Digital Camera Lens

Digital camera lenses can range dramatically in price and capacity. The cheapest, plastic models cost only around $10 to $20. The more dramatic multifunctional lenses can run upwards of $10,000. Most professionals and some semi-pro photographers maintain an extensive collection of lenses. Because of the precise nature of digital image processing, these lenses can house quite sophisticated engineering mechanisms.

Some cameras, such as the Canon Digital Rebel XT and the Canon PowerShot 10-D are now outfitted with what is called an image stabilizer. This is a built-in gyroscopic mechanism which functions to prevent natural shakes and fluctuations from distorting or blurring the final image that the camera stores. Other lenses are equipped with noise reduction (USM) technology to prevent them from making any sound as they retract or focus.

There are also lenses, called Macros, which serve as extremely wide-angle lenses. Nature photographers often employ Macro lenses to glimpse the intricate venations of leaves or to examine the gossamer fabric of insect wings before the bugs take flight. Adjusting a Macro lens requires a delicate touch. You don't want to overshadow your subject or zoom too close because you might potentially frighten your already skittish subject away.

You can choose a series of prime lenses or a master zoom lens. Prime lenses are fixed in length, and they tend to provide greater stability than do all but the top-of-the-line zoom lenses. However, zoom lenses can be adjusted. Thus, it may make more financial sense to spend money on a really good zoom lens than to purchase a smattering of fair, but not necessarily overly impressive prime lenses.