Multimedia

Understanding Cue Sheets

Understanding Cue Sheets
If the mere mention of cue-sheets, synchronization royalties,
and performance royalties cause you to curl up in the fetal
position and break into a cold sweat, you’re not alone. A basic
understanding of these music licensing terms should help you
breathe easy and let you focus on what’s really important,
producing great work.
Synchronization Royalty: A licensing fee paid to the owner of a
piece of music for the right to synchronize the music with your
audio and/or visual works. Many music libraries will charge this
fee each and every time you synchronize a song in your work. On
the contrary, Studio Cutz
Music Library offers a Lifetime Synchronization License,
also known as a royalty free license or a buyout license. This
means that we charge a one-time fee, and allow you to
synchronize the music as frequently as you like.
Performance Royalty: Royalties paid by a broadcaster on an
annual basis to a performing rights organization such as Ascap,
Bmi, or Sesac. It is important to note that 99% of all
broadcasters pay a fixed amount each year for performance
royalties. The same broadcasting fee applies whether the music
was a buyout, standard license, a popular hit song, or a
relatively unknown piece of production music. As a general rule,
unless you are the actual broadcaster (ie; television station,
cable network, etc.), performance royalties are not something
you should ever have to pay for.
So where do cue-sheets fit into the picture? A cue sheet is
merely a form filled out with the details of all the music used
in a particular program; the composer name, publisher name, how
many minutes and seconds of each track was used, etc. Cue-sheets
are required for each program that is broadcast. If your work is
not being broadcast, no cue-sheets are required.
The purpose of a cue-sheet is so that the composer and publisher
can properly collect their performance royalties from that fixed
amount the broadcaster has already paid to Ascap and Bmi. No
money is saved by not filling in a cue-sheet, and no extra money
is paid by anyone as a result of properly filling in a
cue-sheet. It is simply a means to make sure that the money
already paid by the broadcaster is properly dispersed to the
deserving writers and composers.
People often ask how a music library is able to create high
quality music and license it at such low prices. Much of the
answer lies in cue-sheets. If a cue-sheet is properly filled
out, our composers get their fair share of the broadcast royalty
pie and we can keep our licensing fees low. If cue sheets are
not properly turned in, the money goes into a “surplus” account,
which eventually gets distributed out to the most played artists
like Britney Spears and Garth Brooks.
So the next time you work on a production for broadcast, don’t
buy Garth a new belt buckle…. Take a moment to fill out a simple
cue-sheet. You’ll be helping a composer collect a buck or two
that are rightfully his, and you’ll help keep the cost of
production music affordable!

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Royalty Free Music Licensing

Royalty Free Music Music Licensing
The term royalty free music, also known as buyout music or
buy-out music, is frequently a source of confusion. Some believe
that it means there is no cost associated with the music. Others
believe that the music is “copyright free”, or that there is no
copyright associated with the music. Each music library license
will vary to a certain degree, however, as a general rule
royalty free music simply means that you have purchased a
“lifetime synchronization license” for a give song or group of
songs. In other words, you have the right to synchronize the
music with your audio and/or video productions an unlimited
number of times without incurring any additional expense.
Other types of production music licenses include “Needle Drop”
where the user pays a fee each time they synchronize a piece of
music, and “Blanket Licensing” where the user leases a group of
music or Cds, and can use the music for a specified set of uses
during the term of the lease (typically a one, two, or three
year commitment). Each of these licenses are a bit more like
renting the music than buying. While you don’t actually own the
music with a buyout library, you do own a lifetime license to
synchronize the music with your productions.
A buyout library like Studio Cutz Music
Library does away with much of the complication of
typical music licensing and allows the user to pay a one time
licensing fee, and then use it as much as they want. Not only is
this a more affordable option, but it is more convenient as well
because it eliminates much of the paperwork, calculating of
fees, and check writing associated with standard music
licensing.
The other big misconception about royalty free music pertains to
broadcasting of the music on television, cable, radio, etc.
Television broadcasters pay annual royalties to the Performing
Rights Societies for the right to broadcast music on their
shows. When music is broadcast on television or cable TV, it is
tracked by something called a Cue Sheet. This is precisely where
the term Royalty Free does NOT apply. Cue sheets determine where
the royalties previously paid by the broadcaster get dispersed.
There are no costs associated with cue sheets, however most
Royalty Free music libraries require that cue sheets be properly
filled out when the music is for broadcast use. A cue sheet is
merely a paper trail to ensure writers get paid what is due to
them out of the money that has been previously paid by the
television stations and broadcasting entities.
To summarize, a Royalty Free License means that you do not
continually pay a “synchronization royalty” each time you use a
given piece of music. You pay only one time. It does NOT mean
that a writer is forfeiting the performance royalty, or
broadcast royalty, due him when his music is aired. This royalty
has already been paid by the broadcaster and should be dispersed
appropriately through the filling out and submission of cue
sheets.

