Lens Speed explained - What is a fast lens?

[@AmitabhSuman]

That was a great educational video. Answers everything I needed to know + I did not know what I wanted to know. Thanks a ton!

[@ImageMaven]

That is a huge compliment. Thank you so much.

[@jimorlando9397]

Thanks for making photo terms a whole lot easier to understand and work with

[@ImageMaven]

You’re welcome Jim. Thanks for stopping by.

[@Jacob_Roberts]

Marlene, you have a gift for taking a topic and explaining it so simply and clearly that a child can easily understand it.

[@ImageMaven]

Thank you Jacob. You made my day. :)

[@talhartuv674]

thank you Marlene. This is a great tutorial. You are a natural teacher. and thanks for not adding annoying music

[@ImageMaven]

Glad it was helpful! Haha. I know what you mean about music. I do sometimes use music, but I try to choose less annoying pieces, and keep the volume lower. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. Cheers!

[@Stone1108]

Dear Marlene. I discovered your channel only yesterday and I wanted you to know how pleased I am that I did. Having only recently purchased my Lumix G9 and begun a more technical photographic journey myself you have taught me so much in such a short space of time and wanted to say thank you. I of course subscribe to your channel now and will be recommending others to do the same. You’re a very good teacher and friendly straight talker, cool.

[@ImageMaven]

Thank you Andrew. When I get comments like yours, it makes my day. I hope you enjoy your G9 as much as I do. I'll be creating some new videos soon. I've just taken a hiatus over the summer but the snow will start to fly now and I'll have more time to create content. Cheers!

[@mountainmango]

Thank you for a super clear, concise explanation of this tricky subject. Now excuse me while I watch the video again.

[@ImageMaven]

I'm so happy that my teaching style resonates with you. Thanks for watching - more than once!

[@a.beckwith4576]

This mist is clearing , thanks for explaining. As always. Thanks

[@ImageMaven]

Thanks for stopping by and letting me know. Cheers!

[@brianwells8678]

Never ceases to amaze me how much I can learn from you without cracking my head, thanks for keeping it simple for old guys... Last thing, Marlene. My G7 shutter just "stopped" so now, its prolly not worth repairing, still love Lumix, so going forward [quickly] either the G9 or GH5, the difference would be the cost of repair for the G7. For you tube video's doing real estate photo's and video's for most likely computer viewing, in your opinion is the Gh5 overkill or safe for doing high quality shooting, or will the G9 give me what I need, comfortably... Thanks for all your tutorials and advice...

[@ImageMaven]

In your case I'd go with the G9 as it's less complicated to use for video. (Too many video settings on the GH5) And of course the G9 is a great stills camera with lots of features. It will do you well for many years in real estate and other subjects too. Great to see you here again Brian.

[@TheHolyFlipsterTHF]

This explanation was beautifully done!

[@ImageMaven]

Thank you so much. 😀

[@proctoscopefilms]

Thanks so much ! Nice to find someone that likes the Lumix series too, great cameras.

[@ImageMaven]

I love them! Especially the micro four thirds. Small, light, cheaper than dSLR or FF, and fun to use. Thank you for watching.

[@Sai_on_youtube]

Thank You so much for this professor. You make confusing stuff easy to comprehend. Thank you again. And I hv subbed ryt away. Cheers!

[@ImageMaven]

Hello Sai, Thanks for watching. I'm glad my teaching style works for you. Stay safe. Be well.

[@Sai_on_youtube]

@@ImageMaven Oh! I can't thank you enough, professor. Stay safe. Be happy.

[@joesocial]

Best synopsis of this topic that I've ever heard. Bravo! I'm about to give my adult daughter a Lumix camera I have and I'm going to recommend she follow you. I know I'm going to. Thanks! P.S. Okay I'm definitely going to break out one of my skateboards that have been dormant for a few decades...thanks for the nudge you didn't know you gave me :)

[@ImageMaven]

Well Joe, you sure know how to brighten my day! Thanks so much. And if I can skate at 59, you can too. I took about a 35 year break between skating as a kid and skating as an adult. Restarted with a longboard at age 50 and at 52 got a popsicle shape and headed to the skateparks. I hope to skate until 60, but this old girl is starting to feel the effects of age. LOL. So don't wait too long. The good thing is that all of your old skills will still be buried deep in your muscle memory. They just might need waking up. Cheers!

[@thegreatvanziniphotos5976]

Very good explanation.

[@jeansebastiencormier6008]

Great video! Nice and complete. Thanks for the info!

[@ImageMaven]

Thank you so much for watching. :)

[@AmyiReport]

Thanks for the lesson! I really appreciated.

