The John A. Dutton Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence is the learning design unit of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University.

Resolutionof microscope formula

Resolutionof lens formula

During my latest trip to Valley of Fire, I took a series of photos with different prime camera lenses to show you how the scene can change while the main subject of the photo stays roughly the same. To understand better why results vary, it’s important to learn what focal length represents. In technical jargon, focal length (typically quoted in millimeters) is an optical distance from the point where light rays converge to the digital sensor in the camera. In layman terms, focal length tells us how much of the scene will be captured (angle of view) and how large the subjects in the photo will be (magnification). The longer focal length means narrower angle of view and larger magnification. The shorter focal length does just the opposite: wider angle of view and smaller magnification.

In order to best see the effects of the concepts described above, you have to choose a subject in your composition (usually another person) and keep his/her size in the composition constant.  It will give you a great point of reference to how everything changes around your subject. Ask your significant other, friend or a model to choose a spot. Then as you increase your focal length, you move back enough to ensure that the person is roughly the same size. If you can turn on gridlines in your viewfinder, then it can be helpful to gauge how much you have to move.

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Optical resolutionChemistry

Resolution opticallenses

Instagram’s popularity has fueled growth in photo tourism. Lots of people are seeking those most instagrammable places in the world to take a shot and hope for it to become viral on IG. Very often the actual locations look a bit different from what we see in the photos. Sometimes it is the way the picture was edited in Lightroom or how a creative mind made changes in Photoshop. However a camera lens you choose to take a shot with can equally affect the final result. In this post I would like to show you how the focal length selection can make significant difference in your photography.

Optical resolutionformula

Have you ever wondered how photographers get supersized moon in a photo that looks so beautiful but almost unnatural compared to the surroundings? It’s the magnification effect discussed above achieved with a telephoto camera lens (usually 300mm to 1200mm) and helped by a significant distance of the moon to your foreground.  At the very bottom of the post you can see how I was able exaggerate the magnification of the mountain in a different composition using 150mm lens.

Optical resolutionvs pixelresolution

Diffraction of light through a circular aperture (like a lens) limits the resolution of any optical system. The best focus of a point source of light from a lens system will form an Airy disk due to this diffraction, rather than the idealized point source.

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To observe the effect of magnification, focus your attention on the mountain at the end of the road and to appreciate the widening angle of view, turn your attention to the sides of the road. Which scene is your favorite? Wide angle of view can be useful in very tight spaces, while the magnification can highlight some very interesting features in your composition that are at a distance and could be easily missed.

Overview My husband and I visited this gorgeous resort in September 2020 to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We wanted to choose a special place to…

Optical resolution is usually defined as the ability to distinguish two objects which are close together, which is difficult due to the overlap of the Airy disks.

Note: This resolution is in the lateral (parallel to the focal plane) direction – it is not related to the vertical resolution of the Nexview's measurements.

Author: Mark Fedkin, John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Penn State University.