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Macromedia Flash Work Practices

I thought I might put together some of my work practices. These
are the steps I put in place to facilitate a good efficient work
flow in Flash. These are my tips. I have found they have worked
for me. It’s a matter of learning these practices so that you do
not think about it. Just like driving a car. Then you can
concentrate on being creative and working efficiently and
quickly within Flash without having to worry about whether you
are on the right layer or you have grabbed the wrong Graphic or
you have 2 objects to tween on the same layer and you are
scratching your head wondering why the tween won’t work.
Create A Graphic. The first thing you do is to create a graphic
in Flash. Say you are going to make a circle. Draw the circle,
then go to the select arrow tool and drag around the whole
circle including the outline. If you click on the circle to
select it, 9 times out of 10 you will select only the fill
inside and leave out the outline circle. And then wonder why
your tween won’t work. Doh!
So rule number 1 is :
USE THE ARROW SELECTION TOOL TO DRAG SELECT THE WHOLE OBJECT.
Then when you have got the drawn item selected by dragging
around it. Hit Key F8 (Convert to symbol) and Tick the Graphic
Radio Button and name it. I usually use the suffix _gr after a
graphic, just so I know that it is a graphic. If I am making a
button, I use _btn and a Movieclip I use _mc. e.g. Graphic =
redcircle_gr Button == stop_btn MovieClip = bigCar_mc
Now back to where I was before I went off on a tangent. I hit
key F8 to convert the drawing to a graphic. Drawings by
themselves are useless. You can’t do anything with them , you
can’t tween or control with programming (Actionscript in Flash).
So make sure you create either a Graphic or a Movieclip so that
it is usable.
Ok. So now we have created a greenball_gr and it is on its own
layer. Make sure that you have one object per layer. If we are
going to tween them later, the tweens won’t work unless there is
only one Graphic object per layer. If you have two or more it
just won’t work. !!111!!!
So , lets tween our little ball. We want to move it across the
screen. Click on frame 20 and hit key F6 (Insert -> Keyframe).
Now move the ball on frame 20. You should have a keyframe on
frame 1 and frame 20. We are going to tween or move the ball
between frame 1 and 20. Right click on a frame , say frame 10,
between the keyframes and select “Create Motion Tween”. You
should have an arrow going from frame 1 to frame 20 on your
timeline on layer 1. Now hit enter Key and it will move across
the Stage. Flash. That is what is meant by tweening. Now for the
next step which is very important. Double click on your layer
name and rename the layer, Call it Green ball or something that
lets you know what you are doing on that frame when you come
back later and have forgotten what everything is doing.
AND, now for the most important work practice in Flash after
using the arrow selection tool to select and name your Graphic
is … taaa daaah…
LOCK YOUR LAYERS
That’s right folks, Lock your layers. Click on the dot under the
lock symbol on your layer and lock it. Why do that ? I hear you
say. Well. In flash it gets a bit messy with heaps of layers, so
if you lock all the other layers than the one you are currently
