Lindenberg
Member
What is the typical length of lens to use on a GH1 when interviewing someone?
Lens length to use for interview
- Thread starter Lindenberg
- Start date
depends on what you are intending really. If you are comparing wide and long lenses but you have the subject framed in the exact same way, wider lenses used closer to the interviewee will make them seem more separate from their background. Longer lenses used further away will make the subject and background look more connected.. If that makes any sense.
Wider lenses used close will also accentuate facial features like noses and lips. Sometimes this is flattering, sometimes not.
Most portrait lenses are around 85mm. On a GH1 I would figure somewhere around 40-50mm would work pretty well. If you can, try some tests on friends and find what you like the best and what will be most flattering for the subject.
Wider lenses used close will also accentuate facial features like noses and lips. Sometimes this is flattering, sometimes not.
Most portrait lenses are around 85mm. On a GH1 I would figure somewhere around 40-50mm would work pretty well. If you can, try some tests on friends and find what you like the best and what will be most flattering for the subject.
Vitaliy Kiselev
Carbonite Member
Buy Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 and you are covered 
You don't want to use F1.4 or F1.7 for interviews anyway (if head is not on tight ropes ).
But 50mm F1.4 is an option (but you could have issues sometimes).
I frequently shot interview photos using Samyang 85mm F1.4 as this lens hide facial flaws better, but not on GH1.
Get this Tamron and spend all you have on good lighting.
You don't want to use F1.4 or F1.7 for interviews anyway (if head is not on tight ropes
).But 50mm F1.4 is an option (but you could have issues sometimes).
I frequently shot interview photos using Samyang 85mm F1.4 as this lens hide facial flaws better, but not on GH1.
Get this Tamron and spend all you have on good lighting.
don't know that there is a 'typical' length.
sometimes i want the interview more abstract, with shallow dof. for that i'll use a longer fast lens with a medium or close-up frame.
sometimes i want to 'place' the subject and show more of their surroundings. for that, i'll use a wider lens with a wide to mid frame.
the faster the lens, the shallower the dof and the less connected to the location your subject will appear. (cause it'll all be a blur!)
the longer the lens, the more shallow the dof AND the more room you'll need to back away from your subject to get the same framing that you could get with a wide lens.
in general, i've found that i like the lumix 20mm or Canon FD 28mm as they are wide enough for me to work in small spaces, get a nice mid to medium frame, and have some blur on the background, but not so much that you can't tell where the subject is located.
hope that helps!
ps. if you want super glorious shallow dof, use the Canon FD 50mm f1.4 or 85mm f1.2 or f1.8
sometimes i want the interview more abstract, with shallow dof. for that i'll use a longer fast lens with a medium or close-up frame.
sometimes i want to 'place' the subject and show more of their surroundings. for that, i'll use a wider lens with a wide to mid frame.
the faster the lens, the shallower the dof and the less connected to the location your subject will appear. (cause it'll all be a blur!)
the longer the lens, the more shallow the dof AND the more room you'll need to back away from your subject to get the same framing that you could get with a wide lens.
in general, i've found that i like the lumix 20mm or Canon FD 28mm as they are wide enough for me to work in small spaces, get a nice mid to medium frame, and have some blur on the background, but not so much that you can't tell where the subject is located.
hope that helps!
ps. if you want super glorious shallow dof, use the Canon FD 50mm f1.4 or 85mm f1.2 or f1.8
Thank you for restating this. The trope that the 20mm pancake is a "wide angle lens" and "distorts faces up close" gets repeated so often on many camera forums and it's just not the case.
The 2x crop factor on m43 cameras like the GH1 and GF1 effectively doubles a lens's focal length whether it's native m43 glass or a manual focus legacy lens. So a Canon FD 50mm becomes a 100mm, a Hexanon 40mm becomes an 80mm, etc. And the 20mm pancake becomes a 40mm.
So for all intents and purposes, the 20mm on any m43 camera is a 40mm "normal", not a 20mm wide. A 20mm Canon or Nikon lens on 35mm film camera is definitely a wide angle lens and will definitely do a funhouse mirror job on faces up close. The 20mm pancake on an m43 camera will not. It is not a wide angle lens, full stop.
Apologies to those who already now this. It just gets repeated so often that it's become dogma, and it's not supported by anyone's experience who's actually used the lens.
The 2x crop factor on m43 cameras like the GH1 and GF1 effectively doubles a lens's focal length whether it's native m43 glass or a manual focus legacy lens. So a Canon FD 50mm becomes a 100mm, a Hexanon 40mm becomes an 80mm, etc. And the 20mm pancake becomes a 40mm.
So for all intents and purposes, the 20mm on any m43 camera is a 40mm "normal", not a 20mm wide. A 20mm Canon or Nikon lens on 35mm film camera is definitely a wide angle lens and will definitely do a funhouse mirror job on faces up close. The 20mm pancake on an m43 camera will not. It is not a wide angle lens, full stop.
Apologies to those who already now this. It just gets repeated so often that it's become dogma, and it's not supported by anyone's experience who's actually used the lens.