Exercise - Focal lengths and different viewpoints.

In this exercise we are asked to take 2 photos of the same object, 1 from distance using full telephoto and 1 close up using wide angle. In both cases the object must fill the viewfinder when taking the shot. The subject I chose was a couple of coloured bins that had a certain amount of depth to them when viewed at an angle. Equipment used was Fujifilm S100fs (handheld) and it was sunny with partial cloud (mid-day).

Shot A - Full telephoto (400mm)

Shot B - Wide angle (35mm)

Shot A was taken at distance using full zoom (400mm). The result of this is a very flat image with very little perspective. There isn't as much detail in this photo as you would get from standing closer but there is a great deal more background and foreground. This shot also appears to have a great deal more depth of field than Shot B.

Shot B was taken very close to the subject using my widest focal length (35mm). The subject now has an almost exaggerated perspective with much more detail and clarity than in Shot A. All that was visible behind the subject in Shot A is now hidden from view. 

I can see from this that if I am taking a shot where perspective is important then I should be close to the subject and use a lens with a short focal length, like a wide angle lens.

Exercise - Focal length and angle of view.

Camera used: Fujifilm S100fs with fixed 400mm lens.

Firstly I needed to find the standard focal length for my camera, the distance at which the viewfinder most closely matches the scene as viewed with the naked eye. After a bit of playing around I found this to be approx 100mm which sounded wrong but I double checked and the result was the same.

Standard - 100mm

This is the photo taken at the standard focal length. When printed out I found that it matched the scene when it was held roughly 67cm away from me.

Wide angle - 28mm

This is the view from the same position when the lens is set to 28mm. When printed and held out in front of me it matched the scene at only 16cm away, a lot closer than the standard setting.

Telephoto - 400mm

For this photo the full telephoto was used @ 400mm. With all three photos the large red ball was the focal point. Again, this photo was printed onto A4 and held in front of me. Using my beautiful assistant Karen I found the distance this time was approx 230cm