What is Focal Length and Angle of View in Photography

capturetheatlas.com/what-is-focal-length/

Dan Zafra November 20, 2020

Focal length is one of the main considerations when buying and selecting a lens. And
understanding how focal length works is essential to capturing the photos you want.
Otherwise, you’ll be choosing lenses with random angles of view that only serve to confuse
you with choices.

While we do go into some depth here and there are some confusing elements surrounding
the topic, I’m confident that by the end of this article, you’ll have a solid foundation on what
is focal length and how it relates to digital photography.

Focal length touches upon many elements of the photography basics; composition,
aperture, depth of field, and other aspects all shift when taking focal length into account!
Each twist of the zoom ring or swap of a prime lens is a shift in the interplay of focal length
and your creative vision.

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What is Focal Length in Photography?

The simplest focal length definition is a description of the distance between the center of a
lens and the image sensor when the lens is focused at infinity.

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Focal length also relates to field of view (also called angle of view) because changing the
focal length changes the field of view – I’ll explain more about how the field of view and
focal length of a lens interact with each other in greater detail below.

It’s important to consider that focal length is a static property of a lens that’s true regardless
of crop factor; for example, a 16mm APS-C lens is a 16mm lens even if it has a 24mm
equivalent field of view in a full-frame camera. We’ll see + in-depth info about this below.

What Does the Focal Length of a Lens Mean?

How focal length works is by describing each lens in terms of millimeters (lens mm). This
description is a hard-physical reality of the lens in question, no matter the brand, format, or
aperture.

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This concept can be complicated when the crop factor and the field of view come into play
since we began to ask what is the equivalence of the focal length of a lens using it in a
camera with a different sensor format.

You can see more detailed information on this topic in our article on sensor sizes in
photography.

So what are the mm in lenses? The key is to understand that focal length is calculated
by measuring the distance from the optical center of the lens to the image sensor, and this
distance is measured in mm. The longer the focal length, the physically longer the lens will
be. Lenses with a wider view will have a shorter focal length and are physically shorter by
comparison.

How Focal Length and Field of View are related

Apart from the definition of focal length in photography as the measurement in

millimeters from the lens to the image sensor, focal length has a direct impact on the angle
of view, which is a static property of the lens in question but is impacted by the sensor crop
factor.

The angle of view in photography is the area of the scene that is captured by the camera
sensor. This area is described in degrees of coverage in front of the camera.

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Field of view relates to the angle of view for a given lens.

In practical terms, angle of view and field of view are used interchangeably in photography
to indicate the way our cameras “see” the scene, and using a short focal length or a long
focal length will change drastically the field of view or the amount of the scene that is
photographed.

What is a Short Focal Length (Wide Angle of View)?

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When you look at the focal length of the lens in question and you see a number below
35mm, you know you’re looking at a short focal length.

These lenses take on an expansive field of view that’s wider than what we normally pay
attention to. An image taken with a 15mm lens will seem abnormally expansive, taking, for
example, an entire landscape with ease.

Photographs taken with short focal lengths show distortion in certain elements; those
closer to the foreground are magnified whereas all the elements in the background will show
a diminished perspective.

What is a Long Focal Length (Small Picture Angle)?

A lens focal length that’s greater than 50mm is considered a long focal length. This view is
narrower than the normal view we’re accustomed to when paying bare attention. An image
taken with a 100mm telephoto lens will have a much smaller section of coverage than a
normal or wide-angle field of view.

Photos taken with a long focal length look more “compressed” as compared to shorter
focal lengths, and allow you to capture subjects from a farther distance without losing image
quality.

Please note that lens compression is not related to the lens, but to the distance
from the subject (Ex. You can achieve the same field of view and perspective shooting
an element with a short focal length like 20 mm or cropping the same area from a 50
mm as long as both images are taken from the same distance).

What is a Standard Focal Length?

Standard focal lengths range from 35mm to 50mm depending on the type of camera sensor.
The field of view provided by standard focal lengths approximates the field of view of the
human eye.

