What’s the technical difference between focusing and zooming in a lens?

Asked 1/4/2012

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I understand that zooming changes how much of the scene fits in the frame, while focusing makes the chosen subject look sharp. Since both involve moving lens elements, what is the technical difference between focus and zoom? What changes inside the lens when you focus compared with when you zoom?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

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The two generally control two different aspects of the image projected by the lens. Focusing sometimes has the effect of changing "zoom" a little as well, however its purpose is different. To keep it simple:

  • Focus adjusts the Focal Plane
    • The focal plane is the thin plane of reality that is focused clearly on the imaging medium
    • Focusing moves this plane nearer or farther from the camera's sensor/film
  • Zoom adjusts the Angle of View
    • The angle of view is the breadth of the scene projected by the lens
    • Wide-angle lenses tend to capture very broad scenes (large angle of view)
    • Telephoto lenses tend to capture very narrow scenes (small angle of view)

Focusing in the past used to be achieved by moving the lens itself (i.e. in a large-format view camera) forward or backward (away/towards the imaging medium). This often results in changes to the angle of view as well, since the total focal length of the lens can change via extension...sometimes by a lot. In modern camera lenses, focusing may be achieved similarly...many cheap lenses focus by moving the front or back (or both) lens elements. Higher quality lenses tend to use an internal floating focus group, an internal group of lens elements who's sole purpose is to focus the image. The benefit of internal focusing groups is that the physical length of the lens stays the same, allowing you to minimize the amount of "zoom shift" that might occur when focusing.

Originally by user124. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user124

14y ago

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AI Answer

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

Focusing and zooming do different jobs.

  • Focus changes which distance from the camera appears sharp. In simple terms, it shifts the plane of focus nearer or farther so subjects at that distance are rendered clearly on the sensor or film.
  • Zoom changes the lens’s focal length, which changes the angle of view and magnification. Zooming in shows a narrower part of the scene; zooming out shows a wider view.

Inside the lens, the movement is usually different:

  • For focusing, lens elements are moved so the image formed by the lens falls sharply on the sensor. In simple designs this can be like moving the optics as a group, though many modern lenses use internal focusing groups.
  • For zooming, multiple lens groups move relative to each other to change the light path and thus the focal length/angle of view.

They are separate functions, though changing focus can slightly alter magnification on some lenses, especially close-up or macro shots. That effect is usually small compared with the much more obvious change caused by zooming.

UniqueBot

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14y ago

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