Canon conducted a study to learn more about consumers with an interest in photography. They found that 80% of individuals they spoke to rated their own photography skills as ‘good’ to ‘excellent.
But how knowledgeable is the average consumer when it comes to the inner workings of their camera?
How many people could describe the differences between spherical lenses and anamorphic lenses, or between convex and concave for that matter?
If you aren’t sure what these terms mean, don’t worry, we outline the basics right here.
What Is a Lens?
A lens is a piece of glass or plastic with at least one curved surface. They are used for a wide variety of tools such as telescopes, magnifying glasses, projectors, flashlights, and of course, cameras.
They are useful in all of these tools because they have the ability to manipulate light and make things appear either further away or closer.
But How Do Lenses Work?
A lens functions because of the way it interacts with light. When light hits the surface of the lens, a process called refraction occurs.
That simply means that the light changes direction. Because light is a key factor in how images form, both in the lenses of our eyes and in tools such as a camera, changing the direction of light produces an image that can appear closer or further away depending on the type of lens in use.
Convex Lenses
A convex lens is larger in the center where the glass bulges and the outer edges are thinner.
Convex lenses are used in telescopes and binoculars because they cause parallel light waves to bend and converge at a point beyond the lens called the focal point. This process makes distant objects appear closer.
Concave Lenses
Concave lenses look and operate in the exact opposite manner. The lens itself is thinner in the center and bulges out at the sides.
This essential difference means that light passing through this lens spreads out to cover a large surface area. This type of lens is used in projectors and flashlights to disperse light and images over a larger field of vision.
How Do Adjustable Lenses Work?
In addition to convex and concave, cameras also operate with adjustable lenses. These include zoom lenses, macro lenses, fisheye lenses, and more.
With an adjustable lens, as the name suggests, you can perform a variety of different functions with them because you can adjust the focal length.
Two prominent types of lens used particularly for filmmaking are the spherical and the anamorphic lens.
Spherical Vs Anamorphic Lenses
But what are the key differences between the two?
Both are used to record films, but there are different advantages and disadvantages to both depending on who you speak to.
Spherical Lenses
A spherical lens uses a series of lenses that are circular in shape as the name suggests. This type of lens produces uncompressed images.
While this type of lens is useful when recording film, it also has a wide range of other uses. Spherical optics outlines a number of these uses on this page.
Anamorphic Lenses
Anamorphic lenses are similar to spherical lenses near the base of the unit, however, near the front of the lens, they have a cylindrical lens that produces an oval shape image.
This means that the image produced will appear compressed or squeezed and will need to be stretched to appear normal.
This does mean that where a spherical lens will produce a regular image in a square, anamorphic lenses can stretch to produce a wide aspect ratio meaning it can fill out a widescreen space.
Another difference between the two is an element called bokeh that they produce. This is the soft out-of-focus images that are not the focus of a shot. With spherical lenses, bokeh will appear more circular, while in anamorphic lenses, they will appear more oval-shaped.
All Lenses Work Differently
Whether you choose to work with spherical lenses or anamorphic lenses, both produce great images. The end result is really a matter of preference.
The best camera lenses are high quality, but the type does not inherently add or take away from this, so experiment and see which works best for you.
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