Less expensive lenses will generally have variable apertures, or when you zoom the maximum aperture gets smaller. Wide angles give an expansive view. Scenes with prominent foreground objects are better shot with a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses distort perspective and make things look separate. Wide-angle lenses are also good in tight areas such as small rooms, cars, caves and more. Standard zoom lenses are good walkaround lenses. They allow you to shoot wide-angle landscapes. Standard zooms often start at 24mm to 35mm and and zoom around 70mm or even 105mm. When using a telephoto lenses you can get close to your subject without actually approaching them. Telephoto lenses magnify distant subjects. Telephoto lenses also compress distance. This makes everything appear closer together. Telephoto lenses are also great for sports, nature, and wildlife photography. Those are the different types of lenses i learned about when I read the article about the different types of lenses.