[@ImageMaven]

Thank you for watching Amy. 😀

[@hVF8KZuQPeCc8u]

Nice explanation of these basic fundamentals! It is hard at first to understand an f 1.2 has a bigger lens opening size then say an f 8. Seems counter-intuitive. I liked how you also made clear going for more bokeh/blurry background means the focus needs to be extra precise. Lots of KZbinrs are into the "creamy bokeh" which I think may be overrated. As for me, I am saving up for a good fast lens. I have the Pansononic Leica 12-60 2.8-4 but lack something that opens up even more for low light.

[@ImageMaven]

That was my dilemma as well, Steven, and why I got the 15mm f/1.7 a couple months ago. But I really have to watch my focus especially if my subject is close, as you can see from that selfie clip with my skate buddy. Thanks for stopping by and adding to the conversation. 😀

[@danielamarinbrito7116]

What a helpful explanation. It was very clear! Thanks!!

[@ImageMaven]

Great to hear this Daniela. Thank you for watching!

[@ish3the90dpluto8]

I wanted to know one specific thing... But ended up learning several multiple things.... Subscribe button smashed!

[@ImageMaven]

Great to hear this. Thanks for the sub!

[@Moshie71]

Finally a clear answer- thank you...

[@ImageMaven]

Thank you so much for watching Moshie! Cheers.

[@dukemenangoravelsyata1429]

Merci beaucoup. This so helpful. Cheers from New Caledonia

[@ImageMaven]

You're very welcome Duke. Fun fact - 10 years ago I travelled to Australia and we made an emergency landing in Numea because of a medical emergency with one of the passengers. Happy New Year from Canada!

[@dukemenangoravelsyata1429]

@@ImageMaven thank you. Maybe next time you'll come on holiday. Happy new year 🥳

[@maynoaria6361]

Thank you so much for making this video. Very helpful :)

[@ImageMaven]

Great to hear this. Thanks for letting me know.

[@cataclysmic911]

Thank you for the great explanation. Im glad to have found you.

[@ImageMaven]

Thanks for watching and letting me know. Cheers!

[@jinchoung]

great vid! an obvious question i had is this - why not just make the aperture in the back larger? so if the aperture of a given lens is an f4... why not just manufacture it so it opens wider? i assume it would cause some aberration or some sort and that's why they don't but is that it? thanks!

[@ImageMaven]

I sure there is an optical reason why. I guess you need to pose it to the camera and lens manufacturers.

[@Milosh312]

Thank you, this was so helpful!

[@ImageMaven]

Great to hear it.

[@richard217]

excellent very informative...

[@ImageMaven]

Thank you Richard. :)

[@brianwells8678]

Hey Marlene, just ordered my G9, thanks for your help in my decision, I know its the right one for what I do, I also appreciate these G9 tutorials, it just boosts my confidence in this truly amazing camera, I think it will be a great camera to help me move on to the GH5s next, after I've learned more on Video with the G9... if you have a chance and its within your scope, I would love to know your choices of good cinematic lenses and also Photo lenses... Thanks again!

[@ImageMaven]

Hi Brian, Great to hear you got the G9. You may not need an upgrade for a few years and by then there will probably be an upgrade to the GH5s. Explain what you mean by "cinematic" lenses. The only lenses I've used are 12-35mm f/2.8 35-100mm f/2.8 and the 15mm f/1.7. And for my small Lumix I have the kit lens, 12-32mm.I love them all and I use all of them for my videos. So to me those are cinematic.

[@mhhvox]

Thanx -- Reallyyy useful -- GOD bless

[@rascalhusky8129]

You are a good teacher . Are you a school teacher ? Also are you Canadian? I'm also a Panasonic fan , we have a GF5 and a GX7 , great cameras . You are a great photographic teacher that's for sure .

[@ImageMaven]

I taught photography at an art college and a technical school for 10 years. Yes, I'm Canadian. Thanks for writing. 😀More about me in this into video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJWQgGp6YsiYndU

[@HestersMusicVideos]

