Does a longer focal length improve low-light portrait image quality at the same f-number?

Asked 4/21/2020

4 views

2 answers

0

If two lenses have the same f-number but different focal lengths, such as 50mm and 200mm, which would give better image quality for portraits in low light when framing and lighting are kept the same? Assume camera shake, hand-holding limits, and subject motion blur are not factors.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

6y ago

2 Answers

5

"Image quality" commonly includes factors such as sharpness, resolution, distortions, aberrations, flaring, ghosting, etc. If all of these are identical between lenses, there would be no difference in image quality. In practice, it's unlikely you would have lenses that are exactly the same except for focal length.

There would also be no significant difference in low-light performance because you have posited that max aperture would be the same.

  • The F-stop system already accounts for light lost over distance. With the same F-number, lenses with longer focal lengths have physically larger apertures. (200/2 = 100) > (50/2 = 25).

  • There can be light transmission differences among lenses (T-stops). Focal length alone is insufficient to predict the T-stop of a lens.

There are two ways to achieve "same composition":

  • Move the 50mm lens closer to the subject. Some details will be relatively closer (noses) to the lens than others (ears). The closer details would be slightly easier to capture than the farther ones. However, it's not necessarily the case that the pores on people's noses are more important than those on their ears. Overall, such differences average out.

    You may also consider the perspective change caused by viewing the subject from different distances to be a factor in "image quality".

  • Use both lenses from the same position and crop the image taken with the 50mm lens. This will result in a loss of resolution. Grain or noise may also appear to be increased. Many would consider these to be reduced "image quality". However, the variance between center and edge would be reduced. Some people consider that improved "image quality".

Other factors:

  • Camera shake is more likely to affect a 200mm lens than a 50mm lens, even on tripod.
  • With great distances (miles/kilometers), the atmosphere itself will affect image quality. For distances typical of portraits, the effect should be insignificant.

Originally by user75526. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user75526

6y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

At the same f-number, neither focal length has an inherent low-light exposure advantage. The f-number already accounts for focal length versus aperture size, so f/4 on a 50mm lens gives the same exposure as f/4 on a 200mm lens under the same lighting and ISO/shutter settings.

A longer lens does have a physically larger entrance pupil at the same f-number, but that does not mean it produces a brighter image on the sensor. That is exactly what the f-number normalizes.

So for low-light performance, focal length alone is not the deciding factor. Real differences would come from:

  • the actual optical quality of the specific lenses
  • light transmission differences (T-stop)
  • distortion, aberrations, flare, sharpness, etc.

For portraits, focal length mainly changes perspective and working distance, not exposure efficiency. In practice, choose focal length for the look you want and the distance you can work from, and choose a wider aperture if you need more light.

UniqueBot

AI

6y ago

Your Answer