working on, then you don’t go selecting all the wrong bits of
other Graphics. They are all locked so they can’t be selected
and you are safe working on that particular object on that
particular layer only.
Now for our next layer. Create another layer in Flash and name
it before we do anything else. Let’s call it red square. Make
sure that your green circle layer is locked before you do
anything else !!11!!
Draw a red square on our new layer. Drag select the whole object
using the SELECTION TOOL, and hit key (which key ?) F8. Tick the
Graphic radio box and name it redSquare_gr. Click on frame 20 ,
redsquare layer and hit the key to make a keyframe. Which key
was that again ? Remember these keys , they are very important.
F6.
Revision Time F8 – Convert to Symbol F6 – Insert A Keyframe
But I digress, again! Now where were we? Oh yeah. We had just
clicked on frame 20 and inserted a keyframe. Now move the red
square Graphic on frame 20 to where we want it to be. Is the
Green Circle in the way? Well hide it by clicking on the dot
under the eye symbol in the layers palette. Doing that in Flash
will make the layer invisible so that other object don’t get in
the way and you can see what you are doing properly on the layer
you are working on.
Right click on somewhere between frames 1 and 20 on the red
square layer and select “Create Motion Tween”. Hit Enter key to
see it run. They both should move independently. If they don’t,
start again and make sure you have all the steps correct. Follow
the instructions to the letter and practice the steps until you
don’t have to think about it. Flash Work Practices must be
ingrained so you don’t think about them.
That can be rule number the next.
HIDE THE LAYERS THAT YOU ARE NOT WORKING ON.
Summary
So to reiterate everything I have said so far. Make sure that
you use the drag select tool to select your objects and make
them into Graphics or a Movieclips. Use the Keystroke functions
such as F6, F8, F5 etc rather than using the mouse and selecting
menu items. The key shortcuts are heaps faster and more
professional. Lamers only use menu items for common commands.
Make sure that you only have one object per layer. Lock your
layers that you are not working on. Hide the layers you are not
working on so that you can see what you are doing on the layer
you are working on.
MovieClips
That is it for Graphic objects. When it comes to MovieClips in
flash it is pretty similar. Let me go through a process of
creating a movieclip in flash.
Step the first. Make a separate layer and name it car. Draw a
car on that layer. Make sure all your other layers are locked.
After you have drawn your car, drag select the whole lot and hit
key F8 . Tick RadioBox “MovieClip”. And name it car_mc. Click
ok. When you are taken back to the timeline, make sure that your
movieclip is selected and open your Properties window (I always
have my properties window open). In the Instance name textbox,
give the MovieClip an instance name. Type in “mycar_mc”. This is
very important that you give your MovieClips an instance name ,
otherwise you will not be able to control them with
Actionscript. They are useless unless they have an instance
name, they are in a vacuum, unusable, a waste of space.
So rule the number the very next..
GIVE YOUR MOVIECLIPS AN INSTANCE NAME STRAIGHT AWAY.

