When it's time to print your photo, you must shine a light through the negative film. This creates a shadow on special photosensitive paper, leaving an image that is the opposite of the negative — a positive print! At last you have your photograph.

Today we are doing something different. This will not be a lens review or comparison, instead, we are going to take a look at some interesting numbers.

"How Does a Camera Work?"  Wonderopolis.  https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-does-a-camera-work.  Accessed 6 Mar. 2018.

Since we suspect that the correlation still holds true, we can only guess that one or both of these lenses might not be true 50mm designs, but that is just a conjecture on our part and if you have other thoughts on this matter, please feel free to share them in the comments below.

Hi, Humaira! Cameras are amazing technology that help us capture WONDERful memories. Check out Wonder #1127: How Do You Capture Memories?. Thanks for WONDERing with us! :)

Ready to make a first impression? Even without a camera, you can make a photo by using light from indoor lamps or even the rays of the sun.

As we mentioned, we focused here only on mirrorless AF lenses only. If you are OK adapting DSLR lenses, not to mention using MF lenses, new or adapted vintage ones, this can open a whole range of options for you. Plus, you can always resort to extension tubes and other techniques to improve your close-up capabilities, but all of these are beyond the scope of this short article.

On a personal note, we would really like to see full macro (1:1) lenses in the 35mm focal lengths, these can be useful for close-up work with some environment in the shot.

35mm is one of the most popular focal lengths for FF cameras with all the major players participating some with more than one lens.

Sometimes it seems like pure magic to capture a moment in time in a still photograph. Exactly how does a camera preserve that split-second moment for eternity? Let's take a look at the inner workings of the common single-lens reflex (SLR) camera.

Another interesting point is the connection between the minimum focal length of a lens and its maximum macro magnification. Before we started working on this article, we naturally assumed that there is a direct correlation between the two and that two lenses with the same min close-up distance will have the same maximum macro magnification.

Let's imagine you're taking a picture of your dog playing in the snow. As you see your dog running toward you, you lift the camera to your eye.

Let’s give a specific example. Say you are in the market for a new 35mm FF lens and you want to know how the lens you are considering stands in terms of close-up distance and magnification in relation to other lenses in the category.

Since you're talking about a screen, I'm assuming you're talking about a digital camera as opposed to a film camera, what this article describes. Electronics stop working when they come in contact with water because of particles dissolved in the water called ions. Those particles mess up electricity, causing it to go places it's not supposed to. Basically, water screws up electronics. The screen is probably blue because it's broken. Oh, and by the way, water isn't blue. It appears that way because of phenomena having to do with light. Hope this helped, even if it's a bit late! :)

Hi, Wonder Friend! A nice summary of this Wonder can be found in the second paragraph:"A camera basically consists of a lightproof box that lets in a bit of light at just the right moment. Once the light enters the camera, it creates an image by causing a chemical reaction on photo film."We hope this helps!

Outdoor light reflects off your dog, bouncing into the camera, through the lens and onto a mirror. The light then bounces off the mirror into a five-sided piece of glass called a “pentaprism" and into the eyepiece.

On the complete other side of the spectrum, the Viltrox 24mm min focusing distance in cm is bigger than the lens focal length in mm – which is never a good sign – and indeed it has 1:10 magnification.

Another very popular focal length is of course 50mm. Interestingly at the moment, Tamron has no representation here, however, both Sony and Nikon have lenses with 1:1 magnification and 16cm min focusing distance which is nice to see.

Arguably the most popular focal length for FF is 50mm (although at the moment there are more 35mm FF lenses on the market):

The rest of the lenses on this list are fairly average with the compact Sony 50mm f/2.5 G having a decent 35cm min close-up distance but only 1:5.5 macro magnification. Viltrox once again comes last.

What we tried to do here is organize all this information in one place and see if there are any general conclusions that we can draw from the numbers that we find.

Focal length

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Minimumfocus distance

As you hold the camera to your eye, you wait for just the right moment. Your dog stops for just a moment and snap! You've got your shot.

Finally, the light passes through the eyepiece and into your eye. This allows you to see the image exactly as it will appear on film.

We hope you will come out of this little video/article with some insights into the close-up and macro capabilities of different popular mirrorless focal lengths.

Two notes before we start. We decided to restrict ourselves to modern FF mirrorless lenses with AF. We also stick with each specific focal length so a list of 24mm lenses will not include a 25mm lens – this is arbitrary but you need to draw a line somewhere. Also worth noting is that these are all official manufacturer numbers.