Hi Marlene, firstly I'd like to thank you for all your tutorials, they are very good. I have a question which you may want to answer or clarify: recently I started doing photography at my workplace and they gave me a G9. I love the camera for it's easy menu system, the lightweight (also the MFT lenses). The lens I use most is the 12-35 mm/2.8 zoom lens. I also bought a portrait lens for it and with the Sigma 56 mm / 1.4 it makes beautiful portraits as well. In daylight/outdoors the camera functions well. However, since I also do a lot of event photography indoors/in the evening. I noticed that I have to bump the iso very high (I put the limit on 6400) as a flash light is not much use in the large venues. I now wonder if a full frame camera would have been better for me? From what I understand: a full frame lets in much more light because of the bigger sensor. And with full frame, you can also get lenses with much smaller f-stop. For me, my Sigma 56 mm/f1.4 lens is my fastest lens. I don't think there are faster lenses than 1.4 for mft. Translated to full frame, the Sigma would be 112 mm with f.2.8. However, if I use that Sigma lens with the aperture completely opened up (so at 1.4) during an indoor event in the evening, I can make photographs with a lower iso (less grain), but at the same time, I can only focus on a small bit (one person, object) because of the shallow depth of feel. What if I want to have much more in focus - like an overview shot of an event - without an iso that goes 'through the roof'. I guess due to IBIS I could lower the shutterspeed - although if if would be less than 1/125 motion blur of people would occur....In this case, would a full frame camera perform better or would it struggle just as much?

[@ImageMaven]

A full frame camera will allow the same amount of light into the sensor as a mirrorless, as camera meters work the same. You will get different low light performance depending on many factors, not just sensor size. I recently got the 15mm f/1.7 lens for my Lumix cameras because I had to get a faster shutter speed on my action shots, indoors. I easily push the G9 to 3200 ISO at 1/500 second in a warehouse with bad lighting. The Lumix 15mm is a great event photo lens. Wide enough to take small group shots without distortion and fast enough to keep your ISO a bit lower. Keep in mind that 3 things control depth of field -- f/stop, focal length and distance to subject. So if you are far away from your subject, things will be in focus. Also you could easily use 1/60s for event photos if people are standing still. That Sigma, although fast, is too long for events. And as a result it would give you shallower depth of field on your close ups, so focus may be an issue you have to contend with as well.

[@HestersMusicVideos]

Marlene Hielema Thanks for replying. I’m learning a lot :-) Your sentence “if you’re far away from your subject, things will be in focus” is a bit puzzling. Does it mean that a wide angle lens (e.g. 17 mm, or the 25 mm) will have more things in focus already at f1.7? I’m asking this since I thought that more will get into focus only if you raise the f stop: so f8 will put more into focus than f1.4. I never thought that it made a difference for a telezoom or a wide angle lens...🤔?

[@ImageMaven]

@@HestersMusicVideos Yup! More in focus with wide angle lenses and using a smaller f/stop on any kind of lens. Watch this video too, although it's topic is bokeh (shallow depth of field) but you can extrapolate from it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZO2nICMq82GqLs

[@ImageMaven]

Also, re-watch the video starting at 4 minutes in.

[@HestersMusicVideos]

Marlene Hielema Thanks again, I watched the two videos (again) and yes, I definitely learned something important!

[@ae5320]

Thanks for your nice explanation. My question is this : How can close faster a lens with lower fstop but bigger aperture size ? I can not understand this issue.

[@ImageMaven]

It's the math. Aperture is the relationship between lens opening and focal length. Go to 3:00 in the video for that explantation.

[@ae5320]

@@ImageMaven Thank you professor

[@royc.ortega3127]

Hi Marlene, I hit a treasure chest of lumix MFT cool how to’s with your channel! Excellent, you, lucky me! Which is more versatile and practical to buy, a 42.5 mm or a 15 mm (both 1.7 f)? Thanks

[@ImageMaven]

Hello Roy. Welcome to the channel. If you shoot a lot of portraits, or subjects that are far away then definitely the 42.5. It's no telephoto but it does have a great reach. But I'd say ideally this is a portrait lens. If you're more of a landscape or street photography kind of guy, then the 15mm. I have the 15mm myself and it's really lovely for indoor shots where you don't want to use a flash, and also landscapes. I also use it for indoor skateboarding photos so that I can freeze the motion in low light. The 15mm is also really small and light and that's a bonus for me too, as I'm trying to keep the gear bag small. I can't speak for the 42.5, but the 15mm is super sharp. I've never owned a prime MFT lens until this one and I'm blown away by the sharpness. If you can do some test shots with both lenses that might help you make your final choice. Hopefully there is a good photo retailer near you to help with that. Let me know what you decide. Thanks for writing. Cheers.

[@royc.ortega3127]

Marlene Hielema Got your explanation crisp. I will try the 15 mm sounds like it. Thanks

[@alunroberts1439]

Very good no yapping about rubbish just the information we need also we can hear you top marks

[@ImageMaven]

Thank you Alun. My aim is always to create -- No BS, No Filler -- videos.

[@killick8086]

Nice video, It is only missing some example on the skate park between Focus techniques VS different lenses VS distances...but I guess is all about experience and trials which of course is not for free ;)).