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Ringtone Creation Software- Creating Raves or Waves?

Okay, so we all know that you can change the ringtone on your
mobile phone by purchasing a ringtone online. In fact, there are
an endless number of web sites that will sell you a ringtone or
wallpaper (prices vary from $.99 to $2.99 and in most cases will
put the charge on your cell phone bill). One thing I have found
however is that although I can choose from hundreds of ringtone
web sites, most of them are selling the same array of ringtones.
So, in my quest to make my mobile phone, and hence, my ringtone
unique, I have found myself limited to the same assortment of
100 or so [decent] ringtones.
Alas – clever software companies have now developed software
that will allow you to make your own ringtones – from your own
collection of CDs or MP3s. One such software product is Ringtone
Media Studio, developed by Avanquest Software. Ringtone Media
Studio actually includes three different studios; the Audio
Studio for the creation of ringtones and the Image and Video
studios to create mobile wallpapers and videos. Taking the
unique-factor one step further, the Audio studio also includes a
mixer so you can custom-arrange your ringtone and create
something completely unique. With the advent of software such as
Ringtone Media Studio, custom mixing of ringtones has become so
popular that the term “Ringtone DJ” has been coined. So, has the
creation of custom ringtones become an art form? I say most
definitely-especially for those creative types; as ringtone
creation can be seen as an off-shoot of the art of record
spinning. Even for those not-so-creative types, creating
ringtones is easy and somewhat addicting (I spent over 3 hours
creating ringtones from the 5000+ piece Online Media Library
which is included with Ringtone Media Studio). So now that music
fans can create their own ringtones from their CDs and MP3
collections, what does this mean to the Music Industry – which
today views ringtones as salvation from their slump in sales?
Ringtones to the music industry mean gravy – certainly another
revenue stream from which they can joyfully tap. But if users
can buy ringtone creation software such as Ringtone Media Studio
for $19.99, why spend $1.99 or more (according to the Atlantic
Record’s website, ringtones are $1.99 and up) on just one? Users
of course need to buy the song – heck, they might even buy the
whole CD – before a ringtone can be made, so couldn’t it be
possible that ringtone creation software could actually increase
music sales? I would think that consumers would actually be more
compelled to purchase a CD if they had more than one use for it.
In fact, rather than just buying a CD and leaving it in their CD
player for weeks, consumers can now transfer it to their PC,
transfer it to their iPOD and now even make ringtones. Cool!
Perhaps the music industry should embrace the ringtone creation
software – rather than fight it – as being predicted by some.
Time will certainly tell. In the meantime, consumers are
certainly the winner today, with such a wide variety of ways to
personalize their phones and ringtones.
Ringtone Media Studio is a product from software developer
Avanquest Software. A trial version of the software can be found
at http://www.ringtonemediastudio.com.

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Toshiba Has HD-DVD-R Ready for Mass Production

The time has come for Toshiba and Nec, the main backers of HD-DVD
format to announce they’re ready for write-once HD-DVD-R disc
mass production.
Their discs can store 15 GB of data, and should be available for
the consumers in the first half of the next year, by the same
time that HD-DVD recorders and PC drives will be also on the
market.
As we all know, HD-DVD fights in a tight competition with Blu-ray
for the “format of the future” title, that also means a
multibillion dollar market as a price for the winner.
Similar blue laser technology stays at the core of both formats,
as the blue laser has a shorter wavelength than the red lasers
used in current DVD equipment, allowing discs to store data at
higher densities needed for high-definition TV and movies.
The advantage that HD-DVD-R disc has over its main competitor,
the Blu-ray disc is it has the same disc structure as the
classic DVD and thus can be manufactured by using the same
production lines. This, for the DVD manufacturers, means they
can start HD-DVD-R mass production at full speed, right away,
with not much additional cost. A replacement stamper is needed
of course and the old dye must be replaced with blue-light
sensitive, resin dye. The new dye was developed in a joint
project of Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, Mitsubishi
Kagaku Media/Verbatim and Toshiba Corporation.
But at the same time, Blu-ray competitor has its own advantages,
like superior storing capacity. Toshiba claims it works at this
aspect also, but moving from single-layer discs that are written
at 1x speed, to dual-layer 30GB discs could take several years,
its spokespersons said. Toshiba promised to introduce 20GB
HD-DVD-RW discs by this time next year.
So far, the Blu-ray Disc Association and the HD DVD Promotion
Group have refused to compromise to a unified hybrid format for
the future DVD.

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Two years after the invention of the telephone, in 1878, the first telephone was
installed in the White House by the then-new President of the United States, Rutherford
B. Hayes. The first “official” call was between Bell and the President. Although
the federal government strongly supported this new technology, international long
distance phone calls still left a lot to be desired. In the following years, long
distance telephone service would be improved in many incremental stages as new associated
inventions and more efficient applications of available technologies were developed.

