Lessons
Class Introduction
05:06 2Lens Basics
10:55 3Focal Length
04:43 4Normal Lenses
10:14 5Wide Angle Lenses
09:24 6Telephoto Lenses
11:43 7Lens Comparisons
08:33 8Aperture
11:26Equivalent Aperture
04:07 10Depth of Field
05:25 11Maximum Sharpness
02:58 12Hyperfocal Distance
09:33 13Mount System & Lens Grade
04:03 14Lens Design
11:36 15Compatibility
17:29 16Lens Technology
05:21 17Focusing & Stabilization
06:39 18Image Quality
04:46 19Standard & Super Zoom
04:52 20Wide & Telephoto & Super Telephoto Zoom
07:48 21Prime Lenses
06:06 22Short, Medium & Super Telephoto Lenses
05:35 23The Macro Lens
07:14 24The Fisheye Lens
10:24 25The Tilt & Shift Lens
10:59 26Filters
06:34 27Lens Hoods
04:02 28Tripod Mount
02:42 29Extension Tubes
03:26 30Teleconverters
03:11 31Making a Lens Choice
04:15 32The Portrait Lens
08:44 33The Action Lens
11:23 34The Landscape Lens
06:51 35Lens Maintenance
09:40Lesson Info
Tripod Mount
The tripod mount is a feature that is available on some lenses, not all lenses, typically you're going to find it on the better quality tele-photo lenses. When you have your camera mounted on a tripod with a telephoto lens, all that weight on the front of it, can cause it to be very difficult to tighten your tripod down, to really lock it in your position. I know if I have a set up like this, I have to point my camera notably above where I actually want it, because by the time that everything actually locks in to place the whole camera has slipped down, and that's because the center of gravity is way out in front of the lens. A much better solution is to get the camera in a much more stable position, with a tripod mount. And so the other benefit to this, is that when you change from horizontal to vertical, your camera stays in exactly the same position. You don't have to tilt the camera way off to the side of it, and anyone who uses a macro lens or is very critical about their composit...
ion will know that this sort of thing makes life a lot easier. So for instance, I have a lens right here. This is a big 300 millimeter, 2.8 lens. And this has a tripod collar right a part of it. And so I can loosen up the tripod collar and tilt the lens. And so the nice thing is that when I point the lens someplace and then I decide, you know what, I would like a vertical, all I have to do is this and it actually has a little click stop and just locks right in there, and I'm not moving the camera. And that's a big difference from, let me lock this off here for a moment, if I needed to go vertical and I didn't have that, I would have to bring it over here and it's in a much less stable position, and this tripod collar is just fantastic. I love being able to just turn the lens like this. And so if you have that option for a telephoto lens or a macro lens, highly recommend using that option, it makes things really easy to work with. Now if you do want to be able to keep your camera and rotate it in a very simple manner but don't have a tripod collar, you can use an L-Bracket. And so these L-Brackets are usually custom made for different cameras, and they allow you to shoot horizontal. And then when you want to shoot vertical, you can just simply take it out, rotate the camera, slide it in vertically, and now your lens is very much in the same position and you don't have to go reposition your tripod for that. And so these L-Brackets are made by a number of different manufacturers and they're very very helpful for anyone who shoots form a tripod quite frequently and likes to shoot horizontals and verticals.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
E.L. Bl/Du
John is one of the best instructors Ive watched. he's clear, concise, and gets right to the point. His display's and diagrams are so great, he makes very complicated subjects easy to understand, and fun. He holds your attention and interest b/c everything he says is valuable. This really helped me understand the vast complicated world of lenses. I would highly recommend this class to anyone who doesnt know what hyperfocal distance is.
Boris Dimitrov
Excellent class packed with incredibly useful knowledge. John is an amazing lecturer. He has also developed really great materials to help explain all the concepts and technologies that are explored in the class. Looking forward to my next class with him!
Lettie Turner
Another great JG class, my 4th. He gives a lot of individual attention to several popular lens brands. I really think after seeing this video series you could pick out three lenses that would fit your needs and your pocketbook. The class handout is spot on for what is covered in the video. Great job!! Thank you
Student Work
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Fundamentals