further you zoom in, the smaller the portion of that 5 mexapixel shot you are exposing.

The 18-55m is a determination of what a comparable analog lens would do. Better to spend the money on an analog lens that compares to that. You won't regret the better quality pictures.

Kind of wordy, but I hope you can follow.

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
explain what digital camera lens 18-55mm means?
OK a dumb question. I understand analog lenses but don't understand this digital range thing

Answer 4

On a digital camera such as the Nikon DSLR model, the 18-55mm gives you the same effective view as a 27-93mm lens on a film camera.

The smaller digital sensor on many DSLR cameras only use the center portion of the lense. Lenses designed for Digital will not work with film cameras as they will vignette (cut off) the outer edges of the picture.

The effective focal length on a Nikon DSLR can be found by multiplying by 1.5 (approx).

Answer 5

You have excellent answers above, but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, so check this out.

Here is a mini-tutorial I made myself to compare focal lengths. This is NOT a lens test or a camera test! It is merely intended to show the difference between various focal lengths. The lens was the Nikon 18-200 VR lens, which is (by definition) an 11X lens, but that 11X does not tell you what the final image will look like. The camera was a Nikon D200 so there is a 1.5X "crop factor," "lens factor," or "focal length multiplier." There is further explanation on the image itself. It would help if you click on "All Sizes" above the image. The ACTUAL focal length of an 18 mm lens is always 18 mm. On your digital camera, it is called an "effective" 27 or 29 mm depending on your camera. (Assuming an entry level DSLR...) Just look at the 18 through 50 mm frames to get an idea what the 18-55 lens would do. If you had a regular 35 mm camera, you would get the identical results with a 27-75 mm zoom lens. That's what they mean by "equivalent" focal length.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04/476181737/

Answer 6

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Answer 7

thankyou everyone for answering!