The ultimate guide to lenses for filmmakers and photographers

For those new to photography or video, lenses can seem like a scary subject. There’s so many different types, and numbers and letters that all denote different things. There’s countless different mounts and adapters. So many different features and options. Is the lens even the right one for your size of sensor? It can be hard to know where to begin.

In this video from YouTube filmmaker D4Darious, we’re talking through all of the important information you need to know about lenses. Covering everything from the basics of aperture and focal length to more advanced capabilities such as built in stabilisation and macro. Even if you’ve never held a camera or lens before, this’ll be easy for you to follow.

Even for more experienced users, there’s some great tips and reminders in there to help your workflow. The tips should help your back, too. As I was watching through the video, I got to thinking about the lenses that go out with me regularly. Some of them I use all the other, but several of them are “just in case” lenses that I rarely end up actually needing. For most shoots, they’re dead weight.

So, if you want to learn a little more about lenses than you currently do, have a watch. There isn’t anything that immediately springs to mind which was not mentioned in the video. It’s a good 20 minutes of non-stop info, so you’ll probably want to grab a drink and sit back for this one.

Did Darious miss anything? Did he get anything wrong? What was the most useful info you heard in the video? What other lens info and tips can you suggest? Let us know in the comments.