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TRENDING POSTS

A
Mathematical
Look at
Focal
Length
and Crop
Factor
2013

JUN 15,

CARLTON
BASSETT

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Im hoping this post can

explain a lot of the
confusion beginning
photographers have about
focal length and crop
factors. Some
understanding of basic
geometry is required for
you to fully grasp this post.
Also note that Ill be
rounding the math decently
well. Just run through the
calculations if you want
exact answers.

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The Normal Focal

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There is a focal length on

every system called the
normal. This length is
defined by the
Pythagorean theorem.

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B2 = C2. The length of the

two sides of the sensor are
A and B. The normal is
the length of the diagonal.
Nikon D800
24mm * 36mm sensor size
242=576, 362=1296
576+1296=1872
1876= a normal of 43mm

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Canon T2i
15mm * 22.5mm sensor
size
152=225, 22.52=506
225+506=731
731= a normal of 27mm
iPhone 5
4.54mm * 3.42 mm sensor
size
4.54^2=20.6, 3.422=11.7
20.6+11.7=32.3
32.3= a normal of 5.7mm
Calculating the Field of
View
Now you have the normal
length for each of this
cameras. What do you do
with it? You calculate their
field of view.
a=2arctan(d/(2*FL))
In other words, angle of
view (a) is 2 multiplied by
the inverse tangent of your
sensor size (either vertical,
horizontal, or diagonal)
divided by twice your given
focal length (FL).

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ARCHIVES

We have a normal length

for each camera, so lets
start there.
BUT MISTER! What about
my mount? Im using full
frame EF glass on my crop
Canon T2i! you might say,
but hold on. The formula
didnt ask for that
information yet.
Nikon D800 (horizontal)
angle of view for a 43mm
lens: 2*arctan(36/(43*2))
Canon T2i (horizontal)
angle of view for a 27mm
lens: 2*arctan(22.5/(27*2))
iPhone 5 (long side) angle
of view for a 5.7mm lens:
2*arctan(4.54/(5.7*2))
For those without fancy
calculators, just ignore the
2*arctan part. For those
with fancy calculators,
arctan is the same as tan-1.
Run the calculations

yourself and see what you

get. No peeking because
Im not posting the
answers.
The Concept of Normal
Lenses

Notice how all of the

cameras produce nearly
the exact same result? Its
as if theyre only a bit o
because I rounded!
These cameras, with
significantly dierent focal
lengths, are producing an
image with the exact same
framing. I lied about not
posting the answers: its
approximately 45 degrees
(0.4 for those just doing
division). Thats crazy,
right? Its because the
normal is a special focal
length defined by the
sensor size. Neither wide
nor narrow, short nor long.
These lengths just feel
normal.

Sigmas 30mm f/1.4 was

created because its close
to the APS-C sensors
normal focal length.
Companies created 35mm
and 50mm lenses for a
long time because these
lengths are a bit wider and
narrower than 35mm films
normal length. This is the
reason the 50mm lens is so
popular and inexpensive.
Ill cover these lenses later.
So now you understand the
normal length. Its that silly
geometric thing that
defines what looks normal
for any dierent sensor
size. (Homework
assignment: Whats the
normal length of a
Hasselblad H4D-60:
40.2mm 53.7mm?
Comment with your
answer.)
Practical Applications

Lets put the normal into

practice. Lets say we want
to take a portrait of our
friend Sally. You fill the
frame with his head from
ear to ear. Now Sallys
friend John wants to join,
so you need a lens twice as
wide to fit Johns big girly
head in. Running back to
your calculator, you punch
in numbers!

The horizontal angle of the

normal is 45.18 degrees.
Twice as wide means twice
as many degrees.
45.18*2=90.36, and now
you run the calculation in
reverse for your Nikon
D800. 90.36 =
2*arctan(36/2X), so
X=17.88.
A 17.88mm lens is exactly
twice as wide as your
43mm lens. This works on
all cameras; check for

yourself.
Want something twice as
narrow? Just divide your
angle of view by 2. Three
times as wide? Multiple that
angle by 3. What matters is
your angle of view. What
doesnt matter is your focal
length. Your focal length is
only one part of the formula
that provides real images.
Lets compare two
cameras:
Canon T2i vs. Hasselblad
H4D-60, 15*22.5 vs.
40.2*53.7, both using an
80mm lens:

Canon T2i:
a=2arctan(22.5/(2*80))=16
degrees
Hasselblad H4D-60:
a=2arctan(53.7/(2*80))=37.1
degrees
The exact same 80mm is
more than twice as wide on
the Hasselblad than it is on
the Canon. Keep in mind
we havent talked about
mounts yet. Theyre not
aecting any of our

numbers.
Full Frame vs. Crop
Sensor Lenses

Time to explain why some

lenses work on some
cameras and not others (EF
vs EF-S). Lets talk circles of
light. Your sensor is 24mm
by 36mm if you shoot 135
format (I dont like the term
full frame).
Go find a roll of duct tape
or painters tape. The inside
diameter should be around
2-3 inches. Now go find a
roll of toilet paper. The
inside diameter should be
1-2. Grab a flashlight. Hold
the tape or toilet paper roll
about an inch o the
surface of your desk. Shine
the light straight in. Notice
how each object creates a
circle of light.

