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Chapter 6: Problem 18

Your camera may have a zoom lens, ranging between wide angle (short focal length) and telephoto (long focal length). How does the size of an object in the camera's focal plane differ between wide angle and telephoto?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Objects appear larger with telephoto and smaller with wide-angle lenses.

Step by step solution

01

- Understand Focal Length

The focal length determines the magnification of the lens. A short focal length (wide angle) captures a broader field of view, while a long focal length (telephoto) captures a narrower field of view.
02

- Impact on Object Size in Focal Plane

With a short focal length (wide angle), objects appear smaller in the camera's focal plane because the lens covers a larger area. Conversely, with a long focal length (telephoto), objects appear larger because the lens magnifies a smaller portion of the scene.
03

- Compare Wide Angle and Telephoto

To summarize, an object will appear larger in the camera’s focal plane when using a telephoto lens compared to a wide-angle lens due to the differences in magnification and field of view.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Wide Angle Lens
A wide angle lens is an essential tool in photography, particularly for landscapes, architecture, and large group photos. These lenses have short focal lengths, often ranging from 10mm to 35mm. This shorter focal length allows the lens to capture a broader field of view.

Wide angle lenses are valuable for several reasons:
  • **Great Depth of Field:** They help keep everything in focus, from the foreground to the background.
  • **Capturing More Scene:** They allow photographers to capture more of the scene in a single shot.
  • **Exaggerated Perspective:** They can make objects in the foreground appear larger and more imposing compared to those in the background.

    • However, wide angle lenses can introduce some distortion, especially at the edges of the photograph. Objects can appear stretched or curved, which might not be ideal for all types of photography.
Telephoto Lens
A telephoto lens is essentially the opposite of a wide angle lens. These lenses have long focal lengths, typically ranging from 70mm to 300mm and sometimes even higher. This longer focal length enables the lens to magnify distant objects, making them appear larger and closer than they actually are.

Telephoto lenses are useful for:
  • **Wildlife and Sports Photography:** They allow photographers to capture distant subjects without getting too close and disturbing them.
  • **Portraits:** They help isolate the subject from the background, making them stand out more.
  • **Astrophotography:** They enable detailed shots of celestial objects.

    • One challenge with telephoto lenses is that they have a narrower field of view, which can make it harder to capture a wide scene. Additionally, because of the magnification, any camera shake is also magnified, which means stabilization becomes crucial.
Magnification in Photography
Magnification in photography refers to how much larger an object appears through the lens compared to how it appears to the naked eye. This is closely tied to the focal length of the lens.

Some key points about magnification include:
  • **Short Focal Length (Wide Angle):** Offers less magnification, making objects appear smaller and capturing a wider field of view.
  • **Long Focal Length (Telephoto):** Provides higher magnification, making objects appear larger and capturing a narrower field of view.

    • If you're aiming to fill your frame with a distant subject, a telephoto lens would be needed. For expansive landscapes, a wide angle lens is more suitable.

    Understanding magnification helps photographers choose the right lens based on how far they are from the subject and how large they want the subject to appear in the frame.
Field of View in Cameras
Field of view (FOV) in photography defines how much of a scene a lens can capture. It is influenced by both the focal length of the lens and the size of the camera sensor.

Important aspects of field of view include:
  • **Wide Angle Lenses:** Have a wide field of view, capturing more of the scene at once.
  • **Telephoto Lenses:** Have a narrow field of view, focusing on a smaller part of the scene and making distant objects appear closer.

    • Field of view is critical when deciding on the composition of your photo. For sweeping landscapes or large scenes, a wide field of view is preferred. If you want to focus on a specific detail or subject, a narrow field of view from a telephoto lens is more suitable.

    In conclusion, understanding FOV helps photographers decide how much of their scene will be in the frame and choose the appropriate lens for their creative vision.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Optical telescopes reveal much about the nature of astronomical objects. Why do astronomers also need information provided by gamma-ray, X-ray, infrared, and radio telescopes?

Gravitational waves travel at the speed of light. Their speed, wavelength, and frequency are related as \(c=\lambda \times f\). If we were to observe a gravitational wave from a distant cosmic event with a frequency of 10 hertz \((\mathrm{Hz}),\) what would be the wavelength of the gravitational wave?

Some people believe that we put astronomical telescopes on high mountaintops or in orbit because doing so gets them closer to the objects they are observing. Explain what is wrong with this popular misconception, and give the actual reason telescopes are located in these places.

A webcast for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 called "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" can be accessed at http: \(/ /\) eso.org/public/events/special-evt/100ha.html. The 80 telescopes are situated all over, including Antarctica and space. Pick two of the telescopes and watch the videos. Do you think these videos are effective for public outreach for the observatory in question or for astronomy in general? For each telescope you choose, answer the following questions: Does the telescope observe in the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere? What wavelengths does the telescope observe? What are some of the key science projects at the telescope?

One of the earliest astronomical CCDs had 160,000 pixels, each recording 8 bits ( 256 levels of brightness). A new generation of astronomical CCDs may contain a billion pixels, each recording 15 bits \((32,768\) levels of brightness). Compare the number of bits of data that each of these two CCD types produces in a single image.
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