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Don?t Let Your Precious Memories Fade Away

Some things last forever…videotape is NOT one of them. The
expected life of a VHS videotape is only 10-15 years.
In the current world of electronics, the safest way to preserve
your precious video memories is to transfer them to DVD. Many of
our customers have already begun to notice that VHS videotapes
recorded only a few years ago are showing wear.
WHY DVD?
Unlike videotape, DVDs will not deteriorate after every time
it’s played. Each time a videotape is played, its tiny magnetic
particles rub off causing it to degrade. Eventually, this may
cause your video to experience “drop outs” or other loss of
quality and, in time, the video may not be viewable at all.
Rather than magnetic particles, a DVD is made up of encoded bits
of information that are read by a laser. Because the laser never
actually touches the disc, there is no deterioration with each
viewing.
ARCHIVAL BENEFITS OF DVD
DVDs cannot be erased or accidentally recorded over. Besides of
its durability, DVD is also resistant to heat. The only way to
damage your DVD is to physically damage its surface.
The current life expectancy of a VHS videotape is 10-15 years
while a DVD’s life span is indefinite, often approximated at 100
years.
DVDs are also capable of storing or archiving still images, top
quality audio, and direct links to the Internet. The longevity
and variety of use, combined with its compact size, make DVD the
perfect choice for archival storage.
EASE OF USE WITH A DVD
There is no rewinding or fast forwarding with a DVD…as there
is with a videotape. You can instantly scan forward or backward
with a DVD and it’s much easier to locate a certain portion of a
DVD than on a videotape. DVDs can contain titles and chapter
marks to save considerable time when searching.
WHY DUPLICATION MEDIA?
Let Duplication Media preserve your training, marketing, and
family videotapes by converting them to DVD with our
professional DVD recorders. We can transfer from more than 15
different video formats – consumer, professional, and broadcast.
Videotapes won’t last forever so preserve them before the
memories fade away.

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How do I use a prepaid phone card? Using a prepaid phone card is as easy as dialing
home. These simple steps are standard when using a prepaid phone card:

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Ten Easy Steps for Adding Photos to a DVD

So you have your computer loaded with all of your favorite
photos and you don’t know how to get them on a dvd. Discover
from this article how easily you can accomplish this.
Putting your photos on a dvd requires two software programs. You
will need one for organizing your photos and one for burning
them on to a dvd. In this article we will be covering Windows
Movie Maker since it is a free program that comes with Windows
XP users. You can also get it free through Microsoft if, you
don’t already have it installed. Your computer must also have a
dvd burner and software for the burning process. Since many new
computers come with Nerovision Express 3.0 software, we will be
using this program in the following steps.
Let’s give it a try shall we…
Step 1. Bring your Windows Movie maker software program
up on your computer screen.
Step 2. Look for the task tab, under the capture
video category, click on import pictures.
Step 3. Drag and drop your photos in the storyboard
arranging them any way you like.
Step 4. Under the edit movie category you can add
video effects and transitions. Drag and drop them also in the
storyboard. Try all of the them to see which ones you like the
best.
Step 5. To add one of your favorite songs change the
storyboard view to the timeline view. Under the capture
video category, click on import audio or music. Drag
your music into the timeline, under your photo scenes, where it
says audio/music.
Step 6. When you are satisfied with your preview choose,
save to my computer located under the finish movie
category. Your video will be saved with a wmv extension.
Step 7. Bring up your Nerovision Express software
program and click on make DVD – DVD Video. Under the
content screen, click on add video files. Locate the
video you just created in Windows Movie Maker. (Remember it will
have a wmv extension.) You can add more than one video here.
When you see that your video and or videos have been added click
on the next button.
Step 8. In the select menu screen click on edit
menu. This is where you can choose from a wide range of
layouts, background pictures, etc. Play around with the
different options you have. When you get the menu just the way
you want it click on the next button. (Click on save as
template for saving your menu.)
Step 9. Now preview your video by clicking the play
button on the remote control. If you are satisfied with the
results click next.
Step 10. From the burn options screen, click on burn
to located in the parameters for burning box. Locate your
dvd drive. Click on the burn button when you are ready.
This process takes a while so you have to be patient. Try not to
do anything else on the computer while the burning process is in
effect.
Note: If you find that the software won’t let you burn, you may
need to purchase an additional plugin. If that is the case, you
should see a pop up window with instructions on how to get it.
Note:You will not be able to burn without it.
That is really all there is to it! Now wasn’t that easy?
Copyright © 2005 Lynn Quario – All Rights Reserved
Please feel free to reprint this article providing the links and
author stay intact.

