PHOTO ANSWERS
ANDREW JAMES
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PERPLEXED BY A PHOTOGRAPHIC PROBLEM? CAUGHT UP IN CAMERA CONFUSION?
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Full-frame cameras like Nikon’s D5 use focal lengths equivalent to old 35mm cameras, but other models require a crop factor conversion.
Crop factor
Q What does the term ‘35mm equivalent’ actually mean?
Josie Hall
A THIS is a common question for newcomers, Josie, so you are not alone with this confusion. Basically, it is all linked to the fact that digital cameras have different-size sensors. If all sensors were the same size, we wouldn’t really need the term ‘35mm equivalent’, which essentially gives us a standard measurement to work from. 35mm dates from pre-digital days: it was the physical width of the most commonly used ?lm, and was therefore adopted as the standard field of view.
No doubt you’ve seen the term used in a camera specification. For example, with a
