In Ten Words or Less.

Wide Angle Lens

• A lens with a short focal length used to capture a large area of space 

Zoom Lens

• A lens that can increase and decrease focal length

Long Focus lens

• Used to take photographs at long distances

Telephoto Lens

• Magnifies the subject so they seem closer than they are. 

Retro Focus Lens

• A Wide Angle lens that uses the inverted telephoto design.

Quasi Fish Eye Lens

• A lens that creates an image that spans the whole frame

Fish Eye Lens 

• A lens that distorts the image by magnifing the middle and reducing the edges.

Catadioptric (Mirror) Lens 

• A lens the utilises the light with mirrors rather than a lens.

Macro Lens

• A lens that allows the photographer to be insanely close to the subject with a crisp focus. 

Teleconverter Lens

• A lens that can be attached to another lens to increase the magnification but cannot be used by itself. 

Supplementary / Close up Lens

• A lens that is fitted between body and lens to add focal length and increase magnification, similar to a macro. 

Tilt Shift Lens

• A lens in a mount that can be used to change the perspective of an image, manipulating the restrictions of depth of field. 

If this Were a Perfect World ..

The Ideal Shutter 

• Vibration Free
• Silent
• Equal Exposure
• Minimal time to open and close
• Effective exposure must be repeatable

Focal Plane Shutter

• Flash should operate in sync with shutter
• Traveling 'Slit' or 'Grate'
• Progressive scanning

Between the Lens Shutter

• Operates between lens elements
• Must be cocked during lens attachment and removal 
• Max speed = 500th Sec
• Syncs with all flashes
• Most medium format cameras

Definition of Depth of Field 

• The region of accepting sharp focus around a subject position, extending toward the camera and away from it, from the plane of the sharpest focus.  

Near and far Limits = D1 and D2

A Brief Summary.

Camera Basics

• Light tight Body
• Lens to focus the image
• Means to capture the image
• Aperture through where the light passes
• Shutter to begin and end exposure 

Aperture

• Hole or Opening
• Controls the exposure
• Light = Small numbers = Large opening
• Water House Stops

Shutters

• Begining & end to exposure
• Low light requires a long exposure
• Focal plane shutter or BTL/Leaf

Focal Plane

• Opening in front of the film

EXPOSURE = Time x Intensity

• Eg. Shutter x Aperture