Page 2 - Lenses

The X-T5 has a 40-megapixel APS-C sensor and in-body stabilisation, with Fujifilm's dial handling and film simulations. Its resolution rewards sharp lenses, and its stabilisation pairs well with Tamron's long zooms.

On the Fujifilm X-T5, every lens gives a field of view about 1.5x narrower than its focal length suggests. Below, each lens shows its full-frame equivalent on this camera. Tamron's APS-C lenses (Di III-A and the 16-50mm) are designed for this sensor size; its full-frame lenses fit too and become longer, which helps for portraits and wildlife.

The camera has in-body stabilisation, so every lens is stabilised; lenses marked VC add optical stabilisation on top, which helps most at long focal lengths.

Where to start

For most Fujifilm X-T5 owners the best first Tamron lens is the Tamron 17-70mm F2.8 Di III-A VC RXD (B070): it gives F2.8 across a 26-105mm equivalent range and resolves well on the 40-megapixel sensor.

Everyday and standard zooms

The X-S20 is Fujifilm's compact all-rounder, with in-body stabilisation, a deep grip and strong video features. It suits travel, family and content creation, where one versatile zoom covers most needs.

On the Fujifilm X-S20, every lens gives a field of view about 1.5x narrower than its focal length suggests. Below, each lens shows its full-frame equivalent on this camera. Tamron's APS-C lenses (Di III-A and the 16-50mm) are designed for this sensor size; its full-frame lenses fit too and become longer, which helps for portraits and wildlife.

The camera has in-body stabilisation, so every lens is stabilised; lenses marked VC add optical stabilisation on top, which helps most at long focal lengths.

Where to start

For most Fujifilm X-S20 owners the best first Tamron lens is the Tamron 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD (B061): its 27-450mm equivalent range covers travel, family and wildlife without changing lenses.

Everyday and standard zooms

A half macro lens focuses close enough to fill the frame with a protea bract, a beetle's back or the stitching on a leather bag, without asking for the working distance and focusing precision that a full 1:1 macro lens demands. Its maximum magnification is 1:2, meaning the subject is recorded at half life size on the sensor. That halfway point turns out to be a useful place to stand: close enough for real detail, far enough back to keep some of the setting in frame, and forgiving enough that you come away with the shot rather than a sequence of near misses. This article covers what half macro is, how it differs from full macro, what it suits, and what to check when choosing one.

What is a macro lens, and where does half macro fit?

A macro lens is built to focus far closer than an ordinary lens, so small subjects are rendered large on the sensor. Two figures describe that ability, and both appear on every spec sheet.

Maximum magnification is the ratio between a subject's real size and the

When Canon's mirrorless system launched, the difficulty was finding the lens you wanted. That problem has reversed. The RF catalogue is now broad enough that the real challenge is narrowing it down — working out which specifications actually matter for the pictures you intend to make, and which are simply numbers on a box. This guide covers both halves of that decision: what the mount is and how it relates to Canon's older standards, then the ten things worth checking before you commit to a lens.

Canon mount types explained

The mount is the mechanical and electronic joint where a lens meets a camera body. Each manufacturer sets its own standard, and those standards are not interchangeable — the diameter, the locking mechanism, the distance to the sensor and the electrical contacts all have to correspond. Canon currently has three in circulation, and knowing how they relate saves a good deal of confusion when you start shopping.

What is RF mount?

RF mount is Canon's standard for its mirrorless

A telephoto lens brings distant subjects close and holds onto fine detail while doing it. That makes it the obvious tool for sport, birds, wildlife and aviation, and it is easy to assume from that list that a telephoto lens is specialist equipment for people who do this for a living.

It is not. A telephoto lens is just as much at home at a school athletics meeting, at a family portrait session in a back garden, or pointed at a ridgeline from a viewpoint an hour outside town. This guide covers what defines a telephoto lens, the three focal-length bands it divides into, the subjects it suits best, how to shoot with one cleanly, and what to weigh up when you are choosing one.

