Total beginners advice pls?

[adele87]

Hi there,

Been having good read through all the beginner threads and finding it so helpful! I take pictures of interiors, my comfort zone is in styling and composing a good scene. Actually getting the shot is quite challenging for me. I’ve used my iPhone up till now but recently bought the canon 200d. I’m struggling to get the type of shots I normally do with my phone. For example, in my bedroom I can easily take a shot of the bed, see part of the floor and also capture the bottom of the light fixture on the ceiling. However with the Canon, I can only get quite a wide view of the bed (can’t include anything below or above) Am I just used to the iPhone and need to practise? Or do I need a different lens?
Any advice would be so much appreciated!

 

[Soocom1]

Remember that the camera is a box. the real work is with the lens.

What your describing is the field of view.
The lens you are using seems to not have it.
I would first post pictures of the comparison between the two.
The lens your using on the 200d needs to be wide enough to capture all of the image.
There is alot of mechanics behind it that you will eventually learn. But the real focus should first be on the actual view itself.

Post the lens type and the folks here can help lead you in the direction you need.

 

[Designer]

For example, in my bedroom I can easily take a shot of the bed, see part of the floor and also capture the bottom of the light fixture on the ceiling. However with the Canon, I can only get quite a wide view of the bed (can’t include anything below or above) Am I just used to the iPhone and need to practise? Or do I need a different lens?

The camera function of your phone typically has a very wide angle lens, whereas the lens on your camera is not that wide. Yes, you can get a wider lens for your camera, but that is additional expense.

 

[dxqcanada]

I think an iPhone has an angle of view of about 64 degrees ... which is about the same as a 28mm full frame focal length ... which is about 16mm on an APS-C sensor.

 

[Derrel]

I think an iPhone has an angle of view of about 64 degrees ... which is about the same as a 28mm full frame focal length ... which is about 16mm on an APS-C sensor.

What is focal length of iPhone 7 lens?

 

[RVT1K]

Hi there,

Been having good read through all the beginner threads and finding it so helpful! I take pictures of interiors, my comfort zone is in styling and composing a good scene. Actually getting the shot is quite challenging for me. I’ve used my iPhone up till now but recently bought the canon 200d. I’m struggling to get the type of shots I normally do with my phone. For example, in my bedroom I can easily take a shot of the bed, see part of the floor and also capture the bottom of the light fixture on the ceiling. However with the Canon, I can only get quite a wide view of the bed (can’t include anything below or above) Am I just used to the iPhone and need to practise? Or do I need a different lens?
Any advice would be so much appreciated!

Before I can comment on your need for a new lens, I'll need to know what lens you were using at the time.

 

[adele87]

Hi there,

Been having good read through all the beginner threads and finding it so helpful! I take pictures of interiors, my comfort zone is in styling and composing a good scene. Actually getting the shot is quite challenging for me. I’ve used my iPhone up till now but recently bought the canon 200d. I’m struggling to get the type of shots I normally do with my phone. For example, in my bedroom I can easily take a shot of the bed, see part of the floor and also capture the bottom of the light fixture on the ceiling. However with the Canon, I can only get quite a wide view of the bed (can’t include anything below or above) Am I just used to the iPhone and need to practise? Or do I need a different lens?
Any advice would be so much appreciated!

Before I can comment on your need for a new lens, I'll need to know what lens you were using at the time.

 

[adele87]

So the kit lens it came with is a 15 - 25 mm. Thanks for any advice!

 

[RVT1K]

Did you mean 15 - 85mm?

Either way, with the lens zoomed out to the 15mm setting, that is as good as it will get. There is a factor being introduced by the camera's sensor that has the effect of making the lens act like it is zoomed in a little. That is what a previous post was talking about when mentioning a APS-C sensor.

If you did have the lens set to it's widest (15mm) and still cannot get everything that you want in the shot, there are pretty much only two options.
The first and most obvious is the move back. Unfortunately this is not always an option indoors.
The second is a wider angle lens although 15mm is pretty wide and going wider will probably be expensive.

Personally I would recommend that you get more familiar with your new camera before worrying about more equipment. You really only need something once you are well and truly being held back by what you have. As a beginner, you have a ways to go before you need to worry about that.

 

[adele87]

Did you mean 15 - 85mm?

Either way, with the lens zoomed out to the 15mm setting, that is as good as it will get. There is a factor being introduced by the camera's sensor that has the effect of making the lens act like it is zoomed in a little. That is what a previous post was talking about when mentioning a APS-C sensor.

If you did have the lens set to it's widest (15mm) and still cannot get everything that you want in the shot, there are pretty much only two options.
The first and most obvious is the move back. Unfortunately this is not always an option indoors.
The second is a wider angle lens although 15mm is pretty wide and going wider will probably be expensive.

Personally I would recommend that you get more familiar with your new camera before worrying about more equipment. You really only need something once you are well and truly being held back by what you have. As a beginner, you have a ways to go before you need to worry about that.

 

[adele87]

Sorry complete typo there it’s an 18 - 55 mm lens of that makes any difference? Thanks!

 

[Soocom1]

The 18 side of that lens is the wide side of the lens.
Without goign into the mechanics, if the iPhone is capturing more area then that means that it has a wider Angle of View AOV. Whereas the 200D with the 18mm is not as wide as the lens on the iPhone.

dxqcanada said "I think an iPhone has an angle of view of about 64 degrees ... which is about the same as a 28mm full frame focal length ... which is about 16mm on an APS-C sensor."

What that means is that if you take the lens on the iPhone and put an imaginary cone representing the total view it is "seeing", it will be wider in total size than if you put a similar cone onto the 200d, but it DEPENDS n the AoV of the lens itself. Ergo: 15mm vs 18 vs 35, etc. The larger the number the smaller that cone becomes. The less side view you get.

When I spoke of FoV, there is a certain technicality involved:

Angle of View Vs. Field of View. Is There a Difference and Does it Even Matter?

 

[Matt Erasmus]

You just need to get used to the camera. I use a camera all day long and I really battle to take a pretty photo with an Iphone. Give it time and you will find the angles

Regards
Matt
https://lmfotografias.com/

 

[sumoncpk]

Such advice also useful specially to me .

 

[smoke665]

there are pretty much only two options.

Actually there's a third option. Mount the camera on a tripod, take multiple shots and merge them into a panorama in post.