The tape is clearly a bigger

circle than the toilet paper
dowel. The size of these
doesnt change as you
move the flashlight in and
out (until you get too close
to the front of your lens).
Thats what camera
sensors use. Your lenses all
create various sizes of light
circles. They make these
circles at a specific
distance. This is known as
the flange distance. If you
hold your lenses at the
proper distance, they will
make an image circle just
big enough to fit your
sensor inside.

Canon EF 135mm f/2L? Itll

create a 36mm circle of
light when held 44mm from
a surface. A Hasselblad has
a larger sensor to use, so it
uses a larger lens. The tape
roll instead of the toilet
paper. Your Micro 4/3rds
camera uses an even
smaller lens because it
requires only an 18mm
circle.
So now you know why a
M4/3 lens wont work well
on an APS-C sensor
camera. Or why there exist
crop only lenses such as
the kit 18-55mm lenses.
These lenses just wont fit a
larger camera. Because
their image circle is smaller,
the manufacturer can be
more creative with the
range. Sigma has created
an f/1.8 zoom. They could
do this because it only
needed to cover an APS-C
frame.
How Lens Mounts Factor
In

Whats the other reason?

Mounts. Your DSLR has a
mirror. If your lens was
closer than the flange
distance itd hit the mirror.
Mirrorless lenses are made
to be closer to the sensor.
Same goes for EF-S mount.
The EF-S mount was
created to allow Canon to
make lenses that fit closer
to the sensor because they
didnt have to worry about
hitting the mirror.
There is no such thing as
crop glass. (Bubble has
been burst.) There is such a
thing as a lens that sits too
close to the mirror and isnt
physically large enough to
cover the entire sensor.
Switch sensor and you
switch angle of view, but
the mount or crop factor
matter ZERO to your angle
of view assuming of course
that your image circle will
cover the sensor.

Lets run the numbers just

to be sure:
Canon 5D Mark III with EF
50mm lens. Angle of view =
2arctan(36/(50*2))
Canon 5D Mark III with EFS 50mm lens. Angle of
view = 2arctan(36/(50*2))
Canon T2i with EF 50mm
lens. Angle of view =
2arctan(22.5/(50*2))
Canon T2i with EF-S 1855mm lens set to 50mm.
Angle of view =
2arctan(22.5/(50*2))
Yep. Sensor size matters
but mount does not.
TL;DR
Forget mounts and crop
factors. Just calculate the
angles of view.

About the author: Carlton

Bassett is a photographer
in Raleigh, NC, who
primarily shoots portraits
and weddings. He enjoys
wildlife photography in his

spare time. This article

originally appeared here.

Image credit: Determining

Lens Focal Length by
dvanzuijlekom, sensor
photo by Filya1, angle of
view illustration by
Moxfyre, 32 Normal
Lenses Test 1977 by
Nesster, Click! by JosMa
Orsini, Circle by
Sarah_Ackerman, Canon
EF-S 18-55mm (F3.5-5.6).
by MIKI Yoshihito ()
TAG S : ANGLEOFVIEW ,
CARLTONBASSETT, FOCALLENGTH,
MATH , SCIENCE

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Jonathan
Maniago
3 years ago

I wish that camera and

lens companies had
just used degrees/field
of view instead of focal
length. I think it's more
intuitive and more
relevant for
photographers (like
aperture often being
expressed as a ratio
rather than physical
length).
7

Reply
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D.G.
Brown >
Jonathan
Maniago
3 years
ago

My apologies,

but that's silly,

especially given
what you just
read. The
sensor/film size
is part of the
equation, which
means that you
simply cannot
calculate the
angle of view by
only knowing
the focal length
of a given lens.
An EF lens is
going to have
dierent fields
of view
depending on
which sensor is
attached. This
isn't a new
problem either,
as camera
systems have a
history of
switching out
how big the film
or sensor can
be.
In addition, field
of view is just
one of a group
of attributes you
have to take
into account.
How aperture
plays in, for
instance,
requires both
knowing focal
length and
sensor size (for
calculating
exposure and
depth of field).

Keep in mind
that angle of
view is, in many
ways, just a
number. Yes,
you can imagine
a protractor and
see how much
an area you are
seeing, but
that's a process
of having
learned such a
thing (and
hopefully we all
learned that in
geometry
class). However,
photographers
have just taken
a dierent
approach,
which is simply
taking your
favorite
sensor/film size,
learning which
focal lengths
create which
fields of view
(not as a
number, but as
a perspective in
their head), and
then learning a
coecient for
other sizes if
needed.
As a note, if you
shoot Canon
and have to go
back and forth
between crop
and FF a lot,
you'll have an

easier time
driving in
Canada ;-)
3

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Reply

Jonathan
Maniago
>
D.G.
Brown
3
years
ago

Yes, I'm
well
aware of
the
mathematics
involved
and I
have no
issues
with
juggling
with
numbers.
My point
is that
angle of
view is
still a
more
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