donald_miller5 Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 Out of ignorance, in no words what qualifies as fixed focal length photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photo_galleries Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 In the NO WORDS forum, a Fixed Focal Length photo is one that was captured using a prime lens -- at least, that's how I understand it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Michael Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 That is pretty much how I also understand the meaning in regards to the No Words Forum: although I am reasonably sure any images I contributed to those threads were from my Fuji x100s - which is truly a 'fixed focal length' camera. I think that you won't ruffle any feathers if you use a Prime Lens on a camera that has an interchangeable lens system. WW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanford Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 I think a Tri-Elmar would be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 (edited) Out of ignorance, in no words what qualifies as fixed focal length photo? In casual parlance, a fixed focal length lens is not a zoom lens, and vice versa. Is one better than the other? It depends. Fixed (prime) lenses are often better optically than zoom (variable) lenses. Zoom lenses are often lighter than the prime lenses they replace, and allow cropping in the camera. I have three zoom lenses which cover focal lengths from 16 mm to 200 mm, with overlap. It would take 7 or 8 primes lenses to cover that range in conventional increments, at twice the weight and three times cost, at comparable image quality and build. Edited June 29, 2018 by Ed_Ingold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uhooru Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 Fixed focal length is as it says. A lens that has only one focal length as opposed to a zoom lens that has a range of focal lengths. Another way of saying fixed focal length is "prime' lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donald_miller5 Posted June 29, 2018 Author Share Posted June 29, 2018 Thanks, over half of my photos are fixed fixed focal length. I just wanted to make sure before i posted on the thread that I had it right. It seemed simple enough. Just wanted to make sure I was not missing something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 There are some technical issues in using the term "prime" lens, which is probably why the "fixed focal length" terms was used instead. In any case, as said, a lens that is not a "zoom" lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moving On Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 A repaired lens. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 I was, perhaps, over thinking the "fixed" focal length designation in favor of "not zoom". That is because many lenses shorten the focal length as the subject the nearer the camera, in order to reduce the motion required for internal and/or auto focus. For example, a nominally "prime" lens, a Nikon 105/2.8 AFD Micro has a focal length 68 mm at its closest point. Of course, zoom lenses do exactly the same thing, but that falls in the category of "variable" focal length. Technically, most photos with a zoom lens are taken at a particular, or "fixed" focal length. Word-parsing is getting out of hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_ Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 A photograph captured with an iPhone would be a great example of a fixed focal length photo. www.citysnaps.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donald_miller5 Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 but the I phone has a feature that mimics a zoom lens. Considering the intent of the forum it should not qualify Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanford Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 The cell phone camera should be included as fulfills most of the tenets: small, light, un-intrusive, relatively cheap. Besides, I like viewing Brad's Citysnaps.net. street photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donald_miller5 Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 But is it fixed focal length? Not trying to cause trouble, just a consistent definition I remember the semantical arguments between JDM and de Bakker. By the way does anyone know what happened to de Bakker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanford Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 My weekly thread, I get to bend the rules...ah, the feeling of power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_ Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 but the I phone has a feature that mimics a zoom lens. Considering the intent of the forum it should not qualify This is so silly. Jeeez... So a photo I made with my Canon 6d and 35mm/1.4 fixed lens, and cropped afterwards in LightRoom, thus mimicking a zoom lens, should not qualify a photo as well, right? "But is it fixed focal length?" Of course it is, around 32mm. You might not be aware that "digital zoom" is done in software, similar to cropping in post. And does not change the focal length or the physical aspects of the lens. www.citysnaps.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donald_miller5 Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moving On Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 He’s at a loss for words......;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen_h Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 I have a lens that has two focal lengths, but isn't zoom. You choose one, but nothing in between. It is a Soligar Dual Focal 28/35. -- glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen_h Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 I was, perhaps, over thinking the "fixed" focal length designation in favor of "not zoom". That is because many lenses shorten the focal length as the subject the nearer the camera, in order to reduce the motion required for internal and/or auto focus. For example, a nominally "prime" lens, a Nikon 105/2.8 AFD Micro has a focal length 68 mm at its closest point. Of course, zoom lenses do exactly the same thing, but that falls in the category of "variable" focal length. Technically, most photos with a zoom lens are taken at a particular, or "fixed" focal length. Word-parsing is getting out of hand. The definition of focal length is, pretty much, for an object at infinity. (Or with a collimated light source.) But yes, the quantity that we think of as focal length, as regards to filling up the frame, does change. Also, f/stops relate to the focal length, but the amount of light reaching the film decreases as the lens to image distance changes. -- glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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