Focal Legth with "Normal" Perspective on AF100

[Tyler Thomas]

I am learning a lot about lenses, but I'm a little confused about one point. I have read that on 16mm cameras, a 25mm lens will give a "normal" perspective similar to if you were standing in the position of the camera. Can someone tell me what focal length lens will produce this "normal" perspective on an AF100? Thanks in advance!

 

[Steve R]

24mm to 28mm-ish.

Zeiss CP.2, ZF and ZE 25mms, Voigtlander 25mm, Nikon 24mm or 28mm are all appropriate, and in the zone.

 

[Kindredmachine]

The Zeiss ZF 25mm is a fantastic run and gun prime as well... everything beyond 6' is infinity.

 

[kenwilx1016]

I am learning a lot about lenses, but I'm a little confused about one point. I have read that on 16mm cameras, a 25mm lens will give a "normal" perspective similar to if you were standing in the position of the camera. Can someone tell me what focal length lens will produce this "normal" perspective on an AF100? Thanks in advance!

Its my understanding that 50mm is the closest thing to the human eye. with the 2x crop on a full frame lens, it makes your 25mm just right.

 

[hendosan]

Its my understanding that 50mm is the closest thing to the human eye. with the 2x crop on a full frame lens, it makes your 25mm just right.

I've heard this adage a lot, but when I look through the viewfinder of a 5D or film SLR with a 50mm attached it always seems to be a lot less wide than what I am seeing with my naked eyes. I think 20-28mm is a lot closer to what I actually see, though wide focal lengths look more distorted than a normal one.

 

[Ryan-Guy]

Its my understanding that 50mm is the closest thing to the human eye. with the 2x crop on a full frame lens, it makes your 25mm just right.

Remember that perspective and crop are different. 50mm is how the eye sees the world, not 25mm. If you had a sensor with a 10x crop, and used a 5mm lens, its going to look weird, and nothing like a 50mm backed up farther with a sensor with a 2x crop.

 

[kenwilx1016]

Remember that perspective and crop are different. 50mm is how the eye sees the world, not 25mm. If you had a sensor with a 10x crop, and used a 5mm lens, its going to look weird, and nothing like a 50mm backed up farther with a sensor with a 2x crop.

So it's impossible to get a natural look using a 50mm lens on the af100 unless you use a m4/3 lens? You're absolutely right though I didn't think about the perspective being different, just the FOV would be the same right?

 

[Shooter]

I am learning a lot about lenses, but I'm a little confused about one point. I have read that on 16mm cameras, a 25mm lens will give a "normal" perspective similar to if you were standing in the position of the camera. Can someone tell me what focal length lens will produce this "normal" perspective on an AF100? Thanks in advance!

Sometimes I think we over complicate things a little.

Film making has nothing much to do about whats real (normal) or otherwise. Its rare that we need to shooot a shot that simulates what we "actually see".

What we present to an audience is what we want them to see. The audience suspends belief to allow us to do so. A POV could be done on a fisheye or a telephoto. Depends on what you are "saying".

If you need to establish some kind of reference basis that may simulate "what we actually see"... put some lenses on your camera and take a look. Its a valid thing to do and I am not disrespecting it at all ...but dont over do the theory and the practice.

 

[Ryan-Guy]

So it's impossible to get a natural look using a 50mm lens on the af100 unless you use a m4/3 lens? You're absolutely right though I didn't think about the perspective being different, just the FOV would be the same right?

Basically its like taking a large painting and chopping off the sides and top and bottom. If you back up farther you can get the exact image, as say, a FF sensor. But what I think you are getting at is our eyes FOV, which is wide, very wide (~180 horizontal and 120 vertical degrees), but with a 50mm perpective. FOV of a 50mm on a 35mm still camera (FF) is 39 x 27 degrees. The 50mm on a camera is as if you cut out a square in paper and can only see through the square, blocking out everything else to the sides and top and bottom.

 

[Steve R]

I've heard this adage a lot, but when I look through the viewfinder of a 5D or film SLR with a 50mm attached it always seems to be a lot less wide than what I am seeing with my naked eyes. I think 20-28mm is a lot closer to what I actually see, though wide focal lengths look more distorted than a normal one.

I know I may be stating the obvious - but of course, it depends upon how far you are away from your subject.

For FF 35mm, 50mm is considered Normal. for 2x crop, it's 25mm. At the right distance, field of view and perspective should be close to normal human viewing.

But Shooter is right in that there are no hard and fast rules, and huge variability possible - so best to have options and frame the shot so it looks right to you.

It's one of the reasons I prefer variable primes to fixed focal-length primes (with some key killer fast primes thrown in for good measure...).

 

[TheDingo]

50mm is how the eye sees the world, not 25mm.

This is completely meaningless unless you reference this 50mm lens to the full frame 35mm still photo format.

Forget focal length... Forget format crop... Everything boils down to Field of View: FOV
( Also known as Angle of View )

Wikipedia: Angle of view

Some examples to illustrate how meaningless a 50mm lens reference is without defining the camera format:

- 50mm lens on a 6x7cm Film Camera ( like the Mamiya RZ67 ) is a "wide angle" lens with a diagonally measured angular view of 81 degrees when focused at infinity

- 50mm lens on a 35mm Full Frame Camera ( like a Nikon F2 ) is a "normal" lens with a diagonally measured angular view of 46 degrees when focused at infinity

- 50mm lens on a Pentax Auto 110 Camera ( tiny film camera ) is a "telephoto" lens with a diagonally measured angular view of 24 degrees when focused at infinity

If you had a sensor with a 10x crop, and used a 5mm lens, its going to look weird, and nothing like a 50mm backed up farther with a sensor with a 2x crop.

Actually this might not be true. If the camera's film/sensor format was 2.4mm x 3.6mm then a 5mm lens would be considered it's "normal" lens, with a diagonally measured angular view of 46 degrees when focused at infinity.

...So to sum up, with the Micro 4/3 sensor format that the AF-100 uses a 25mm lens is considered to be a "normal" lens, with a diagonally measured angular view of 46 degrees when focused at infinity.

FYI: My favorite "Normal" when I used to shoot 35mm stills with my Nikon F3 was a 35mm lens, because I always preferred a "Wide Normal" perspective.