Jump to content

Tele lens vs cropping in PS


leica dream

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I use and very much enjoy the huge range of the lens on my V-Lux, but rarely use the full 420mm option especially when hand holding.

I shall keep that camera, but if I were to get another with, say, a 35mm set prime lens, would I be able to achieve acceptable results by cropping images in PS as I would have got by using a longer tele setting on my V-Lux?

Richard

Link to post
Share on other sites

Depends on what size you want to display/print them. For Internet/phone display the crop will be fine, for larger prints you will lack pixels.

 

I suppose you are not talking about hand-held 420 mm shots with a light camera.

If so, anything will be better.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Jaap -

 

I sort of disagree with you about handheld with a light camera at long tele settings. If one uses the same "steadying" techniques as firearms target shooting there is little difficulty hand holding at "420." In fact, my V-Lux 114, in "smart" zoom extend is the equivalent of 800 mm. Here's just one of many examples from our recent trip to Nicaragua at "800." I do agree with you if one is unable to handhold at long tele settings.

 

A disadvantage of cropping, beyond the loss of pixels is that with the short lens you may not see focus or movement blurring until after you crop.

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

I too risk hand hold at long focus - but rarely. If I do not have a tripod with me I seek something to lean against or rest upon.

I think what I am seeking is reassurance (or otherwise) of advantages/disadvantages of a short fixed prime lens. The idea is to get a smaller camera to carry for more spontaneous use, but I need to understand what flexibility I shall lose by choosing such a model. In fact I would think it would be very rare indeed, if at all, that I would want to shoot for detail at long distances in those circumstances.

Richard

Link to post
Share on other sites

Here's an image shot with 3 lenses: 200mm full frame, 50mm cropped to 1/16th of the frame and 20mm cropped to 1/100th of the frame.

 

241404d1296042438-macro-elmar-90-portrait-perspective-demo-20-50-200mm-resized

 

Looking at it another way, if you have a 35mm lens on a 16 MP camera and you crop it to match a 135mm lens, you will only be using the output of just over one million pixels and throwing away the rest.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Jaap -

 

I sort of disagree with you about handheld with a light camera at long tele settings. If one uses the same "steadying" techniques as firearms target shooting there is little difficulty hand holding at "420." In fact, my V-Lux 114, in "smart" zoom extend is the equivalent of 800 mm. Here's just one of many examples from our recent trip to Nicaragua at "800." I do agree with you if one is unable to handhold at long tele settings.

 

A disadvantage of cropping, beyond the loss of pixels is that with the short lens you may not see focus or movement blurring until after you crop.

 

Well, at focal lengths over 135 I like the heft of a solid camera and a heavy lens. Even then I prefer to use a pistol grip, chest pod or beanbag.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Depends on what size you want to display/print them. For Internet/phone display the crop will be fine, for larger prints you will lack pixels.

 

I suppose you are not talking about hand-held 420 mm shots with a light camera.

If so, anything will be better.

True. That is why I always strive for a full frame shot.

 

Shooting with a camera that has a 24x36mm sensor and then carving off big chunks of the image afterword is self defeating IMO. Sometimes cropping ends up being necessary but if you can do your cropping before you release the shutter, you will be much better off in terms of image quality when you make prints.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Let's just say it also depends on the camera and the lens used.

 

I was rather amazed that using

- an M8 with a largish sensor

- an M8 with no AA blur filtering

- a raw .DNG original

- and a 135 Tele-Elmar at its best aperture (between 5.6 and 8)

 

...I was able to crop for about a "540mm" field of view - sharp "to the pixel".

 

(135 on M8 = "180mm" x 3x crop = "540mm")

 

It WAS for web use (actually to be a still in a 1080 HD video). And it was not shot originally with the idea of cropping - it was an editing choice I made in putting the video together a couple of years later.

 

Today I own a 400 on a Canon 6D, and would use that by preference if I wanted this picture. With a little cropping if desired.

 

To meet forum specs, this image is reduced from the cropped original 1300-pixel width to 900 pixels. And of course jpg-compressed. The inset shows the full original M8 framing.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited by adan
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

pico - The finish of a Dragon Boat race (essentially a drag race between two long canoe-type paddled boats). To determine the winner in close races, each boat has a flag-puller who grabs a flag from a buoy at the finish line and tosses it in the air. First flag tossed = winner. The boats race in lanes, and each lane has its own flag buoy. The drummer beats out the paddling rhythm, as in old slave galleys.

 

jan - hand-held. EXIF says 1/2000th @ f/6.7 @ ISO 320

 

As to focus, a 135 @ f/6.7 has pretty decent DoF at whatever this distance was - 450 ft/150 meters? Note how far behind and in front the ripples are still sharp. But I'll take credit for it, if you want. ;)

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...