What makes a wide angle, a wide angle?

[BLD_007]

What makes a wide angle a wide angle?

Is it anything lower than 24mm? or is it not the focal length but something else? Like can a 200mm be a "wide angle"?

Whats the difference between a fish eye and a wide angle?


I know this is a n00b question but I have never had to deal with wide angle before. I want a wide angle so I can do some artistic shots and just plain fun shots.

So help me out, what makes a lenses "wide angle"


THANKS !

[TPF Sponsor]

[Derrel]

A short focal length, relative to the size of the film or sensor is what makes a lens show a wide angle. On a camera that shoots 6x7 centimeter negatives, a 37mm lens is considered a VERY wide-angle lens....on a tiny-sensored digicam with a sensor the size of a pencil eraser, a 37mm lens is an ultra-telephoto lens.

On a view camera that shoots 8x10 inch sheet film, a 90mm lens is considered a wide-angle lens....on the rougly 24mm x 36mm size of standard 35mm film cameras made over the last few decades, a 90mm is a moderate telephoto length.

To the Jolly Green Giant, a 1-gallon cafeteria-sized tin can of canned corn is a snack...to me, its like a month's worth of canned corn...

On your APS-C Canon, I'd look for a wide zoom in the 10-20mm, 11-16mm, or 12-24mm focal length range as being a true "wide-angle" zoom lens.

[BLD_007]

A short focal length, relative to the size of the film or sensor is what makes a lens show a wide angle. On a camera that shoots 6x7 centimeter negatives, a 37mm lens is considered a VERY wide-angle lens....on a tiny-sensored digicam with a sensor the size of a pencil eraser, a 37mm lens is an ultra-telephoto lens.

On a view camera that shoots 8x10 inch sheet film, a 90mm lens is considered a wide-angle lens....on the rougly 24mm x 36mm size of standard 35mm film cameras made over the last few decades, a 90mm is a moderate telephoto length.

To the Jolly Green Giant, a 1-gallon cafeteria-sized tin can of canned corn is a snack...to me, its like a month's worth of canned corn...

On your APS-C Canon, I'd look for a wide zoom in the 10-20mm, 11-16mm, or 12-24mm focal length range as being a true "wide-angle" zoom lens.

thanks, my birthday is coming up and I'm making a wish list.

Some things on my mind...

Wide Angle
A very fast lens "1.8 or less"
A macro lens
or lighting either a strobe kit or a back drop kit

[BLD_007]

This lens is listed as being wide angle but its a 35mm.

Since my camera is a crop sensor its not really a "Wide" angle ?

I do like the 1.4 though and the L =/

I'm tuning into a L **** lol

edit: forgot link
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...specifications

[cfusionpm]

The "angle" in "wide angle" refers to the angle of view. This angle changes depending on both the focal length and the sensor size.

35mm on a Full Frame would have the same angle of view as 22mm would on a Canon 1.6 Crop Frame. So on a full frame, its pretty wide. But put that same 35mm lens on a 1.6 crop camera will have the apparent angle of view of a 56mm lens, which is not very wide.

At the very bottom of this link is an interactive demo on focal length and angle of view. The focal numbers do not change no matter what kind of camera you are mounting them on, but the apparent angle of view will be different (by a matter of 1.6 in this case). So for example, the 20mm lens has a 94º angle of view based on a full frame. To get that same angle of view on a 1.6 crop, you would need a 12.5mm lens.

[BLD_007]

The "angle" in "wide angle" refers to the angle of view. This angle changes depending on both the focal length and the sensor size.

35mm on a Full Frame would have the same angle of view as 22mm would on a Canon 1.6 Crop Frame. So on a full frame, its pretty wide. But put that same 35mm lens on a 1.6 crop camera will have the apparent angle of view of a 56mm lens, which is not very wide.

At the very bottom of this link is an interactive demo on focal length and angle of view. The focal numbers do not change no matter what kind of camera you are mounting them on, but the apparent angle of view will be different (by a matter of 1.6 in this case). So for example, the 20mm lens has a 94º angle of view based on a full frame. To get that same angle of view on a 1.6 crop, you would need a 12.5mm lens.

just to make sure...

A crop sensor takes a few off the angle? Like a 15mm on a crop would really be a 24?

[cfusionpm]

That's exactly correct. It's because the lens is projecting the same image on a smaller sensor, so it's as if you zoomed in to a greater focal length.

