9th March 2026

On Tuesday we were visited by guest speaker Cat Cross who delivered a very interesting and detailed description of the Lenses she has owned her preferences and why she gave some of them up.
Cat is always an enthusiastic speaker, and she bought along a Powerpoint and some lenses for us to handle and discuss.
She provided charts showing focal lengths of a variety of lenses and the aperture chart. We looked at some advantages and disadvantages of prime lenses and discussed crop sensor lenses as opposed to full frame.
Cat used example images to show us the differences of comparative lenses and shared with us her stories of trials and tribulations with the lenses she chose for separate locations, and which ones she favoured.

Sometimes she works with theatre companies and needs a good lens in a dark environment.
We went on to look at special lenses like the fisheye, vintage, Lens Baby Velvet, and then on to look at the magic of mirror lenses.

The evening passed quickly and was most informative giving us the inspiration to get the right tool for the job and not just to use what you have with you.
Thank you to Cat for a particularly good insight into different lenses and the best models for the photographs you wish to take.
Blog post written by Carol Haines
Next week: Check the program