While that seems to be true for most cases, there are some cases where this doesn’t seem to hold true. For example, the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM has a min close-up distance of 40cm and 1:5.2 max magnification, while the recent Samyang 50mm F/1.4 AF II (review coming up soon) has the same min close-up distance but a 1:6.2 max magnification.

focallength是什么

Experiment by placing different objects on special photosensitive paper to find out what kinds of interesting and beautiful patterns you can capture on your solar-powered prints. Visit Sunprint.org to learn how to buy this special paper, get more suggestions for fun activities using this paper and visit the gallery to see other people's works of art.

When you press the button on a camera, the mirror flips out of the way. Light then passes onto the back of the camera where it hits photographic film and starts a chemical reaction.

85mm is a popular portrait focal length, however as you can see it is not a popular focal length for those looking for close-up work. The only exception here is the Canon 85mm f/2 which has a fantastic close-up range of only 35cm and 1:2 macro magnification.

Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Ariana from AL. Ariana Wonders, “how do cameras work?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Ariana!

So, what did we learn by looking at all these numbers? First, as a general rule of thumb, at least for the focal lengths that we examined, a lens with a minimum focus distance equal or higher than its focal length in cm is typically not ideal for close-up work.

Hi, WONDER friend! We appreciate you visiting Wonderopolis and leaving a comment. We hope you enjoyed this Wonder and will WONDER with us again very soon! :)

Viltrox again closes the list here. It seems that the company puts very little attention on close-up distance and macro capabilities.

Tamron again has a very attractive option for close-up shooters with 1:2 magnification and 15cm min close-up distance. Canon also has a very attractive 35mm RF option with a 17cm min close-up distance and 1:2 magnification.

Once you've captured your photo, it's time to develop the film in a darkroom. The development process involves dipping the film in several chemicals. Special chemicals called “developer" help the image become visible.

Focal length focus distance

When you click the button, you instantaneously record the reflected light off objects in the camera's field of view. Though you probably can't tell, film consists of a thin sheet of plastic coated with tiny silver crystals in a gelatin. The crystals react to light that passes through the camera and onto the film.

Focus distance

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On the Sony side, we recently had an extensive 24mm roundup for Sony cameras and you have the inexpensive Tamron 24mm F/2.8 with a 1:2 magnification (be sure to check our full review for more info on the pros and cons of this lens). For Nikon, your options at the moment are pretty limited when it comes to close-up capabilities in this focal length.

A camera basically consists of a lightproof box that lets in a bit of light at just the right moment. Once the light enters the camera, it creates an image by causing a chemical reaction on photo film.

If there are any full-frame mirrorless AF lenses that we didn’t include here, please feel free to share them and we shall add their info to the article.

WONDERful, kodi! We're glad you visited WONDERopolis! Remember it's always important to cite your sources when doing a report. The official Wonderopolis Permissions Policy states: Wonderopolis materials may be cited or excerpted in periodicals, books, and educational materials under the following stipulations: 1. A URL of the material referenced is provided so that readers may access it online 2. Inclusion of the following branding information: “Wonderopolis is brought to life by the National Center for Families Learning.” Since our Wonders are sometimes updated, the proper way to cite the publishing date is to list the date you consulted our page for your research. Good luck on your science project! :)

If you want this type of tele-macro lens for the Sony or Nikon platforms you will need to look for 90mm or 105mm options instead.

Our goal here is to get a better understanding of the connection between a number of popular lens focal lengths and their close-up distance and macro magnification capabilities (for info on macro magnification check out our explanations in the text of our “Introduction to Super Macro Photography“).

"A camera basically consists of a lightproof box that lets in a bit of light at just the right moment. Once the light enters the camera, it creates an image by causing a chemical reaction on photo film."

Tomorrow’s wonder may be considered a most delicious pain in the head. I scream, you scream... oh, what an ice cream headache!

Canon also has an above-average option with the RF 50mm f/1.8 which has a 30cm min close-up distance and 1:4 maximum macro magnification.

If you have ever held developed film up to the light, you may notice that something looks strange. Developed film gives you a negative image! This means dark objects will look light and light objects will look dark.

We're glad you're WONDERing, Wonder Friend! Check out Wonder #596: What Is a Black Hole? You can also visit you library and research online! :)

Thanks for asking, Ryan! We ask that Wonderopolis be listed as the author.  Also, since we do not list the publish date for our Wonders of the Day, you may put the date you accessed this page for information.  The following is how you would cite this page:"How Does a Camera Work?"  Wonderopolis.  https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-does-a-camera-work.  Accessed 6 Mar. 2018.

Both Sony lenses are above average when it comes to close-up focus distance and macro magnification with all other lenses being fairly average with around 30cm distance and 1:5 or worse magnification (the Nikon is kind of strange with 25cm close-up distance but only 1:5.2 macro magnification).

Of course, SLR cameras can also create purely digital images without using photo film at all, but we will concentrate on the traditional use of film today.

That's awesome, Aidan! We are glad this Wonder was so helpful for you. Thanks so much for checking it out and letting us know!