To find my cameras standard focal length, I looked through the viewfinder with one eye, keeping the other eye open whilst looking at my chosen scene. I then adjusted the focal length until both eyes were looking at images of equivalent sizes. I stood at the end of my garden and used the technique above. The three photographs where taken from this position and show three different focal lengths.
First of all I found an area where I could see an object large enough to recognise in the wide angle shot. A tree on the rockery stood out to me as a suitable subject. Keeping both eyes open whilst looking through the viewfinder, I cycled through the focal lengths and found that at 55mm both images appeared to be the same size. Therefore 55mm is the standard for my camera.
Wide Angle
focal length 18mm, shutter speed 1/50sec, aperture f/4Standard
focal length 55mm, shutter speed 1/15sec, aperture f/5.6Telephoto
focal length 200mm, shutter speed 1/15sec, aperture f/5I had to hold the wide angle shot very close to my eyes for it to appear an equivalent size to the actual scene and the telephoto shot had to be held around two metres away. At standard focal length however, I could hold the photograph at a comfortable distance, just under an arms length away and was able to match the edges up with the scene.
I decided to take my next photographs along part of the Trans Pennine Trail as I knew I’d be able to find a wide open area with some detail in the distance. The images below were captured between Dunham Massey and Heatley.
The first four photographs are wide-angle shots of my chosen scene. They show detail much better in the foreground than in the distance although my chosen subject is still visable.
At a focal length of 55mm, image number five shows the scene with the same magnification and angle of view to that of the human eye.
For images number six to ten I needed to change to my telephoto lens. As the magnification increases the subject appears closer although this is not the same as moving the camera closer. When examined with a magnifier, the centre of the wide angle shot is identical to the 300mm telephoto shot.
Image number seven is my favourate. At 110mm the scene has some detail in the foreground and the subject can be seen clearly. It is a very comfortable image to look at; my eyes start off focusing on the tree, then go down and right to focus on the foreground, follow it up to the left but are then drawn back towards the centre of the image, they settle for a moment then go back to the foreground.
The first four photographs are wide-angle shots of my chosen scene. They show detail much better in the foreground than in the distance although my chosen subject is still visable.
At a focal length of 55mm, image number five shows the scene with the same magnification and angle of view to that of the human eye.
For images number six to ten I needed to change to my telephoto lens. As the magnification increases the subject appears closer although this is not the same as moving the camera closer. When examined with a magnifier, the centre of the wide angle shot is identical to the 300mm telephoto shot.
Image number seven is my favourate. At 110mm the scene has some detail in the foreground and the subject can be seen clearly. It is a very comfortable image to look at; my eyes start off focusing on the tree, then go down and right to focus on the foreground, follow it up to the left but are then drawn back towards the centre of the image, they settle for a moment then go back to the foreground.
18-55mm lens
01. focal length 18mm______________02. focal length 25mm
03. focal length 34mm______________04. focal length 47mm
05. focal length 55mm
75-300mm lens
06. focal length 75mm
07. focal length 110mm______________08. focal length 155mm
09. focal length 220mm______________10. focal length 300mm
The next image is a telephoto shot of my chosen subject. At 155mm the tree fills the frame from top to bottom, not much of the surrounding objects can be seen. The large bush in the background fills the area behind the subject and no sky can be seen.
Telephoto
focal length 155mm, shutter speed 1/320sec, aperture f/5
Wide Angle close-up
focal length 18mm, shutter speed 1/800sec, aperture f/3.5
Wide Angle distance________________Crop of Wide Angle
Telephoto
focal length 155mm, shutter speed 1/320sec, aperture f/5In the second image, although the subject is the same size, the large bush that filled the background of the first barely fills a quarter, sky is visible and a lot more of the surrounding objects can be seen.
Wide Angle close-up
focal length 18mm, shutter speed 1/800sec, aperture f/3.5It is clear to a viewer that the first image was taken with a telephoto lens from a distance due to the lack of surrounding objects and looks quite flat. The second image appears to have a lot more depth, with more objects that seem to get smaller behind the subject.
The third image was taken from the same position as the first. If magnified and cropped, the subject would appear the same as it does in the telephoto shot.
The third image was taken from the same position as the first. If magnified and cropped, the subject would appear the same as it does in the telephoto shot.
Wide Angle distance________________Crop of Wide Angle
focal length 18mm, shutter speed 1/1250sec, aperture f/3.5_
