1. Lens Language
Cinematography and Visual
Language

2. Lens
► The lens is not only a technical tool to
capture the image but also an aesthetic
one, and understanding how to use depth
of field and focal length to tell your story is
an essential tool of visual storytelling.
► The lens is the eye of the camera. It allows
light to enter and hit the film plane,
resulting in exposure of the latent image.
►

3. Lens
► Controllingthe amount of the light is done
through exposure calculation designated by
the lighting conditions and the selection of
the f-stop as indicated from the light meter
reading. F – stops regulate the exposures,
and the diameter of the opening determines
how much light enters the camera for the
exposure.

4. Lens
► The cinematographer will read the light as it
falls on the subject, which provides an f-
stop that should be used for exposing the
scene. There are two series of numbers on
the lens: the t-stop and the f-stop.
► The t-stop is the true light trans mission and
the f-stop regulates exposure and is used
for calculating depth of field.

5. F and T -Stops
► The f- and t- stops are:
► 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, 4.5, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22

6. Prime Lens
► Short-focal–length lens
(Wide angle lens)
► Long-focal-length lens
(Telephoto lens)
► Middle-focal-length
(Normal lens)
► Zoom Lens
► (Variable-focal-length lens)

7. Prime Lens

8. Short-Focal-Length
► Startsas low as 9 or 12.5mm
► Also known as wide lens
► Produces wide-angle view
► Makes subjects appear farther apart than
they actually are.
► Through its nearly complete depth of field,
renders almost all objects in the frame in
focus

9. Wide Angle Lens

10. Short-Focal-Length

11. Long-Focal-Length Lens
► Known as a Telephoto lens or long lens, they
range from 85-500mm
► Produces deep angle views
► Brings distant objects close
► Flattens space and depth
► Makes subjects look closer together than they
actually are
► Narrow depth of field leaves most of the
background and foreground of the in-focus objects
dramatically out of focus.

12. Long-Focal-Length-Lens

13. Long-Focal Length Lens

14. Middle-Focal-Length Lens
► Ranges from 35-50mm
► Normal lens
► Produces images that corresponds to our
day-to-day experience of depth and
perspective
► Keeps all subjects in a normal sense of
focus

15. Normal-Lens

16. Middle-Focal-Length Lens

17. Zoom Lens
► Produces images that simulate the effect of
movement of the camera toward or away
from subject
► Rather than actually moving through space,
merely magnifies the image
► Can make a shot seem artificial to an
audience

18. Zoom Lens

19. Neutral Density Filters
► NeutralDensity filters help to decrease or
eliminate a certain amount of light from
entering the film plane.

20. Neutral Density Filters
► An ND.0 9 will eliminate three f-stops of
light.
► This calculation would be made from the
original exposure, and then counting down
three stops (so if the reading was f/32, the
exposure would actually be made at f/11
using the ND.09 filter).

21. Neutral Density Filters
► ND.09 cuts three stops;
► ND.06, two stops;
► ND0.3 one stop.
► The cinematographer may also have an
85ND.03 combo filter used to colour correct
tungsten film to daylight film while also
cutting down one stop of exposure.

22. Depth of Field
►More depth of field
►<f/22, 16, 11, 8, 5.6, 4.5, 2.8, 2.0, 1.4, >
► Less depth of field.

23. ► Ofthe f- and t- stops that regulate the iris
opening. 1.4 is wide open, allowing the
maximum of light to enter the film plane,
and 22 are the smallest opening, allowing
the least amount of light to enter.