Focal Length • Prime Lens: Prime lenses have a fixed focal length, meaning they cannot zoom in or out. They have a single, specific focal length, like 50mm or 85mm. • Zoom Lens: Zoom lenses offer a variable focal length. They can cover a range of focal lengths, such as 18-55mm or 70-200mm, allowing you to zoom in and out.

Low Light Performance • Prime Lens: Due to their wider apertures, prime lenses perform exceptionally well in low-light conditions. The larger aperture allows more light to enter the camera. • Zoom Lens: Zoom lenses with smaller apertures may struggle in low light, especially when zoomed in, as they let in less light.

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Benefits of choosing a prime lens ✓ Superior image quality ✓ Can be more compact in comparison to a zoom lens ✓ Great low light performance

One key challenge for militaries using high-energy lasers is the high levels of power needed to create useful effects from afar. Unlike an industrial laser that may be just a few inches from its target, military operations involve significantly larger distances. To defend against an incoming threat, such as a mortar shell or a small boat, laser weapons need to engage their targets before they can inflict any damage.

Based in part on the progress made in high-power industrial lasers, militaries are finding an increasing number of uses for high-energy lasers. One key advantage for high-energy laser weapons is that they provide an “infinite magazine.” Unlike traditional weapons such as guns and cannons that have a finite amount of ammunition, a high-energy laser can keep firing as long as it has electrical power.

In the decades since the first laser was unveiled in 1960, engineers have developed a variety of lasers that generate photons at different wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, from infrared to ultraviolet. The high-energy laser systems that are finding military applications are based on solid-state lasers that use special crystals to convert the input electrical energy into photons. A key aspect of high-power solid-state lasers is that the photons are created in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and so cannot be seen by the human eye.

50mm 50mm lenses are the closest replication of human perspective therefore offering a comfortable perspective for photos. 50mm offers a flattering focal length for weddings, portraits, street photography, travel and landscapes. A 50mm prime lens is often recommended to photographers ldue to its versatility.

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Laser weapons have been a staple of science fiction since long before lasers were even invented. More recently, they have also featured prominently in some conspiracy theories. Both types of fiction highlight the need to understand how laser weapons actually work and what they are used for.

The U.S. Army is deploying a truck-based high-energy laser to shoot down a range of targets, including drones, helicopters, mortar shells and rockets. The 50-kilowatt laser is mounted on the Stryker infantry fighting vehicle, and the Army deployed four of the systems for battlefield testing in the Middle East in February 2024.

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Understanding how to read a lens name can be helpful when trying to decide which lens is best suited for your photography needs. There are different components which break down the compatibility to specifications:

Capture dramatic close-up detail for portraits and small objects, great for creative portraiture and low-lighting shooting with wide f/1.2 aperture. ✓ Longer focal length ✓ Blurry backgrounds ✓ High image quality

Capture crisp and clean images even wide open at f/1.4 with the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, perfect for portraits, landscapes and travel shots. ✓ Wide f/1.4 aperture for great low light ✓ Compact and lightweight ✓ Smooth background blur

First, the power level needed to ignite vegetation with a high-energy laser from the sky would require a large power source installed on a large aircraft. A plane that size would have been highly visible right before any fires were ignited. Second, in some images that claim to show the fires being started, the laser beams are green. Beams from high-energy lasers are invisible.

A laser uses electricity to generate photons, or light particles. The photons pass through a gain medium, a material that creates a cascade of additional photons, which rapidly increases the number of photons. All these photons are then focused into a narrow beam by a beam director.

Portability and Size • Prime Lens: Prime lenses are typically more compact and lightweight because of their simpler optical design with a fixed focal length. • Zoom Lens: Zoom lenses can be bulkier and heavier, especially those with longer focal length ranges.

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Nations around the world are rapidly developing high-energy laser weapons for military missions on land and sea, and in the air and space. Visions of swarms of small, inexpensive drones filling the skies or skimming across the waves are motivating militaries to develop and deploy laser weapons as an alternative to costly and potentially overwhelmed missile-based defenses.

The Air Force is developing high-energy lasers on aircraft for defensive and offensive missions. In 2010, the Air Force tested a megawatt laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747, hitting a ballistic missile as it was being launched. The Air Force is currently working on a smaller weapon system for fighter aircraft.

Another important limitation for platform-based high-energy laser weapons relates to the infinite magazine concept. Since the truck, ship or airplane must carry the power source for the laser, and that will limit the power source’s capacity, the lasers can only be used for a limited amount of time before they need to recharge their batteries.

In addition to the power level of the laser, the ability to deliver these various effects is determined by the distance between the laser and its target.

Choosing between a prime lens and a zoom lens depends on your specific photography needs and style. Prime lenses are great for achieving high optical quality and low-light performance with a fixed focal length, while zoom lenses offer versatility and convenience with their ability to cover a range of focal lengths. Many photographers opt for a combination of both types to cover various shooting scenarios.