Images taken with a standard focal length show a natural perspective without distortions.

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How does Focal Length Affect an Image?
One key to understanding focal length is recognizing how the look of the image changes
using lenses with different focal lengths. Using a wide-angle lens, foreground elements are
emphasized while background elements are pushed even further away, looking smaller than
they really are.

As we step into normal focal lengths, which are closer to our human vision (like 35mm), this
effect is subtle to invisible. However, once we hit telephoto angles of view, the background
appears to be closer to the subject. This effect increases as your lens mm does.

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As you can see, the focal length we choose affects the final image. Also, the field of view
and lens distortions fundamentally affect the type of photography you do.

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For example, if I use a short focal length in portrait photography, parts of the body that are
closer to me can be unflatteringly emphasized. On the other hand, in genres like landscape
photography, it’s more common to see images taken with a wide-angle view, not only to
capture the entire scene in a single image but to emphasize elements in the foreground.

What is the Difference between Focal Length and Focal Distance?

Focal length in photography comes up far more often than focal distance, which is an
entirely different property of a lens. Focal distance is related to focal length but is not
dependent on it.

Focal distance is the distance between the subject you are focusing to the camera sensor.
Lenses that can work at close focal distances have higher magnification (or reproduction
ratios) relative to lenses that need you to stay far from the subject.

Macro lenses have the highest magnification due to their unique construction, which reduces
the focal distance they operate within and allow you to focus in very close subjects.

What is the Difference between Focal Length and Depth of Field?

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Focal length and depth of field are different properties of both a lens and sensor but are
somewhat related. Depth of field is how much of a scene is in sharp focus. How narrow or
wide the depth of field is, is an interaction between focal length, sensor size, subject
distance, and aperture value.

In the relation between focal length and depth of field, when all other values are equal,
short focal lengths (or wide angles of view) have deeper depth of field relative to long
focal lengths (narrow fields of view). Thus, the longer the focal length, the farther the
hyperfocal distance will be.

There are great apps and websites that allow you to calculate depth of field for a given focal
length, aperture, subject distance, and sensor.

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We explain this topic with more detail and examples in our guide to depth of field in
photography.

Sensor Size vs Field of View

Focal length comparisons are incomplete without the infamous crop factor discussion.
Nowadays, we have APS-C, Micro 4/3rds, medium format, and full-frame, all of which use a
lens focal length description centered around 35mm film gear. While this made sense when
the digital revolution began, it’s often simply confusing to parse nowadays.

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By taking the crop factor of a specific sensor and multiplying it by the field of view, we get
the field of view as if it were viewed in the 35mm standard.

I emphasize that we get the field of view because again, lens focal length is inherent to a
lens. A 25mm Micro 4/3rds lens has a 50mm full-frame field of view. However, it remains a
24mm lens with the distortion properties of a 24mm lens; it’s not magically a 50mm lens.

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Sensor size is a contentious topic and I’ve broken it down further in my article on
understanding Camera Sensor Size!

Lens Focal Length Comparison chart

Understanding focal length in photography can feel a bit overwhelming when trying to
account for all of the ways it changes the properties of an image. Below, I’ve outlined the
focal length differences across the major fields of view.

By comparing focal lengths, you can select those lenses that best suit your needs!

Wide-Angle Lens

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Focal length differences are especially stark with wide-angle lenses. Each mm of width
makes a visible difference, unlike telephoto lenses where it takes several mm to be easily
noticeable.

Wide-angle lenses or short focal lengths offer a great opportunity for shooting landscapes,
cityscapes, Milky Way photography, and Northern Lights photography.

14 mm focal length lens

Standard Lens

Normal or standard lenses have a focal length between 35mm and 50mm in full-frame terms.
When comparing across formats, they have a field of view that’s also equivalent to a normal
lens. These lenses best duplicate how we see the world.

Standard lenses or medium focal lengths are suitable for shooting many different genres
like portrait, street photography, landscape, etc.

