All About Fast Lenses in Photography

Have you ever come across the term “fast lens” and wondered what that means? How can a lens be fast? While the shutter is the only thing that has some sort of speed, the term fast lens can be confusing to many when starting out. If you too are in a similar situation, photographer Paul Farris has the right video for you. Let’s see what a fast lens is and how it can improve your photography:

When somebody says that a lens is fast, it has nothing to do with the focusing speed, or how fast it can take a photo. It means that the aperture of the lens can open up pretty wide. For instance, an aperture of size f/2.8 is reasonably wide. This allows plenty of light to enter the camera’s sensor. And plenty of light means that you can use a fast shutter speed to take a photo. This is why we call lenses with wide apertures fast lenses.

So how can a fast lens improve your photography? Well, by allowing you to use faster shutter speeds, it reduces the camera shake and results in sharper images. Fast lenses are also great when you need to work in low light conditions. Also, the wide aperture of the lens means that you can get a creamy background, which helps separate the subject from the background. This makes your image look so much more soothing.

Do you have a fast lens lying around? If you do, surely consider using it and see how it can improve your photography.

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