Elaine shares her favourite photography locations in Helsinki and Lapland. From snow-white fields to ethereal pine forests, Finland sure has a lot to offer.

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35mm Lenses below 35mm are classified as wide angle. Popular with filmmakers and photographers, this focal length is great for landscape, scenery, capturing mid length portraits, and vlogging. They are also often compact and lightweight, great for travelling.

A new type of conspiracy theory has emerged in recent years claiming that nefarious entities have used airborne high-energy lasers to start wildfires in California, Hawaii and Texas. This is highly unlikely for several reasons.

When it interacts with a surface, a laser beam generates different effects based on its photon wavelength, the power in the beam and the material of the surface. Low-power lasers that generate photons in the visible part of the spectrum are useful as light sources for pointers and light shows at public events. These beams are of such low power that they simply reflect off a surface without damaging it.

85mm 85mm is the classic portrait focal length, it offers more bokeh (blurry backgrounds) in comparison to 35mm or 50mm prime lenses. The longer focal length also minimizes distortion and does the best job of accurately capturing subject proportions, delivering a flattering effect on faces. 85mm are also popular amongst street and product photographers.

However, to burn through materials at safe distances requires tens to hundreds of kilowatts of power in the laser beam. The smallest prototype laser weapon draws 10 kilowatts of power, roughly equivalent to an electric car. The latest high-power laser weapon under development draws 300 kilowatts of power, enough to power 30 households. And because high-energy lasers are only 50% efficient at best, they generate a tremendous amount of waste heat that has to be managed.

Emerging threats posed by low-cost, weaponized drones like those in use in conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine make it more likely that high-energy lasers will also find nonmilitary applications such as defending the public against terrorist attacks.

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Optical Quality • Prime Lens: Prime lenses are known for their excellent optical quality. They often have wider apertures (e.g., f/1.4, f/1.8), which can result in sharper images and better low-light performance. • Zoom Lens: Zoom lenses may have good optical quality, but they often have smaller apertures, especially at the telephoto end, which can affect image sharpness and low-light performance.

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Highest quality 50mm lens in its class with f/1.2 aperture. Great to low-light shooting and for outstanding clarity and sharpness. In addition to portraits, they are also great for fine arts as they capture more detail. ✓ Amazing low light performance ✓ High image quality ✓ Smooth bokeh

The RF 50mm f/1.8 STM is a compact and lightweight lens great for day-to-day weighing at only 160g. It makes an excellent companion for any shooting occasion. ✓ Small & lightweight ✓ Affordable ✓ Versatile mid focal length

Director, Center for National Security Initiatives, and Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

There are also fundamental limits to high-energy laser weapons, including diminished effectiveness in rain, fog and smoke, which scatter laser beams. The laser beams also need to remain locked onto their targets for several seconds in order to inflict damage. Current prototype laser weapons are also proving a challenge to maintain in combat zones.

In the future, high-energy laser weapons are likely to continue to evolve with increased power levels that will expand the range of targets they can be used against.

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Great for portraits with a medium telephoto perspective, The RF 135mm f/1.8L IS USM allows you to take full advantage of the large f/1.8 aperture, with an extremely shallow depth of field for beautiful background blur. ✓ Long focal length range ✓ Shake-free footage

Prime lenses are lenses that have a fixed focal length as opposed to zoom lenses that enable zooming in and out. Most prime lenses offer a wider aperture often ranging from f/2.8 to f/1.2 which allows for superior performance in low-light conditions and the creation of beautiful background blur. Prime lenses can also be more compact which makes it incredibly beneficial when travelling. Their fixed focal length construction results in sharper image quality with minimal distortion or aberration. Prime lenses are commonly known as portrait lenses because many of them have ideal focal lengths for photographing portraits

Higher-power laser systems are used to cut through biological tissue in medical procedures. The highest-power lasers can heat, vaporize, melt and burn through many different materials and are used in industrial processes for welding and cutting.

Trying to decide whether you need a prime lens, and if so, which to choose? Here are some popular prime lens focal lengths

This means high-energy lasers require extensive power generation and cooling infrastructure that places limits on the types of effects that can be generated from different military platforms. Army trucks and Air Force fighter jets have the least amount of space for high-energy laser weapons, and so these systems are limited to targets that require relatively low power, such as downing drones or disabling missiles. Ships and larger aircraft can accommodate larger high-energy lasers with the potential to burn holes in boats and ground vehicles. Permanent ground-based systems have the least constraints and therefore the highest power, making it potentially feasible to dazzle a distant satellite.

The U.S. Navy has deployed a ship-based high-energy laser to defend against small and fast-moving ocean surface vessels as well as missiles and drones. The Navy installed a 60-kilowatt laser weapon on the destroyer the USS Preble in August 2022.

There’s a lot to consider when choosing a new lens – It can be quite daunting especially if you are new to the photography scene evaluating between the many lenses to choose from. Here are some tips on picking your perfect prime and portrait lens.