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Choosing The Best Firewire Card

Choosing The Best Firewire Card
Confused by Firewire or IEEE 1394 technology? Don’t know which
Firewire card or device to buy? Let’s see if we can answer some
of your queries. Firewire can be a confusing concept for some
beginners in digital videography. It’s made worse by the fact
that many camcorder manuals do not document Firewire concepts
clearly.
The term Firewire refers to a technology for transmission of
data. It achieves extremely high transfer speeds (much faster
than USB). As a result, it is able to transfer video (with
almost zero loss in quality) from your camcorder to the
computer. A Firewire cable runs from your camcorder DV output
port to your computer’s DV input port.
Let’s see what factors need to be consider when purchasing a
good Firewire card.
OHCI and Manufacturer Drivers
Some Firewire cards
are OHCI (Open Host Controller Interface) compatible. This
simply means that you can plug and play the card in the Windows
or Mac environment. OHCI Firewire cards depend on the native
software drivers that are included in Windows or Mac operating
systems. They tend to be cheaper and are a good choice for the
average home user.
Other cards incorporate manufacturer drivers, which means that
the manufacturer (e.g. Pinnacle) wrote their own specific
software drivers for usage with the Firewire card. These cards
tend to be pricier but they allow sophisticated features like
real-time effects.
Real-Time Effects
If you’re into video editing,
you’ll know that rendering a video can take a long, long time.
Rendering is the process of compiling all the screen effects,
transitions, titles and video layers in an edited video so that
a finalized version can be produced. If you get a higher-end
Firewire card, then many transitions and effects can be
processed by the card itself, speeding up the rendering process.
Of course, the more real-time effects you need, the more
expensive the card.
Bundled Software
Many Firewire cards come bundled
with video editing software. These are great products as they
help you save you from purchasing a separate video editing
package. However, be wary of those Firewire cards that come with
a ‘lite’ or scaled-down version of the video editing package.
I’d recommend those that come with the full fledged version of
the video editing software – such as Pinnacle Studio 9 AV/DV.
Recommended Firewire Cards
Let’s now take a look
at some of the Firewire cards I personally recommend which are
available in the market today.
Buslink 3 Port PCI Firewire Card
This is a very
cheap but good Firewire card. It retails for less than $40
online. The data transfer is 400Mbps which means it is good
enough for real time video capture, as well as professional
sound and graphics editing.
Pinnacle Studio 9 AV/DV
Want some quality bundled
software? Pinnacle Systems packages Pinnacle Studio (an
excellent video editing program) with a Firewire card for about
$70.
ADS Dual Link PCI Firewire Card
ADS Technologies,
makers of the best-selling USB Instant DVD analog-to-digital
video conversion device, sells great Firewire cards as well. The
ADS DLX180 Dual Link PCI card is a OHCI-Compliant card and is
excellent value for money.
Conclusion
To choose a good Firewire card, you
should always consider the above factors: OHCI-compliance,
availability of real-time effects and bundled software. My feel
is that for home users, just get a simple card like the Buslink
3 Port PCI Firewire Card, or a software bundle like Pinnacle
Studio 9 AV/DV. In future, when you become more experienced, you
can always upgrade to higher end cards.

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Video Production Tips: Working with Kids

If your video production calls for working with kids, whatever
the age, it pays to make the child the most important person on
set. Treat children with respect, guidance and generosity to get
the performance you desire.
When working with young children, it’s necessary to provide them
with fun games, age appropriate snacks, meals and drinks as well
as a “treat” for a good performance. Try to work with a Director
who has experience with children as they will be more open to
kid lingo and personalities.
Older children often take acting very seriously and will want to
learn as much as possible. Be prepared to answer questions and
explain what will happen during the shoot. They will be more
likely to work with you if you give them a tour of the set and
introduce them to the “grown up” crew and make them feel special
to the production.
Regardless of age, make sure to abide by state laws concerning
time restrictions and on-set schooling. Each state has different
laws; for example California requires a work permit for children
working in theatrical employment, whereas Arizona does not.
Above all, relax and enjoy yourself. Remember that children will
only listen for limited periods of time, after which pushing
them just leads to frustration for everyone. The key is to be
ready to get the good shots quickly and anything after that is a
bonus. Kids can enhance your production value so make it a fun
experience for all!