[@ImageMaven]

As this is a small camera, and I don't have many lenses, my scope is indeed limited. I tested it how I would typically use it. Everybody has different combos and like you say, we all need to gain experience. But I have to say I was impressed for the short time I got to borrow this G100. I plan to buy it when it becomes available as it's a great all-around small body with enough features that I don't need to lug around my larger G9 for those every day type of shots and videos. Hopefully I get it before the snow flies here so that I can do some further testing outdoors. Thanks for stopping by!

[@killick8086]

I have G9 and GX80. Didnt try yet G100 but enough to learn and have fun with my gears. Thanks for your work...!!!

[@ImageMaven]

@@killick8086 Yes, you have a great kit there! I also have a 5 year old GM5, as I think mentioned in the video, but it's just worn out! And this G100 has lots of fun things like S&Q and combining photos "in-camera". Can't wait to try that one! Cheers!

[@ashishtiwari1912]

Hi Marlene, Your video is to the point. I own an entry level mirrorless camera: Canon EOS M10. I saw an adaptor which could be used to fit the EOS lens. The kit lens has a focal length varying between 18-45 mm. I want to purchase a lens for low light photography. So, I am thinking of purchasing one f/2.8 70-200 mm lens as it can be used for portrait photography and some landscape shots and it should come within my budget as I don't have a lot of money to spend over here. Based on the above information, I have two questions: 1) Can you tell me of how an f4 lens compare to f2.8 in terms of low light photography? Does it creates a whole lot of difference ? 2) Considering the fact that the camera I own has a crop sensor, how do I find the equivalent focal length of my camera for a full frame sensor? Thank you

[@ImageMaven]

That 70-200mm seems like an awfully big lens on such a small camera. And it's not a cheap lens either. I wouldn't do it. In terms of f/stops, f/2.8 lets in twice as much light as f/4. I'd talk to a good camera salesperson for advice before trying any of this. Get a proper mirrorless lens for your mirrorless camera or get a proper dSLR body for you big dSLR lenses. Just my two cents worth.

[@Inspirewithdrones3342]

Hello 👋 my name is Timothy and I have a general lens question I'm trying to get answered. I own a lumix g9 and love it! As a Videographer, I have been looking to get my hands on a decent wide-angle lens for the G9 for video purposes without breaking the bank. So, I purchased a 9mm 1:8.0 fisheye pancake lens. Well I have discovered is that it works for photography just fine but when switching to video mode or trying to record with it on the G9 it crops in so much that I can't use it, but when placed on a gh5 using video mode it works fine. Do you know why this is? I am aware that the G9 does not have all the the video features that the gh5 has but I did not expect this to be one of them if that's the case. Any input would be greatly appreciate it and thank you for all your video content and knowledge

[@ImageMaven]

That is weird. Are you sure you're not in 4K video mode? I have a GH3, GX8, and G9 and those all give the same view (ie not cropped) with my 7-14mm lens. Also check that your still photo aspect ratio is the same (16:9) when checking that out. Maybe one of them is set to 4:3.

[@Inspirewithdrones3342]

@@ImageMaven that makes sense, I will double check those settings and let you know. Thank you!

[@Inspirewithdrones3342]

@@ImageMaven so I checked my aspect ratio and it was set to 4:3 but it didn't change it right away. But when I kept scrolling I noticed my (Ex. Tele Conv)setting was on so when I turned it off, my view switched to the wide angle. Thank you again!!

[@actioncamsports]

Hello, and nice video! So I have that really nice 12-60 lens that starts at f/2.8. I'm trying to understand why I would want a 15mm or 25mm lens, if at all. Is the speed the only real difference? Seems like that would be paying more money for speed, bokeh and low light performance. Are there other considerations I should think about when comparing lenses? Sorry if this is a little off-topic.

[@ImageMaven]

Not off topic at all. Sharpness! Prime lenses, like the 15mm are sometimes sharper than zoom lenses. But I'm always amazed at how sharp my 12-32mm kit lens is, that came with my Lumix GM5. The 15mm is definitely sharper than the 12-32, but I didn't know that until I did a side by side test at the same focal length and f/stop. And it's best to test sharpness at a mid-range f/stop like f/8 or f/11. Thanks for your question!

[@actioncamsports]

@@ImageMaven I will look at that. Thank you!

[@ImageMaven]

I think you’ll be totally okay with that lens for a long time. When you’re ready for something else you’ll know because you’ll hit the limitations of it. That’s why I got the 15mm, as the 2.8 wasn’t fast enough to capture indoor action photos.

