Can you get a full-frame 50mm field of view on a Canon 600D without changing lenses?
Asked 1/31/2016
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I use a Canon 600D (APS-C, 1.6x crop) and often shoot with a Canon EF 50mm lens. On this camera, the framing is similar to about 80mm on full frame. For street photography, I’d like the wider field of view of a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera, but without switching to a different focal length lens. Is there any way to get that full-frame 50mm look/view on a crop-sensor body without changing the lens?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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You can't.
What we refer to as equivalence is only an approximation. You can't put a different lens on a crop sensor camera and get the same shot with the same field of view from the same shooting position with the same depth of field using the same ISO and the same shutter time as you can get with a full frame camera. The converse is also just as true. You can't put an 80mm lens on a FF camera and perfectly replicate the same shot you got with a 50mm lens on an APS-C camera. To get a number of the variables to match, you must be willing to allow other variables to differ.
Having said that, to even begin to get close to the look you can get with a 50mm lens on a full frame camera, you must begin by using a lens with a similar field of view on your APS-C camera. This means a lens with a focal length of around 30mm. And to replicate the depth of field of a 50mm lens at f/1.8 on the FF camera, you must use an aperture of around f/1.1 on the 30mm lens. Unfortunately, there are no 30mm f/1.1 lenses available in the Canon EF mount. If there were any such lenses available they would likely be several orders of magnitude more expensive than any version of an EF 50mm f/1.8. It is quite likely the price difference would be even greater than the price difference between your 600D and a Canon FF model such as the 6D.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
10y ago
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Not really. On your 600D, a 50mm lens gives a narrower field of view because the APS-C sensor crops the image circle. To get the same framing as a 50mm lens on full frame, you need a shorter lens on APS-C—roughly 30–35mm.
A crop sensor can’t capture the wider view that falls outside its sensor area, so with the same camera position and the same 50mm lens, you cannot get the true full-frame 50mm field of view.
There are a couple of edge-case exceptions:
- A focal reducer (“speed booster”) can make a lens behave more like it does on full frame, but this generally applies to mirrorless systems with suitable adapters, not a Canon 600D DSLR.
- Stitching multiple shots can create a wider final image, but that’s not practical for moving subjects or typical street shooting.
So for your setup, the practical answer is: use a wider lens if you want the full-frame 50mm view.
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