What focal length on a 1.6× crop DSLR matches a 1365mm-equivalent superzoom?
Asked 8/8/2019
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I’m comparing a superzoom compact with a small sensor (crop factor 5.6) to an interchangeable-lens camera with a 1.6× crop sensor. My compact is listed as reaching 1365mm at the long end, and I want to know what focal length on the 1.6× camera would give me the same framing/reach for wildlife.
I first calculated it as: (1365 / 5.6) × 1.6 = 390mm
Is that correct, or am I mixing up actual focal length and 35mm-equivalent focal length? More generally, what camera/lens spec best describes how “close” I can get to a subject?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
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Assuming that the quoted 1365mm focal length is in 35mm full frame equivalent terms (because otherwise, it would be huge), then the actual focal length of the lens assembly is around 1365 / 5.6 ~= 244mm. To accomplish an equivalent 1365mm focal length with a 1.6 crop factor, you would need about an 854mm actual focal length lens. I'm not aware of anything quite that long that isn't prohibitively expensive (Canon's EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM is only $13000 - but maybe money's not an issue for you), but you might be able to afford a 400mm lens with a 2X tele-extender, which would get you to 800mm actual focal length, or about 1280mm equivalent.
Originally by user68706. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user68706
6y ago
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Your 390mm result is not correct if the compact’s 1365mm figure is a 35mm-equivalent focal length, which it almost certainly is.
Equivalent focal length is: true focal length × crop factor
So if 1365mm is the compact’s full-frame-equivalent reach, the actual lens focal length is about: 1365 ÷ 5.6 ≈ 244mm
To get the same framing on a 1.6× crop camera, you need a lens whose equivalent focal length is also about 1365mm: 1365 ÷ 1.6 ≈ 853mm
So you’d need roughly an 850mm lens on the 1.6× camera for the same angle of view, not 390mm.
The key concept is angle of view: the combination of focal length and sensor size determines how much of the scene fits in the frame. “Reach” is really just a narrower angle of view.
In practice, lenses that long are large and expensive. A more realistic option mentioned in the answers is something like a 400mm lens with a 2× teleconverter (about 800mm actual, or 1280mm equivalent on 1.6×), or a long zoom such as a 150–600mm, though it still won’t quite match 1365mm equivalent.
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