Another noobie question

[cphile]

Hi,

On the 35mm format, which focal length is taken as Life-Sized pictures. (ie. size on photo reflects size in real life)?

I read somewhere that it's 80mm but others say that it's 50mm?

Or are they both wrong?

Is there any commonly used or popular focals lengths for capturing street shooting, still life?



Many thanks in advance

[yaoxing]

A 1.70-metre tall man can always be squeezed into a 35mm frame, so how can that ever reflect life-size? Are you referring to the focal length to achieve a "standard ratio" (if there exist) between object size and image size?

Experts feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I'm also interested to know the answer.

[tomcat]

Non-expert here... but only 1:1 reproduction Macro lenses can produce images where the objects are the same in absolute size as their real-life counterparts. And these lenses can come in different focal lengths eg. 50mm, 90mm, 100mm, 105mm 180mm, etc.
But I don't think that's what cphile actually mean to ask, right?

[cphile]

hmm....

I dunno leh...

-__-?

[cphile]

ummm....

I think I was asking about how those people shoot those ads in newpapers that reflect the advertised object as "Actual size shown"

Erm... or is it just a matter of how u control the enlargement process to the final print size?

I hate being a n00bie >_<!!

[tomcat]

Originally Posted by cphile ummm.... I think I was asking about how those people shoot those ads in newpapers that reflect the advertised object as "Actual size shown" Erm... or is it just a matter of how u control the enlargement process to the final print size? I hate being a n00bie >_<!!

That's just through enlargement of the final print until the object in the image is the same size as the real-life object itself.

[yahoosg]

at 50mm focal length, the angle that you see in the viewfinder is equivalent to what the human eye can see.

when it is lower than 50mm, let says 28mm, it is considered a wide angle because you can see more things in the viewfinder since it cover a greater angle. the human eye cant see that kind of extreme wide angle.

hence, focal length has nothing to do with giving a "real size" pix. hope i am making sense. hee..

[Gui]

Originally Posted by cphile Hi, On the 35mm format, which focal length is taken as Life-Sized pictures. (ie. size on photo reflects size in real life)?

3x zoom is around the actual size u see in real life thru the viewfinder.

[ckiang]

Originally Posted by Gui 3x zoom is around the actual size u see in real life thru the viewfinder.

"3x zoom" is never an accurate representation. It all depends on what "1x" is. A Sigma 300-800 is a 2.6x zoom, but I am sure you're not going to get actual size pics.

Regards
CK

[justarius]

I'm no micro expert but I think lifesize reproduction is not a function of focal length but rather that of a lens itself. There are lens which can get you 1:1 or bigger reproduction on the film, i.e. the object is the same size on the negative as it is in real life. To get lifesize prints however, I agree with tomcat that it's just a question of enlarging the print until you get the size you want.

[cphile]

Thanks all for the replies...

I guess it's a mix up between life-sized printouts vs. "real-life" viewing angle of the human eye.

But I get the general idea... ^_^