A telephoto lens is a lens with a focal length of roughly 80mm or longer on a full-frame camera. Its narrow angle of view makes distant subjects look larger, compresses the distance between foreground and background, and blurs the background easily. On an APS-C camera, lenses from about 55mm upward give the same telephoto

You own a kit zoom, and probably a fast prime or two. You have been circling an F2.8 zoom for months — reading reviews, watching the price, putting it off. Something keeps stopping you, and it is usually one of two things: what it costs, or what it weighs.

Holy trinity lenses are the three constant-F2.8 zooms that between them cover almost everything: a wide-angle, a standard and a telephoto. They are the professional default for good reasons, and they are also genuinely easy to talk yourself out of.

This article argues both sides. The first half covers why some photographers decide they do not need them, and several of those reasons are sound. The second half covers what you gain if you do buy in, which situations justify it, and what to check before you spend. Focal lengths are given for full-frame, with APS-C equivalents noted where they matter.

What are holy trinity lenses?

The holy trinity is three zoom lenses that each hold a maximum aperture of F2.8 across their entire zoom range:

If your kit is built around prime lenses, or you have gone all-in on a wide-angle for landscapes and a telephoto for wildlife, it is fair to ask whether a standard zoom lens still deserves space in your bag. Plenty of photographers get by without one. But the standard zoom lens has remained the most-used lens in photography for a reason, and that reason tends to announce itself the first time you are halfway up Lion's Head, or standing on a gravel road in the Karoo, with the wrong glass on the camera. This article looks at what a standard zoom lens does well, the shooting situations where it makes the most sense, and what to check before you buy one.

Standard Zoom Lens Basics: What the Range Actually Covers

Roughly 50mm is what the industry calls the standard focal length. A standard zoom lens is simply a zoom built around that point, and most cover the wide-angle end through to short telephoto, letting you move between framings without swapping glass.

The name comes down to how the range

You bought an interchangeable lens camera to take better photos of your children, and somehow the pictures on your phone still look better. It is a common complaint, and it usually comes down to a handful of settings rather than the gear itself. Photographing children well means getting exposure and depth of field to work in your favour, positioning yourself where the light and the eye contact are, and choosing a lens that suits the moment. This guide walks through the settings that matter, the shooting approaches that work in South African conditions, and how to pick a lens for the way your family actually spends its time.

Key points for photographing children with a mirrorless camera

There is no single setting that makes children's photos work. It is a combination of exposure, position, focus and light, and each one is worth understanding on its own. These six make the biggest difference.

1. Getting exposure right

Getting exposure right

Everything starts with exposure. Get it wrong and

Magic hour photography in South Africa rewards anyone willing to plan. Twilight at our latitudes is short. The light that turns the Karoo amber, or drops a deep blue behind the Sandton skyline, arrives quickly and leaves just as fast. Get the timing right and an ordinary street corner in Braamfontein or a stretch of shoreline near Umhlanga becomes something worth printing.

This guide covers what happens to the light during the golden and blue hours, which camera settings suit each, how to compose while the light is falling, and what to look for in a lens when the window is measured in minutes.

What is magic hour photography?

Magic hour photography covers two connected windows: the golden hour and the blue hour. Each produces its own gradient across the sky, and each asks something different of your camera. The golden hour gives you warmth, long shadows and a soft glow around your subject. The blue hour trades that for cool, even light and a sky deep enough to make artificial lighting count.

A macro lens lets you photograph something small at something close to life size. Petal structure, the compound eye of a dragonfly, the crystalline edge of a salt flake: detail that the eye skims past becomes the whole frame. This guide explains what a macro lens is, how it differs from the other lenses in your bag, what to look for when choosing one, and which subjects it suits best.

What is a macro lens?

A macro lens is built for close-up work. It focuses far nearer to the front element than an ordinary lens will, and it holds resolution at that distance instead of going soft the way a general-purpose zoom tends to. Most are prime lenses, which is part of why they render so cleanly and produce such smooth background blur.

There is no formal standard behind the word, but in practice a macro lens means two things together: a short minimum object distance, and a maximum magnification somewhere between 1:2 and 1:1. That combination is what allows a subject only a few centimetres across to