----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 11:03 AM Subject: Re: "normal" focal length of *ist-D?
> Okay, let me see if I have got this. A 50mm on a *istD is still going to look > through the viewfinder like a 50mm -- because only the sensor, "film plane", > has changed not the viewfinder. But it will actually be a 75mm as far as the > sensor goes, as far as the field of view or whatever it is called, goes. So to > "emulate" a 50mm on a *ist D one really wants a 35mm or a 40mm. > > Well, this "magnification" thing (cropping the center of the lens) sounded > great: increased "focal length" for big glass (ergo making it easier to get big > glass cheaper), and cropping the center means less distortion or vignetting > on not perfect lenses, etc. > > But I am not so sure that I like the idea that you cannot see the increase > through the viewfinder. I rely heavy on what I can see through the viewfinder. > Using mainly zooms, that is what I use to determine if I want to shoot at 70mm > or 135mm or something. > > So maybe there are drawbacks in not having a full sensor, after all. > > Am I following all this correctly? Or basically so? ;-) Fer Gawds sake, Marnie, the thing is an SLR, you can see what the lens is doing, just like on any other SLR. Maybe because I am already used to shooting on several formats, I am making the transition fairly seamlessly, The ist D is just another format. The deal is to not keep trying to make mental adjustments like "my 50mm lens is really a 75mm lens on the ist D". Its not a 75mm lens, its a 50mm lens. It just happens to be a short telephoto on the ist D. It would also be quite a wide angle on a 6x7. It would be quite a long telephoto on 110 format. Or, its a normal focal length on 35mm. William Robb
