LessonPage:Filmmaking:Camera Lenses:Basic moods

This school is

Narrative Film Production

This course is:

Fundamentals of filmmaking

This lesson is:

All about camera lenses

The pages of this lesson are:

Camera lenses - The impact of camera lenses

Pop Quiz #1 - Is there a difference? - 2 points

Lesson page - The basic moods of lenses

Pop Quiz #2 - "Oh, dear! What should I do?" - 2 points

Lesson page - Positioning the camera

Lesson page - Depth of field

Can you see a difference?

Below are all medium shots of the boy. The difference is the angle of view of the lens. Can you feel any difference?

A extreme wide-angle lens

This over-the-shoulder shot was filmed with am extreme wide-angle lens. This lens is a 14mm lens on a motion picture camera. On a 35mm still film camera, this lens would be a 24mm lens which is about as wide a still camera lens you can buy that is not spherical. It is very short lens but has a huge amount of glass.

This lens has a 77 field of view (measured horizontally.) (rough estimate)

This screen shot was created using the free demo version of FrameForge 3D Studio 2 which is a wonderful program for learning about the emotions created using different lenses.

A strong wide-angle lens

This over-the-shoulder shot was filmed with am extreme wide-angle lens. This lens is a 16mm lens on a motion picture camera. On a 35mm still film camera, this lens would be a 28mm lens which is about as wide a still camera lens you can buy that is not spherical. It is very short lens but with lots of glass.

This lens has a 68 field of view (measured horizontally.)

This screen shot was created using the free demo version of FrameForge 3D Studio 2 which is a wonderful program for learning about the emotions created using different lenses.

A moderate wide-angle lens

This over-the-shoulder shot was filmed with a moderate wide-angle lens. This lens is a 24mm lens on a motion picture camera. On a 35mm still film camera, this lens would be a 35mm lens which is the widest lens you get with a cheap camera.

This lens has a 55 field of view (measured horizontally.)

This screen shot was created using the free demo version of FrameForge 3D Studio 2 which is a wonderful program for learning about the emotions created using different lenses.

A neutral lens

This over-the-shoulder shot was filmed so it appears if viewed by the human eye. On a 35mm motion picture camera, this lens has a focal length of 33mm. The lens is a 48mm lense (in 35mm still equivalents) which has about a 45 degree view (horizontal).

All still film cameras come with a 50mm lens because this is the cheapest lens.

This screen shot was created using the free demo version of FrameForge 3D Studio 2 which is a wonderful program for learning about the emotions created using different lenses.

A simple telephoto lens

This over-the-shoulder shot was filmed with a mild telephoto lens. The lens is a 85mm lense (in 35mm still equivalents) which has about a ? degree view (horizontal).

This screen shot was created using the free demo version of FrameForge 3D Studio 2 which is a wonderful program for learning about the emotions created using different lenses.

A portrail telephoto lens

This over-the-shoulder shot was filmed with a mild telephoto lens. The lens is a 135mm lense (in 35mm still equivalents) which has about a ? degree view (horizontal).

This screen shot was created using the free demo version of FrameForge 3D Studio 2 which is a wonderful program for learning about the emotions created using different lenses.

A strong telephoto lens

This over-the-shoulder shot was filmed with a strong telephoto lens. The lens is a 200mm lense (in 35mm still equivalents) which has about a ? degree view (horizontal).

This screen shot was created using the free demo version of FrameForge 3D Studio 2 which is a wonderful program for learning about the emotions created using different lenses.

A super strong telephoto lens

This over-the-shoulder shot was filmed with a super strong telephoto lens. The lens is a 300mm lense (in 35mm still equivalents) which has about a ? degree view (horizontal). .

This screen shot was created using the free demo version of FrameForge 3D Studio 2 which is a wonderful program for learning about the emotions created using different lenses.

An extremely stong telephoto lens

This over-the-shoulder shot was filmed with a super strong telephoto lens. The lens is a 500mm lense (in 35mm still equivalents) which has about a ? degree view (horizontal).

This screen shot was created using the free demo version of FrameForge 3D Studio 2 which is a wonderful program for learning about the emotions created using different lenses.

The next page

Before we go into lenses in depth, Click here take a yet another pop quiz.

Contact your instructor

Your instructor for this filmmaking class is Robert Elliott. You can email me by clicking here.