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 50 mm focal length lens

Telephoto Lens
Telephoto lenses are those beyond 50mm. These lenses are also physically longer than wide
and normal lenses. The field of view is smaller but you gain significant reach.

These long focal lengths are perfect for close-up portraits, nature, and for capturing details
in a scene.

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 100 mm focal length lens

Super Telephoto Lens

Super telephoto lenses have very different focal lengths, ranging from 300mm and beyond.
When considering focal length and field of view, crop factor is incredibly important because
you can gain significant amounts of reach using a crop sensor like Micro 4/3rds.

These super long focal lengths are usually more expensive but they allow to capture
subjects from a very far distance like in sports and wildlife photography, and to shoot other
genres like deep astrophotography.

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 300 mm focal length lens.

Zoom vs. Prime Lens

Prime and zoom lenses are another aspect of the focal length explanation to consider.

Zoom lenses are what anyone who has ever picked up a camera in recent times is familiar
with. In fact, they are so common that I often find non-photographers get baffled when I hand
them a camera with a prime lens attached!

By twisting the barrel of a zoom lens, you can adjust the focal length and field of view of
your lens, which affects depth of field, distortion, and all other aspects of your image.

However, using a prime lens means that you have to physically move in order to create a
given field of view. Which kind of lens is better is an age-old question and really comes down
to your own personal preferences!

Prime Lens
A prime lens can’t be adjusted and its focal length and field of view are fixed. The trade-off
for flexibility in focal length is usually a wider aperture and better image quality because the
prime lens can be optimized for its angle of view. Usually but not always; some top-quality
zoom lenses nowadays are absolutely comparable to prime lenses in terms of quality for a
given focal length.

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Zoom Lens
Camera zoom lenses allows to change the angle of view without moving and are more
versatile than prime lenses. The downside is that maximum apertures are not usually as fast
as the fastest prime lenses. For example, an f/1.4 zoom would be ridiculously expensive and
massive.

Understanding Focal Length and Camera Zoom

Understanding your camera’s zoom ability helps you know what sort of pictures you can
reasonably expect to take. Just like with an interchangeable lens camera (ILC), the camera
will have a focal length range that tells you about the properties of the lens.

Fixed lens camera focal lengths can also be multiplied by the crop factor of the sensor in
order to compare it across formats. This is generally only important if you’re trying to
replicate a look across focal lengths; i.e. you know you want a 135mm full-frame portrait
style.

Focal Length Examples

Focal length can feel a little abstract when looking at one lens versus another. One of the
easiest ways to understand focal length is to look at images that use the lenses in
question! To wrap up, here are some focal length examples for you to consider:

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14 mm

24 mm

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35 mm

50 mm

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70 mm

85 mm

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135 mm

200 mm

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 400 mm

Focal Length FAQ

What Does the Focal Length of a Lens Mean?

Focal length is the physical measurement of distance between the lens and the imaging
sensor when the subject is in focus.

Why is Focal Length Important?

Focal length determines many of the characteristics of the photos you can take as well as
the physical dimensions of the lens.

How does Focal Length Affect an Image?

Focal length mainly impacts the field of view, the depth of field, and focal distance.

What is the Best Focal Length?

The best focal length is the one that gets you the image you’re trying to create!

Conclusion

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Lens focal length is a surprisingly nuanced topic! A simple physical measurement leads to
so many considerations that go into how an image is composed. From the angle of view to
depth of field, no aspect of a photograph goes untouched.

Hopefully, this article on explaining focal length has clarified some of the stickier aspects of
the topic. Especially where they affect wide, normal, and telephoto fields of view.

Remember that if you tend to specialize in any type of photography, it’s crucial to
understand how focal length affects your image so you can have a better idea of what
sort of lenses you should be shopping with, as well as the impact they have on a subject and
background. You can download my PDF photography guide to get more information about
this.

As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments on the article. Thanks, and
happy shooting!

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