Which focal length feels closest to how your eyes see the world?

[Eagle Omomuro]

Using prime lenses for a long time, many of us seem to get ‘trained’ to see the world through a certain focal length, which feels natural when framing, walking, and visualising a photograph before lifting the camera. If you had to choose one range that best matches your everyday visual perception, which would it be?

Feel free to comment as well, especially if your answer changed over time or by theme, or differs between photography and daily life.

 

[Pete Askew]

An interesting idea, Eagle.

The majority of my images I shot with a 35 mm lens, at least in35 mm full-format cameras. However, I voted for > 55 mm and that is because many years back, my first ‘real’ camera was a Nikon FE and I bought it with a 105 mm lens. Partly this was happenstance, but I soon grew to like this focal length as although it did not replicate the human field of vision it did mimic well the human field of focus / attention; we can see wide a wide field, but the main component of our attention is much narrower and, at that time, I found the 105 mm lens a better representation of that.

My style has evolved over the years and I now like to create images that encompass a wider field of view over all and compose / allow the eye to find that ‘centre’ in a representation of a larger field of view.

 

[Eagle Omomuro]

An interesting idea, Eagle.

The majority of my images I shot with a 35 mm lens, at least in35 mm full-format cameras. However, I voted for > 55 mm and that is because many years back, my first ‘real’ camera was a Nikon FE and I bought it with a 105 mm lens. Partly this was happenstance, but I soon grew to like this focal length as although it did not replicate the human field of vision it did mimic well the human field of focus / attention; we can see wide a wide field, but the main component of our attention is much narrower and, at that time, I found the 105 mm lens a better representation of that.

My style has evolved over the years and I now like to create images that encompass a wider field of view over all and compose / allow the eye to find that ‘centre’ in a representation of a larger field of view.

Thanks Pete. I absolutely agree that a ‘trained’ eye perspective doesn’t have to match the most frequently used focal length. My own example is that whenever I look through a 50mm prime, I often have that moment of ‘yeah, this is what I saw’. I still use a 35mm perspective more often, simply because it works better for my work, especially ‘portraits with an environment’. But I’ve never really felt that 35mm matches how I see.

 

[Bill Brown]

changed over time or by theme, or differs between photography and daily life.

35mm probably most often but I am in no way a one lens type. My choice is definitely subject driven. For a period of time back in the early 2000's my Canon P&S IQ Zoom had the lens stuck at the 35mm setting and that impacted my shooting. I often reach for the 21mm Biogon for my Contax G2 and I enjoy panoramic images so I lean more to wide. But I'm not averse to using the macro setting on my Canon FD 35-105 if the scene calls for it.

As for any differences between my life and photography I would say my life is more macro than wide. I am a detail person in my day to day work as a digital darkroom specialist and my original works (graphite and colored pencils) emphasize my love for detail. I spent a little over 200 hours on this graphite drawing.

 

[Pete Askew]

And it shows. Amazing work, Bill.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

I spent a little over 200 hours on this graphite drawing.

Beautiful drawing Bill!

Eagle - I've been using cameras since 1971. I have never thought of my eyes as having a focal length field of view as my head is constantly in motion. I seem to have a zoom on whatever camera I have with me as I like the flexibility so that is how I voted. I have a wide selection of sub-50mm primes and one mFT 300mm prime that I use for birds.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

I do not believe that the focal length of a lens can in any meaningful way resemble human vision, which is binocular and involves constant movement of the eyes and body, continuous adaptation to different distances, and a fundamental distinction between central and peripheral vision, each with a different intensity of visual information.

In my modest experience as a non-professional enthusiast, over the past few years the focal length I have used most often has been around 35–40 mm in 35 mm equivalent terms (this is an objective figure derived from the EXIF metadata of my photographs). That said, this may also be influenced by the nature of the images I have been making recently for a particular project.

 

[Bill Brown]

Beautiful drawing Bill!

Thanks Pete and Gary. The baby in this drawing had her 10th wedding anniversary this year! Where does time go? That's one of the main reasons I enjoy photography. Being able to relive past moments that so quickly passed by.

 

[Tony Warren]

The focal length relates to perspective not angle of view of course so choice of focal length is really a personal matter. If I had to say which matches the way I see the world in 35mm format it would be my 17mm Tamron which takes in my peripheral vision quite well. I also enjoy using 35mm lenses.