In each moment when shooting you are choosing what you see and your lens choice limits or broadens these possibilities. When deciding what lens to use, you will consider focal length, angle of view, depth-of-field and sensor size as these elements determine the size and focus of what is inside your frame. When looking at the camera lens itself, one of the first features you see is the focal length. This number is the distance between a lens and the point where light rays converge to form a sharp image inside the lens enclosure. The image below is a great explainer of the interaction between the elements within a camera lens and you see these key terms in relation to each other.

Focal length and the sensor size determine your field of view, the field of view is what is you see when you look through the viewfinder or the monitor and is the actual area that you can see and what you discuss when you are establishing your composition. Not to be confused with the angle of view, which is the angular measurement of what a lens can see. The diagram below illustrates the interplay between the focal length and angle of view (what is in the frame). Here at a wide angle, the fisheye shows a 180 degrees angle of view. One can deduce: the lower the focal length, the wider the area of the scene captured by the lens, or the greater the focal length, the narrower the field of view.

There is a misunderstanding about perspective, it is solely determined by the distance between camera and subject, not by the lens itself. This distinction becomes clear when you keep the camera in a fixed position. Whether you mount a wide-angle, normal, or telephoto lens, the spatial relationships in your scene remain identical. The background elements maintain the same relative size and position behind your subject. The only differences are the angle of view (how much of the scene you capture) and magnification (how large the subject appears). The confusion arises because photographers typically change their shooting distance when switching focal lengths. To fill the frame with the same subject, a wide-angle lens forces you to move closer, while a telephoto requires stepping back. These position changes alter the camera-to-subject distance, which genuinely does change perspective making backgrounds appear more compressed with telephoto shots and more expansive with wide-angle shots.

As the first image demonstrates the depth of field is dictated by the lens components and the distance between the subject and shooter. In shooting terms, depth of field is simply how much of your scene, from foreground to background, it appears in focus. It can range from millimeters (macro photography with shallow DOF) to infinity (landscape photography with deep DOF).

Sharpness is a great way to isolate the subject, with all other elements out of focus you create a bubble around them. Due to the nature of cinema lenses, this low depth-of-field ‘look’ is associated with cinema as opposed to the extra sharp images we see in media and daily consumption.

Standard lenses

All over video production you will see these focal lengths, shooting with a wide angle lens is proving popular due to the incredible resolution of today’s cameras. Understanding the different manufacturers technical characteristic will lead you to long conversations with aficionados of the aesthetic, each lens produces

Prime or zoom lenses

Why are they called prime lenses?

The term “prime” in lens terminology refers to these lenses being primary or fundamental each designed and optimised for one specific focal length. Set at a fixed focal length requires you to change the aperture to change the depth of field which gives you a greater length of what is in focus (the depth of what you can see) and through moving the camera closer or further away you, effectively zooming with your body.

Optical precision has a greater chance of being achieved when there is only one focal distance, generally these lenses are preferred for filming as you achieve a sharpness and bokeh look. This is considered the cinematic look.
Prime lenses, also known as fixed lenses are set at a single, unchangeable focal length, which allows greater creative control through two primary methods: adjusting the aperture to manipulate depth of field, and physically moving the camera closer or farther from the subject, “zooming with your feet.” This approach forces a more intentional, deliberate style of filmmaking that often results in the coveted cinematic look characterised by superior sharpness and that distinctive bokeh quality.

Zoooooming into videography

While prime lenses excel in optical quality, the reality of video production demands efficiency and flexibility. When you’re juggling directing, production design, and compositional flow, you don’t have time to change lenses nor is it wise to be changing lenses frequently if not part of a camera crew. As there are greater challenges for leaving the sensor exposed to it’s environment allowing particles to land on the sensor, ruining your crisp clean shot and increasing your editing tasks. A zoom lens prevents this.

Zoom lenses offer the ability to adjust focal length without changing the physical lens, you will find most lenses designed for photography and videography are varifocal lenses, and are relatively cheaper than parfocal lenses which are the other predominant however it is wise to understand the difference as it is conceivable in the future different lenses available for video production.

Par- the cinema pricetag and Vari- the everyday workhorse

Parfocal Lenses represent the professional standard in cinema applications. These lenses maintain focus across their entire zoom range when you focus at one focal length, the subject remains sharp throughout the entire zoom. This characteristic makes parfocal lenses essential for live broadcasting, documentary work, and any situation where refocusing during a zoom would disrupt the shot.

Parfocal lenses are engineered with precise mechanical tolerances and complex optical designs that ensure the focal plane remains consistent regardless of zoom position. The price range is higher than varifocal lenses.

Varifocal Lenses are what you will find on most consumer and prosumer camera lenses as they are cheaper to build. These lenses require refocusing each time you change the focal length. These lenses prioritise affordability and compactness over the mechanical precision needed for parfocal operation. I rarely use automatic focus, from talking to a few videographers all require more deliberate technique when zoom adjustments are needed during recording.

The Anamorphic

Anamorphic lenses represent a specialized category that fundamentally alters the captured image through optical compression. These lenses squeeze a wider horizontal field of view into the standard sensor area, which is then “unsqueezed” in post-production to create the characteristic ultra-wide aspect ratios associated with epic cinema.

Anamorphic lenses impact aspect ratio, They enable the capture of extremely wide aspect ratios (often 2.39:1) that create a panoramic, cinematic feel impossible with standard spherical lenses. Anamorphic lenses produce distinctive oval-shaped bokeh that appears horizontally stretched as the horizontal compression can create unique perspective effects, making environments appear more expansive while maintaining intimate character framing. Here is a famous example of anamorphic, they’re truly not used often in video production yet they remind you the importance of lenses to crafting the look of an production. Additionally it is a reminder to the limitations to the gear being used, cinematic cameras and lenses demand a team of people while much of the gear aimed at the prosumer market requires a checklist, an idea and reading the manual for the magic to happen.

Good glass is never obsolete

I stress with people, many variables in filmmaking can be created through other means. For example the desirable ‘bokeh’ look that is still trendy is essentially a soft light with sharp focus on the subject, if you don’t have the lens with an F/stop of 1.8, finding alternative methods to accentuate the subject can act as a substitute. In video production?
Any approach to life that suggests narrowing your awareness is lacking balance. Video production steals and borrows from filmmaking and understanding optical illusions and techniques has allowed video production in every business and social environment to excel and distinguish itself from other video production.