why is it camera never see things at the same distance as our eye?

fooferdoggie

fooferdoggie

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this is my biggest complaint with my iPhones. when I take a pic of something far away its aways farther way looking then my eye sees it. zee usually is not enough to get it as close as it looks to me. why is this?
 
because the iphone typically uses a wide angle lens. the pro version also has a telephoto that would be closer to normal. “normal” in terms of full frame or 35mm film is between 40-55mm.

the standard lens on an iphone is 26mm and the ultra wide like 13mm.
 
so would a 35mm camera get it closer to what my eye sees in size? I can zoom in but you cant quite make on the pro we have the 13 pro's. the wide angle makes it hard not to get a finger in the pic even though I am holding the phone on the other end. never had that issue with the 11.
 
fooferdoggie said:
so would a 35mm camera get it closer to what my eye sees in size? I can zoom in but you cant quite make on the pro we have the 13 pro's. the wide angle makes it hard not to get a finger in the pic even though I am holding the phone on the other end. never had that issue with the 11.
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it depends on what the focal length of the lens is on the 35mm camera.
 
I think part of it pictures never look as good as I see things. so it throws me off. but thats part my poor skill at taking pictures. standing over my bike trying to not make my wife wait. plus my hands are getting pretty sloppy so I am. not as steady as I used to be.
 
fooferdoggie said:
I think part of it pictures never look as good as I see things. so it throws me off. but thats part my poor skill at taking pictures. standing over my bike trying to not make my wife wait. plus my hands are getting pretty sloppy so I am. not as steady as I used to be.
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Don't forget on the iPhone, the Volume Down button will also take the picture. Sometimes it is easier to use this that trying to use the button on the screen.
 
The thing about telephoto is the way it compresses distance. If you have a small apeture, giving more depth of field (more of the frame depth in focus), the telephoto will make things farther away seem closer to nearer things. How your eye percieves depth will just about always differ from the image (I am partially stereoblind, so this is more obvious to me).
 
Yoused said:
The thing about telephoto is the way it compresses distance. If you have a small apeture, giving more depth of field (more of the frame depth in focus), the telephoto will make things farther away seem closer to nearer things. How your eye percieves depth will just about always differ from the image (I am partially stereoblind, so this is more obvious to me).
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ya so its just the way it is. I need to start getting more steady holding my phone. the lens is so wide is now easy to get a finger in the shot too.
 
Yoused said:
The thing about telephoto is the way it compresses distance.
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And that can cause a lot of photos to look flat and less interesting/3D-ish. OTOH, they have their purpose, say birds-in-flight, wildlife, sports from a distance, etc.

At the other end, using wide angle lenses, can lead to having perspective distortion resulting from needing to shoot too close to a subject. As a result, taking a portrait with a wide angle lens can result in hands looking abnormally/comically large if they're in front of a subject

For what I like to shoot (people in urban environments), a 35mm lens is ideal, letting me get enough background environmental context for interest, while still being close enough to a subject.
 
Hold the phone, I wonder if there is a way to rig up one those gooseneck
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clamped onto the handlebars so that you do not have to hold the phone.
 
I don't take movies on my bike it's just when I see something interesting. I need to take more time by my wife is on the back of the bike and I am holding the bike up sometimes. or I have gloves on right now or it's raining. so I don't take enough time.
 
fooferdoggie said:
I don't take movies on my bike it's just when I see something interesting. I need to take more time by my wife is on the back of the bike and I am holding the bike up sometimes. or I have gloves on right now or it's raining. so I don't take enough time.
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Sounds like your wife needs to start taking the pictures. 😀
 
Wide angle lenses expand the depth separation of objects relative to what the human eye sees. Telephoto lenses compress them. A "neutral" lens on a full-frame camera is ~50 mm. Less gives a wider angle, while more gives a more telephoto view.

Using the iPhone 14 Pro/Max as an example: The main lens on this phone has a "24 mm equivalent" focal length, i.e., it gives the same perspective as a 24 mm lens on a full-frame camera, which is definitely in wide-angle territory, and is thus going to expand the depth separation, which is what you are seeing. The phone's telephoto lens is a 77 mm equivalent, which is going to somewhat compress the perspective. So what you need is a Golidlocks middle, which it doesn't appear you're going to get on the iPhone. But the tele lens probably comes closer to neutral than the main lens
 
theorist9 said:
Wide angle lenses expand the depth separation of objects relative to what the human eye sees. Telephoto lenses compress them. A "neutral" lens on a full-frame camera is ~50 mm. Less gives a wider angle, while more gives a more telephoto view.

Using the iPhone 14 Pro/Max as an example: The main lens on this phone has a "24 mm equivalent" focal length, i.e., it gives the same perspective as a 24 mm lens on a full-frame camera, which is definitely in wide-angle territory, and is thus going to expand the depth separation, which is what you are seeing. The phone's telephoto lens is a 77 mm equivalent, which is going to somewhat compress the perspective. So what you need is a Golidlocks middle, which it doesn't appear you're going to get on the iPhone. But the tele lens probably comes closer to neutral than the main lens
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I learned something. I know I don't care enough about pics to use something other than my phone.
 
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