Lens Types
Lenses fall into a few families. Each page explains what the type is for and lists every matching lens.
Prime lenses have a single fixed focal length. With fewer elements than zooms, they are usually smaller, lighter and offer wider maximum ...
Zoom (658 lenses)Zoom lenses cover a range of focal lengths in one lens, so you can reframe without moving. They trade some size and maximum aperture for ...
Telephoto Zoom (497 lenses)Telephoto zooms reach long focal lengths such as 70-200 mm or 100-400 mm. They compress perspective and are used for sports, wildlife, po...
Macro (435 lenses)Macro lenses focus very close and can reproduce small subjects at or near life size. Many double as sharp short telephoto lenses for port...
Telephoto (342 lenses)Telephoto primes have fixed long focal lengths. They offer optical quality and wide maximum apertures that zooms rarely match, and are us...
Wide Zoom (220 lenses)Wide-angle zooms cover short focal lengths, typically from around 10 to 35 mm on full frame. They are used for landscapes, architecture, ...
Fisheye (161 lenses)Fisheye lenses cover an extreme field of view, up to 180 degrees, and deliberately keep strong barrel distortion. They are used for creat...
Superzoom (102 lenses)Superzoom lenses span a very wide range, from wide angle to telephoto, in a single lens. They are popular for travel as one lens replaces...
Mirror (91 lenses)Mirror (catadioptric) lenses fold the light path with mirrors, giving long focal lengths in a short, light body. They have a fixed apertu...
Tilt-Shift (36 lenses)Tilt-shift lenses let you shift or tilt the lens relative to the sensor. Shift corrects converging verticals in architecture and tilt cha...