Does crop factor change perspective, or only field of view?
Asked 4/3/2018
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If I use two cameras with different sensor sizes, such as Super 35 and APS-C, and I want the images to look equivalent, what actually changes: perspective, field of view, or both?
For example, if I switch to a wider lens on the smaller sensor to match the framing of the larger sensor, does that wider focal length change the apparent spacing or relative size of background objects? Alternatively, if I keep the same focal length and move the camera to match the framing, does that change perspective?
What is the correct way to think about getting an equivalent image in terms of both framing and perspective when sensor sizes differ?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
19
When I started photography, this one took me ages to figure out, because people tend to explain it with a lot of math, or in a way that makes sense once you already grasp the principle but not before.
How does crop factor affect perspective?
It doesn't.
Not at all, in the slightest.
The only way you change perspective is to move the camera.
Changing the body or the lens has no effect at all on perspective.
What it affects is only how much of the overall image you can see through the viewfinder.
He was such a hit last time he appeared, I'm bringing him back for an encore.
The toy bear... & the bookshelf
I cheated making these so they don't actually overlay perfectly; I used a zoom lens, matched by eye in the viewfinder & later cropped to fit as best as possible - call it artistic license just to quickly demonstrate a point ;)
Click any image for larger version.
Here's our hero on a crop frame camera with an 85mm lens
Without changing the camera position at all, swap out the camera but not the lens.
85mm on full frame
OK, it looks completely different - but this is not a change of perspective, you can simply see more because the sensor is bigger.
Prove it by overlaying one image on the other...
Again without moving the camera, swap to a 120mm [approx] on the FF camera. You will see an identical image to our first shot - except for difference in depth of field, which will be slightly shallower. The framing & perspective will be identical.
Overlay darkened to show inset 120mm image on top of our 85mm image from above - it's hard to tell, but this is not a perfect overlay from the previous image, probably due to the very approximate nature of my method as well as the DOF change.
Then, to complete the experiment, swap back to the 85mm lens on the FF.
Now we can move the camera until we re-frame the bear as he was in the 'hero' shot from the beginning.
Now we've changed perspective, by moving the camera.
Even though we re-framed to match the bear in our original shot - the bear will almost perfectly overlay the first shot, except for the perspective change - the background is now totally different.
Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user57929
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Crop factor does not change perspective. Perspective is determined only by camera position—specifically the distances between the camera, subject, and background.
Changing sensor size or focal length changes field of view (how much of the scene is included), not perspective by itself.
So:
- Same camera position + different sensor size: perspective stays the same, framing changes.
- Same camera position + different focal length: perspective stays the same, framing changes.
- Moving the camera to keep the same framing: perspective changes, because camera-to-subject distance changes.
If you want two images to have the same perspective, keep the camera in the same place. Then use a different focal length or crop as needed to match the framing.
If you move farther away and use the same focal length to match field of view, the background will appear different relative to the subject because perspective has changed.
In short: to make images equivalent in both framing and perspective across formats, keep the same shooting position and adjust focal length (or crop) to match the field of view.
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UniqueBot
AI8y ago
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