Wide angle shootout.

[Greg B]

Excellent explanation, thanks Leigh

Using Field of View (or Picture Angle as Nikon call it) as a gauge...


16mm Fisheye.............Film 180 degrees Digital 107 degrees
14mm Wide.................Film 114 degrees Digital 90 degrees
18mm Widish...............Film 100 degrees Digital 76 degrees
50mm "Standard"........Film 46 degrees Digital 31.5 degrees
35mm.........................Film 62 degrees Digital 44 degrees

So a 35mm lens on a digital (DX) is approx the same as what we considered to be a standard 50mm lens on a 35mm film camera

[Heath Bennett]

But based on this poll, the 17-40 is really no different from the 17-35 and isn't really a "wide-angle lens" per say...

It is wide-angle, and on a 5D, you'd be getting a 17-40 rather than a 25-60 like you would on the 20D, but it's not as wide as say a 12mm on your 20D which comes out to around 18mm instead.

I have removed what I put here instantly because it was immature.

EDIT - Nikon vs Canon related.

[birddog114]

But based on this poll, the 17-40 is really no different from the 17-35 and isn't really a "wide-angle lens" per say...

It is wide-angle, and on a 5D, you'd be getting a 17-40 rather than a 25-60 like you would on the 20D, but it's not as wide as say a 12mm on your 20D which comes out to around 18mm instead.

I have removed what I put here instantly because it was immature.

EDIT - Nikon vs Canon related.

But then again, is the Canon 17-40 wide enough on FF body?

[Heath Bennett]

But based on this poll, the 17-40 is really no different from the 17-35 and isn't really a "wide-angle lens" per say...

It is wide-angle, and on a 5D, you'd be getting a 17-40 rather than a 25-60 like you would on the 20D, but it's not as wide as say a 12mm on your 20D which comes out to around 18mm instead.

I have removed what I put here instantly because it was immature.

EDIT - Nikon vs Canon related.

But then again, is the Canon 17-40 wide enough on FF body?

I was thinking more about the speed - Isn't it f/4?

Ultra wide shootout at Nikonians:

http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/nikon_articles/nikkor/af/wide_angles_shootout/index.html

[gstark]

Excellent explanation, thanks Leigh

Using Field of View (or Picture Angle as Nikon call it) as a gauge...


16mm Fisheye.............Film 180 degrees Digital 107 degrees
14mm Wide.................Film 114 degrees Digital 90 degrees
18mm Widish...............Film 100 degrees Digital 76 degrees
50mm "Standard"........Film 46 degrees Digital 31.5 degrees
35mm.........................Film 62 degrees Digital 44 degrees

So a 35mm lens on a digital (DX) is approx the same as what we considered to be a standard 50mm lens on a 35mm film camera

This raises the real question of what, exactly, is a wide angle lens.

In the good old days (BC) the concept of a "normal" lens was related to the field of view that the human eye could see, and thus the 50mm lens, which has the closest such angle, was deemed to be "normal".

Anything that had a wider field of view was therefore a wide angle lens, and anything narrower, telephoto.

Let's now use that as the basis of a comparison: the Nikkor 35mm, on a Nikon digital, has a 44 degree field of view, and thus might be considered to be a "normal" lens for Nikon DX cameras.

Consequently, anything with a wider FoV than the 35 would be deemed to ba a wide angle lens, and anything with a narrower FoV (including the 50mm) a telephoto.

And, of course, this is borne out by our expereinces in using these lenses.

At the extreme wide end of the range, a 15 or 16 on a film body might exhibit the characteristics of a fish-eye, because of its larger image circle.

On a DX body, with those samme lenses, the available image circle is smaller, the edges are cropped, the FoV is less, and the distortion at the edges that gives the characteristic appearance of a fish-eye image are lost as a consequence.

That's how it is for Nikon bodies.

For Canon bodies, the effect is similar, but slightly different, depending upon the body, as (and this is my understanding) different Canon bodies have slightly different sized sensors, and the actual picture angle factor varies between 1.4 - 1.6, depending upon the body in use.

[birddog114]

This raises the real question of what, exactly, is a wide angle lens.

In the good old days (BC).....................................

[stubbsy]

I have nothing to add to this excellent discussion, but had to comment on this :

At the boring wide end of the range...

Hoist by your own petard?

[phillipb]

Gary, just to complicate things, the field of view that you're talking about is different to the view out of the viewfinder. I find that I need to adjust the kit lens to just under 70mm to see the same size object out of my left eye as I do out of the viewfinder.

[gstark]

This raises the real question of what, exactly, is a wide angle lens.

In the good old days (BC).....................................

Before Computers.

These days, of course, it's AD - After Digital.

[gstark]

I have nothing to add to this excellent discussion, but had to comment on this :

At the boring wide end of the range...

Hoist by your own petard?

Busted!

[gstark]

Gary, just to complicate things, the field of view that you're talking about is different to the view out of the viewfinder. I find that I need to adjust the kit lens to just under 70mm to see the same size object out of my left eye as I do out of the viewfinder.

I find that most users close one eye to use the viewfinder, and this seems to be particularly true of those who are left-eyed, and for whom using both eyes while composing presents different issues (in terms of comfort) to those of us who are right-eyed.

That said, what you're saying is true, but it's dependant upon a number of other variables, such as the degree of magnification in the viewfinder (and the D70 is differenct from the D200 is different from the D2X - I don't know the magnification factor of Canons, so sorry) the eyepoint also affects this, of course the lens mounted on the camera affects this, and the zoom setting of that lens, should it be a zoom, also has an effect.

As does, to some extent, the amount of coverage that the viewfinder provides: on the D70 there's a greater amount (of the actual picture area) missing when compared with its bigger brothers.

The best idea, I think, is to- if you do use both eyes - just get accustommed to the fact that you're seeing two different sized views of the image, and deal with it. Let's face it: if you're using an 80-400, or perhaps the 12-24, there's no way that you're going to be seeing matching views anyway, so one may as well just treat that scenario as the norm.

[phillipb]

Completely agree with you Gary, although the point I was trying to make was not so much the ability to use both eyes at the same time, but the net result as far as perspective is concerned. In other words If I want a printed photo to have the same perspective as real life with my D70, I use a 35mm lens even though what I see in the viewfinder doesn't look like real life, if you know what I mean.

[gstark]

Phillip,

makes perfect sense to me.

Signed,

The Muddle Headed Wombat.