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How to Buy Digital Camera Lenses

With new technology comes new opportunity. This statement is
particularly true in the case of digital cameras, and more
importantly, as the title of this article suggests, in the case
of digital camera lenses.
There are so many different lenses with varying specifications
available that it can be quite overwhelming to find exactly what
it is that you require from a lens, but that is where we step in
to help.
This article acts as a guide to explain the jargon and to allow
you make a better-informed purchase the next time you are
shopping for a new digital camera lens.
Choosing a Suitable Focal Length
Focal length is
probably the most important factor that should be considered
when choosing a lens, and for good reason: focal lengths
determine the field-of-view of the photos you will be able to
take successfully with your camera.
The two main types of focal length are telephoto and wide-angle,
and while telephoto lenses have a narrow field-of-view and are
best suited for close-up shots and portraits, wide-angle lenses
have a wider field-of-view which is perfect for indoor
photography and landscapes.
Keep in mind that the performance of lenses can differ from
camera to camera, with the magnification power behind a lens
generally being greater on a digital camera than on a 35mm
film-based camera.
The Need For Speed
When you hear about fast and
slow lenses, reference is being made to a lens’s maximum
aperture, which is the maximum amount of light that a lens can
let in. A simple rule of thumb is that a fast lens lets in a lot
of light, while a slow lens lets in less light, which defines
how your photos will look.
Maximum apertures are measured in f/stop numbers, which are
actually a ratio of the size of the lens aperture and focal
length. The smaller the f/number, the more light is let in. An
increment in the f/stop number doubles the amount of light let
in, so f/2.0 lets in twice as much light as f/1.4.
This may seem quite confusing at first, so the easiest way to
make sense of it is to remember the following: fast lenses are
best suited towards successful photography in darker lighting
conditions, and slow lenses are targeted towards photography in
lighter conditions.
The Ins and Outs of a Zoom Lens
Unlike a
fixed-focal-length lens, a zoom lens often gives you the
diversity of a range of focal lengths all rolled into a single
adjustable lens. This can be great if you often have to switch
between various lenses for different shots, but it is important
to remember that not all zoom lenses have a constant maximum
aperture, and those that do are often larger and more expensive.
Although the maximum aperture may be reduced as you zoom in
using a lens with a variable maximum aperture, this may not be
as important to some photographers as the reduced cost and size
of such lenses. Keep this in mind when purchasing a zoom lens.
Add-on Lenses
Add-on or accessory lenses are
targeted towards compact digital cameras, and allow owners of
such models to significantly lengthen or reduce the camera’s
built-in focal length while at the same time being able to
automate camera functions including f/stop settings and focusing.
These lenses can be an excellent low-cost add-on to your digital
camera, with telephoto add-on lenses being able to increase
focal lengths by up to 300%, and wide-angle versions allowing
for reduction in focal lengths of up to 30%.
Final Considerations
There are several other
terms to take into consideration when buying a digital camera
lens to make sure you are making the best purchase. If your lens
utilizes aspheric lens elements, then you can rest happily with
the knowledge that your lens will help produce sharper
photographs and help keep lens weight to a minimum.
Lenses using internal and automatic focusing also keep lens
weight down thanks to less moving parts, and of course allow for
faster focusing. Low-dispersion glass leaves photos looking less
hazy or fuzzy, while stabilization systems help to keep images
sharp when taken using slow shutter speeds.
Conclusion
Hopefully this article has helped you
to better understand what to look for in a digital camera lens.
There are a lot of terms to remember here – so before shopping
for your new lens it may be a good idea to take the time to make
a list of what you want to do with your camera. Then you can
double check your requirements against the features of different
lenses. If you are still unsure if a lens will cater for your
needs then by all means try to test it so that you can see some
results before you buy!

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