The easiest way is to just multiply it out: A 24-70mm lens on a 1.6 crop body would have the same general view as a 38-112mm lens on a full frame. Likewise, a 17-55mm lens on a crop body would have the same field of view as a 27-88mm lens on a full frame.

[BLD_007]

That's exactly correct. It's because the lens is projecting the same image on a smaller sensor, so it's as if you zoomed in to a greater focal length.

The easiest way is to just multiply it out: A 24-70mm lens on a 1.6 crop body would have the same general view as a 38-112mm lens on a full frame. Likewise, a 17-55mm lens on a crop body would have the same field of view as a 27-88mm lens on a full frame.

you ever think cannon will have a full frame camera that has a fast shutter?

Thats the only reason I went with the 50d was because it was the best camera at the time I could afford that was good for sports.

This lens here is a fish eye lens.
Canon Fisheye EF 15mm f/2.8 Autofocus Lens 2535A003 - B&H Photo

Its a 180* at 15mm. I know the 15mm will more likely be 24mm but will I still get the 180*?

[Steve01]

Look through the view finder and then move the camera away.
Forget the field of view. If what your looking at is the same size either way that's the benchmark.

That happens to be 50mm on a film 35mm camera, 50mm on a full frame digital SLR and about 80mm on a cropped sensor DSLR.

For simplicity lets stick with 50 MM being 1:1
Anything less is technically wide angle and anything more is technically telephoto.

Before there were zoom lens, wide angle lenses went something like 35mm, 28mm, 21mm, 18mm, etc.

Now instead of fixed, it's variable, but when you look through your view finder anything smaller than 1:1 is wide angle anything larger than 1:1 is telephoto.

[cfusionpm]

you ever think cannon will have a full frame camera that has a fast shutter?

Thats the only reason I went with the 50d was because it was the best camera at the time I could afford that was good for sports.

I think it's doubtful. Their flagship 1D is still a 1.3 crop, and of course the 7D is a 1.6 APS-C. It'd be nice to have, IMO, but I guess Canon feels that those shooting for sports would rather take advantage of the smaller viewing angle (simulated longer telephoto). I can't say I agree with it, but it seems they leave the full frames for slow-paced studio work.

[Helen B]

The general rule of thumb is that a 'normal' lens in still photography has a focal length that is roughly the same as the diagonal of the film or image format. For full frame 35 mm that means a lens between 40 mm and 50 mm. (It's only a rough rule)

This is based on the notion that people view a print at a distance of about the diagonal of the print. The combination of these two factors means that the print is viewed with the same perspective as the viewer would see if they stood at the camera position. It has nothing to do with what you see in the viewfinder compared with what you see directly because viewfinder magnification has an effect.

Any lens wider than 'normal' would be called a wide angle.

A fisheye is a special type of lens that alters the way the image is projected onto the film or sensor plane. With rectilinear lenses (non fisheye) the angle of the central ray of light entering the lens from an object is the same as the angle it leaves the lens at (in very very simplified terms - reality is more complicated). With a fisheye lens this relationship is not maintained - the greater the angle the ray enters at, the more it is bent from a 'straight line' towards the centre of the image. I can explain this in greater detail if you wish.

'Telephoto' has two meanings in photography: one is a technical definition of a lens that is shorter than its focal length when focused at infinity (the front/first nodal point is in front of the front/first vertex) and one is a lens with a focal length longer than 'normal'. Many wide angle lenses designed for true SLRs happen to be 'inverted telephotos' also called 'retrofocus' lenses because the piece of glass closest to the image plane (the rear or second vertex) is further away from the image plane than the focal length of the lens. This is done so that the lens does not foul the mirror.

Best,
Helen

[fokker]

That's exactly correct. It's because the lens is projecting the same image on a smaller sensor, so it's as if you zoomed in to a greater focal length.

The easiest way is to just multiply it out: A 24-70mm lens on a 1.6 crop body would have the same general view as a 38-112mm lens on a full frame. Likewise, a 17-55mm lens on a crop body would have the same field of view as a 27-88mm lens on a full frame.

you ever think cannon will have a full frame camera that has a fast shutter?

Thats the only reason I went with the 50d was because it was the best camera at the time I could afford that was good for sports.

This lens here is a fish eye lens.
Canon Fisheye EF 15mm f/2.8 Autofocus Lens 2535A003 - B&H Photo

Its a 180* at 15mm. I know the 15mm will more likely be 24mm but will I still get the 180*?

The 15mm fisheye on a 1.6x body is a bit of a letdown to be honest. You can barely see the fisheye effect. That lens is really only of any use on a full frame body.