Does a 35mm lens on APS-C cause the same portrait distortion as 35mm on full frame?
Asked 7/7/2016
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I'm considering a 35mm lens for a Nikon APS-C (DX) camera because it gives a field of view close to a 50mm lens on full frame. For portraits, I'm concerned about the facial distortion often associated with wider lenses.
If I use a 35mm lens on APS-C, will it produce the same facial distortion as a 35mm lens on full frame, or will it behave more like a 50mm on full frame? Does it matter whether the lens is a DX or FX 35mm? And is the same principle true for other focal lengths on APS-C cameras?
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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Short answer no - it will be approximately equivalent to the 50mm lens on a full frame camera.
What you are referring to are issues of perspective. The perspective is not a property of the lens but is due to the position of the camera relative to the subject. If you are at the same distance from the subject you will get the same perspective no matter what lens you get.
The focal length of the lens affects the magnification of the image and will thus change how much of the scene you get on the image. The sensor size also affects the magnification. A 35mm lens on an ASPC size sensor has approximately the same magnification as a 50mm on a full frame sensor.
In your case you will be at the same distance to the subject with a 35mm lens on an ASPC crop as you would be with a 50mm lens on a full frame to get the same field of view and thus the perspective will be the same.
Originally by user4667. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4667
10y ago
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No. The “facial distortion” you’re worried about is perspective distortion, and that is caused by camera-to-subject distance, not by the lens format label.
A 35mm lens is always 35mm. On an APS-C camera, it gives a narrower field of view than it would on full frame—roughly similar framing to a 50mm lens on full frame. So if you frame a portrait the same way, you’ll stand at about the same distance as you would with a 50mm on full frame, and the perspective will look essentially the same.
DX vs FX does not change perspective. A 35mm DX lens and a 35mm FX lens used on the same APS-C body will give the same perspective and very similar field of view; the main difference is image circle/coverage, not distortion from distance.
This applies to other focal lengths too: sensor size changes field of view, while perspective depends on where you place the camera.
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