After two years of testing, renting, buying and selling just about every level of Nikon and Canon lenses and cameras, I have learned quite a bit about what works and what doesn’t. Pretty much you can’t go wrong with Canon or Nikon, and just about everything they make is top notch.
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We’ve shared some funny pictures in the past that illustrate how distance, not focal length, changes perspective — but nothing beats a video walk through. So, in this short video, photographer Mike Browne explains why you should treat your zoom lens as a series of prime lenses, and not the equivalent of getting physically closer to your subject. Read more…

We’ve written a couple of times in the past on how you can achieve drastically different portrait looks by choosing different lens focal lengths and subject distances. Basically, your choice of glass can make a huge impact on what your subject’s face looks like… and how much they appear to weigh.

Reddit user Popocuffs wanted to demonstrate this, but instead of using a human subject, he used his cat.
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We’ve shared this same topic here a couple of times before, but Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens created this video lesson showing some examples of how profound of an impact your focal length choice can make.
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Ever wonder what the f-number of your eyes are? It can easily be calculated using the human eye’s focal length (~22mm) and physical aperture size. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

Computing the f-number of the human eye involves computing the physical aperture and focal length of the eye. The pupil can be as large as 6–7 mm wide open, which translates into the maximum physical aperture.

The f-number of the human eye varies from about f/8.3 in a very brightly lit place to about f/2.1 in the dark. The presented maximum f-number has been questioned, as it seems to only match the focal length that assumes outgoing light rays. According to the incoming rays of light (what we actually see), the focal length of the eye is a bit longer, resulting in minimum f-number of f/3.2.

The article also notes that the eye cannot be considered an ordinary air-filled camera since it’s filled with light refracting liquid.

F-number: Human Eye (via Reddit)

Image credit: eye 172/365 by attila acs

You’ve probably heard before that focal lengths between 85mm and 135mm produce the best head shots because they provide a desirable perspective in head shots, but how much of a different does the focal length actually make? Photographer Stephen Eastwood decided to find out, shooting 10 portraits of the same subject with focal lengths ranging from 19mm to 350mm.

Lens Distortion (via Orms Connect)

Image credits: Photographs by Stephen Eastwood

Here’s a neat image showing the different field of views offered by focal lengths ranging from 16mm to 200mm. It’s not simply lines overlaid on a single photo — the different focal lengths were actually used to capture what the scenes looks like through the lenses.

Vimeo recently partnered up with photographer Vincent LaForet for a new educational series called Behind the Glass. If you’re just getting into photography, the videos are great primers on the subject of camera lenses.

Behind the Glass: An Introduction to Lenses (via Photoxels)

Image credit: Screenshot by Vimeo