Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
09-27-2009, 07:29 PM   #1
Veteran Member
gokenin's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: lowell,ma
Posts: 1,899
standard view of field?

What focal length would give you a "normal" field of view on a film camera?

09-27-2009, 07:59 PM   #2
pbo
Veteran Member
pbo's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 891
50mm, I believe?
09-27-2009, 09:17 PM   #3
Inactive Account




Join Date: May 2008
Location: Edmonton, Canada
Posts: 322
43mm if you measure the diagonal of a 24x36mm film frame, funny how pentax makes a limited prime of that length. 50mm is the 'historical' standard, a little tight but usually gives you 1:1 viewing in the viewfinder at infinity.
09-27-2009, 09:56 PM   #4
Veteran Member




Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Toronto
Posts: 3,911
back in the day, ~58mm lenses were standard because they were the easiest to make

09-27-2009, 10:15 PM   #5
Otis Memorial Pentaxian
stevebrot's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Vancouver (USA)
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 42,007
It depends on the format. By convention, 50-something (45, 48, 50, 52, 55, 58) is normal for 35mm. This is cool since a 50mm lens also has about the same magnification as the eye. To a great extent, what you see through the viewfinder is similar to what you saw before you put the camera to your eye.

There is a full discussion on the Wikipedia:
Normal lens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Please note that this designation is a matter of convention only. People see in different ways. For me personally, the FOV of all "normal" lenses (including the "perfect" 43mm) are a little on the narrow side. I perceive the world with a wider perspective and generally like something in the range of 28mm to 35mm for general photography on 35mm film. For other people, it is quite the opposite. I have known several photographers over the years that used a 135mm as their general walk-around lens...go figure...

Steve

Last edited by stevebrot; 09-27-2009 at 10:26 PM.
09-28-2009, 06:32 AM   #6
Veteran Member
Mike Cash's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Japan
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 6,950
QuoteOriginally posted by gokenin Quote
What focal length would give you a "normal" field of view on a film camera?
As Steve said, it depends on what you mean by "film camera". On medium format at 6x4.5 or 6x6 one commonly finds 75mm or 85mm as the "normal" lens. On medium format at 6x9 this would be something like 105mm. Don't ask me about large format. I don't have the money to monkey with those and have never bothered to learn much about them.
09-28-2009, 06:47 AM   #7
Inactive Account




Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Norway
Posts: 96
When I have a focal length of 50mm mounted on my K10D, I have both eyes open, and the viewfinder sort of merges into the whole scene. Makes it much easier doing panning and keeping track of a scene.

09-28-2009, 07:02 AM   #8
Veteran Member




Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Near Montréal, Canada
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,716
QuoteOriginally posted by freeload Quote
When I have a focal length of 50mm mounted on my K10D, I have both eyes open, and the viewfinder sort of merges into the whole scene. Makes it much easier doing panning and keeping track of a scene.
That's because viewfinder magnification is calibrated for 50mm lenses.
09-28-2009, 07:14 AM   #9
Veteran Member
gokenin's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: lowell,ma
Posts: 1,899
Original Poster
So then if I wanted to take my 43 ltd and use it as an everyday lens on any of my film cameras (except the spotmatic) it would be a good walk around lens?
09-28-2009, 07:52 AM   #10
Veteran Member
Steinback's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: GTA, ON, Canada
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,673
The 43 would be a good walkaround lens for a film body.
09-28-2009, 07:40 PM   #11
Inactive Account




Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Ames, Iowa, USA
Photos: Albums
Posts: 2,965
QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
.... I perceive the world with a wider perspective and generally like something in the range of 28mm to 35mm for general photography on 35mm film. For other people, it is quite the opposite. I have known several photographers over the years that used a 135mm as their general walk-around lens...go figure...

Steve
Yes. I'm on the other side; I see the world narrowly & tend to mentally zoom in on a subject.

It is a fascinating subject and is entwined with the physiology of vision. There are three significant fields of view for human vision; the high resolution foveal view (small, like your thumb nail at arm's length), normal (about your hand size at arms length), and wide (greater than 180degrees.) It is not surprising there are individual preferences.

Dave in Iowa
09-28-2009, 07:45 PM   #12
Veteran Member
Ratmagiclady's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: GA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 13,563
QuoteOriginally posted by gokenin Quote
So then if I wanted to take my 43 ltd and use it as an everyday lens on any of my film cameras (except the spotmatic) it would be a good walk around lens?
Very nice, I think. 50-55mm is to me the most 'normal' in terms of how things relate to each other in space, but FOV wise, I like the neighborhood of 40mm for a lot of things. To me it's 'semi-wide' but I like things a little tighter than convention. (where many would like to use a 35, I like more like 40, as I learned from Canonets and a zoom. If my fast 50mm on my Canons were a 58, that'd be just nice, too. )

I find that with digital, I can carry one 28mm (which equates to about a 43) and it'll do the job of a 35 and a 50. Since I live in the short portrait lengths, mostly, it's very useful. I joke that on my old film Canons, if someone glued my 85 on there, I might not notice for a few weeks, but if I could only have one other focal length, it'd probably be around 43.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
view
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Field of view with small sensors Spring Creek Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 7 07-24-2010 06:48 AM
Field of view Opahujo Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 9 12-04-2009 09:50 AM
which len with 60° field of view yipchunyu Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 0 09-20-2009 08:52 AM
Crop Factor and Field of View Ole Photography Articles 0 02-01-2009 09:31 AM
Field of view chart Big Dave Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 53 04-09-2008 05:17 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:52 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top