[@8080408729a]

Greetings from india, I Recently upgrad from point & shoot to DSLR system(canon 90D) When it cames to lens selection i was bit confused specially in terms of "F" value Luckily i came across this video & it clears my most of the doubts. What i understand is, " i can use optimum shutter speed with fast lenses" May i know how much % of optimization we are talking about..? As F2.8 lens cost almost twice the price of F4 lens. P.S. photography is my hobby & im keen on investing in affordable lenses over professional lenses 😅 Please advise

[@ImageMaven]

Hello Abhijit! Thank you for your question, and sorry for the delay in responding. The f/2.8 lens costs twice as much as an f/4 because of many factors. Mostly because the glass is bigger as it has to let in twice as much light as the f/4. If you shoot in sunny daylight most of the time, then f/4 will work in most situations. My favourite lens is a wide angle f/4 zoom lens. But if you're doing low light photography, such as indoors without extra lighting or window light, then you might like the faster lenses. But you can also increase your exposure time, and increase your ISO if you need more light. If you shoot indoors sports you will need a faster shutter speed to freeze the motion, and in that case you want a faster (bigger f/stop like f/2.0) lens. You might also want a faster lens to get shallow depth of field. That's the reason most people want them. But if that's the case then you must keep your eye on focus, as some parts of your photo might not be in focus if you shoot wide open (at f/2.8 or f/2 or f/1.8 etc) Fast prime lenses (with just one focal length) are sometimes less expensive than the zoom lenses. They typically have less glass than zooms, are sharper, and are smaller. And, the quality of lenses also differs. There are consumer grade and pro grade lenses and that too changes the price. You will have to look at the Canon lineup of lenses and see what works best for you. Check the reviews. Some of the cheaper lenses are not super sharp. In the meantime, your kit lens will get you through most daylight shooting situations. What kit lens did you get? 18-55mm? Hope that helps!

[@8080408729a]

@@ImageMaven they provided me 18-135 zoom lens under some special festive offer. Thanks a lot for your warm words. & now i have much clear idea about what lens i should pick next.. 50mm F1.8 prime it is.. it will work for low light as well as for portrait without costing me a bomb & Because of higher megapixel count of 90D, i still have scope for cropping to get that extra zoom range through prime 😊

[@ImageMaven]

@@8080408729a You got it! And you can pick up a 50mm prime for a good price. It's a great lens. Your kit 18-135 will work 80% or more of the time in daylight conditions, and even some night conditions if shutter speed isn't an issue. Have fun!

[@8080408729a]

@@ImageMaven thnx a lot for ur kind words... 😊

[@britgullhav2338]

Just got my new lens : Sigma 56mm F1,4 DC DN Contemporary for M43. It is a short telelens =112 at 1,4. It looks great :)

[@ImageMaven]

Ooh nice! What are you shooting with it? Portraits?

[@britgullhav2338]

Birds and animals in low light i think. Just got it 😃📷

[@samgray49]

Do you know an affordable wide angle lens with a high F-stop?

[@ImageMaven]

For which camera? Do you mean large f/stop? As in a fast lens? Need more info to answer your question. If it's Lumix M4/3 fast lens you want, then I recommend the Lumix 15mm f/1.7. Super sharp and affordable for the quality of images you get. I pretty much keep this on my small camera 90% of the time.

[@un4givingrelentless574]

I dont want the blurry background, im looking for a lens that will keep to whole scene in focus including foreground and background but dont want a fish eye lens what would you recommend?

[@ImageMaven]

You can still get a fast lens but set it on a smaller f/stop like f/8, f/11 or F/16. More will be in focus with a smaller f/stop.

[@un4givingrelentless574]

Marlene Hielema thanks

[@ImageMaven]

@@un4givingrelentless574 And I should clarify that any lens will do. Get the focal length you need and stop down to your desired f/stop. Maybe shoot in Aperture priority mode if deep depth of field is your goal. Just make sure you have enough light in the scene. Adjust your ISO and shutter speed accordingly.

[@un4givingrelentless574]

Marlene Hielema thanks will test it with my 12-60mm and 25mm guessing the 12-60mm will be better for what I want as it’s slower

[@ImageMaven]

@@un4givingrelentless574 Virtually all lenses go to f/16 or f/22. You wont' have a problem getting deep depth of field with any lens. What's your subject matter?

[@saberwasel]

I literally asked myself this question yesterday Now I know that they call the wide open aperture lens a fast one, but I wasn't sure why they call it *Fast* Now I hope you coverd this in this video Watching...

[@ImageMaven]

I hope I answered your question!

[@Noealz]

I remember when I was still learning and this fast slow lingo confused me

[@ImageMaven]

I know! The lingo confused me too.

[@singaporeghostclub]

What is the Lens Speed Record currently? :P

[@ImageMaven]

😂