What is a Long Lens?

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Sorry for the newbie question I'm sure. I am a stuntman and am venturing on the other side of the camera. I have learned a bit and purchased a HVX200 and have been working on my own projects. So...a couple of months ago I was working on a feature as a Stunt driver, I was to drive towards the camera and slam on my brakes just as an actor stepped out in front of me thus swerving and doing a near miss. Through out the day we shot it in a million different angles. On a couple of them I was told "don't worry you on a long lens". I nodded and said Oh OK. no idea what a long lens does. I understand DOF and was told by someone that with a long lens everything is in focus. however if it is a telephoto or zoom lens and Im zoomed in doesn't that make it have a smaller DOF? not having everything in focus?? thanks for your time
 
Pretty sure you have more space, and a larger area to work with, meaning a very wide lens. You get more in the picture.

Anyone care to chime in?
 
A Long lens is a more telephoto lens. When you start getting into the 135mm+ category I would say (personally) you are in long lens territory. It compresses z-space making object appear closer together. Therefore if you stopped your car 5 feet in front of this actor it will look like a lot less. You have less DoF with a long Lens.
 
A "long lens" is a longer focal length. On the HVX it'd mean 45mm to 55mm.

The "longer" the lens is, the more it'll optically compress the space between objects. A wide-angle lens exaggerates the distance between objects, a telephoto (or "long") lens compresses the distance. It makes it seem like the objects are much closer, optically, than they really are. Because of that, you have a much wider margin of safety -- you can slam on the brakes a good distance away from the actor, but with the long lens compressing the space it'll make it look like the car is "right there" in front of him.
 
Why the long lens?

Why the long lens?

Using a long lens compressed the image and helped sell the stunt. Your drive-by stunt may have looked totally fake to a person watching or to a camera using a wide angle lens.

But with a long (telephoto) lens those near misses looked real. Think of it like watching two planes crossing in the air. From the perspective of the person on the ground they look like they are going to hit each other while in reality they are quite a distance a part.

The long lens does effect DOF but I’m sure the cinematographer made sure what needed to be in focus was in focus. Sometimes what helps sell the shot is foreground and/or background images that are out of focus.

While the HVX does not have a real long lens you can do some testing on your own by staging a fight scene with your buddies. Experiment with wide angle shots verses telephoto as well as from different angles and you’ll understand what the director and DP were doing.

Watch some old John Ford westerns and see how he used wide angle and long lens to achieve different effects. You'll see some neat stunts, too.

Learn by doing.
 
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Excellent Guys

Excellent Guys

I get it!! your explanations were perfect and clear. all about depth perception and less about DOF. Thanks for your help.
 
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