Cool animated gif showing focal length

[CuriousMike]

1. Shows focal length "distortion"
2. Shows how focal length controls compression of background

 

[waldoh]

o damn i can make myself look thinner with a different focal length :thumbsup:

 

[thesmokingman]

A good application of that is to control or limit what your viewer can see. Got annoying stuff in the background? Don't want to give away a secret, etc etc granted you have the room to deal with positioning.

 

[Syborg1211]

Definitely a mesmerizing gif to watch. Though it is kind of an overdramatization since you would not likely take a 16mm shot so close to someone's face. It'd be cool to see the same thing done for full body shots, but I imagine the effects wouldn't be quite as pronounced because of the farther working distance required.

 

[Kaido]

A good application of that is to control or limit what your viewer can see. Got annoying stuff in the background? Don't want to give away a secret, etc etc granted you have the room to deal with positioning.

Someone should make a javascript page that lets you click through the focal lengths, it's going too fast!!

 

[Kaido]

Ahah, I found the article I was thinking of:

This Image Shows How Camera Lenses Beautify or Uglify Your Pretty Face

http://stepheneastwood.com/tutorials/lensdistortion/strippage.htm

For portraits alone, just compare 19mm vs. 135mm...huge difference! So remember kids, always use a telephoto lens for selfies

 

[CuriousMike]

I like Waldoh's viewpoint - wider thins you out.