David Schmüdde Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 I'm building stage setup and I need a specific number to estimate the amount of space I need. What I need to know is the distance necessary between a 6' tall subject and the camera for a wide shot. For some reason, I'm blanking on how to figure this. These are the constants: 35mm sensor size 50mm lens length 6' Tall Subject Wide Shot (includes top of the head to bottom of the feet) 16x9 frame dimension What I need to solve for: Distance between camera and still subjectCould someone help me here? Thanks, ~ü Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 (edited) It's a straight bit of similar triangle geometry. Frame height for 16:9 is about 10mm. Focal length 50mm. 50/10=5 so distance is 5x height- about 10m. Edited June 4, 2014 by Mark Dunn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Schmüdde Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 Thanks for your help. I was thinking about it by considering the size of the image on the sensor/film. Thinking about this in landscape mode: 35mm full frame is 36mm×24 mm - 1.5 aspect ratio 35mm HD TV is 36mmx20.25mm - 1.77 aspect ratio (16 : 9 = 36mm : X) My formula Hc (film height) / Lc (distance from lens to film) = Hh (human height) / Lh (distance from lens to human) Hc = 20.25mm Lc = 50mm (focal length of lens) Hh = 1.8m (6' - a constant given above) Hc / Lc = Hh / Lh .020m / .050m = 1.8m / Lh Lh = 4.5m or 15'. Did I do something wrong here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaron Berman Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) What do you mean by 35mm frame? 35mm still? s35? For super 35 frame (most d-cinema cameras, 7d, etc), 16:9 HDTV, its about 24' on a 50mm For 35mm still frame (like 5d), it's about 16' Edited June 5, 2014 by Jaron Berman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Rosenbloom Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I'm not so great at math, but, isn't 10 meters more than 30 feet? For a head to toe on a 50mm? It seems a little much. If you want to wait till tomorrow, I'll stand up my tape measure and check it through my 50mm on my old Nikon and then pace it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E Clark Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 For those who don't want to 'do the math', which is tedious and if there are changes, needs to be recalculated... For the iPhone: http://www.davideubank.com/Good_Focus/pCAM_Film+Digital_Calculator.html Or https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toland-asc-digital-assistant/id377419210?mt=8 Using the Field of View calculators you can easily get what lens length for what FoV/AoV, etc. is required for what sized object, etc. for a variety of cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Did I do something wrong here? Yes, you didn't specify what '35mm. sensor size' meant, so I assumed Academy. Turns out you meant Vistavision. I calculated the AR from frame height, not width, so I was a bit off too. t would actually be about 5m. The other thing you did wrong was asking the question when you'd already worked it out yourself. This forum isn't an exam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego Treves Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 (edited) It's a straight bit of similar triangle geometry. Frame height for 16:9 is about 10mm. Focal length 50mm. 50/10=5 so distance is 5x height- about 10m. Edited October 29, 2015 by Diego Treves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hodgins Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I'm building stage setup and I need a specific number to estimate the amount of space I need. What I need to know is the distance necessary between a 6' tall subject and the camera for a wide shot. For some reason, I'm blanking on how to figure this. These are the constants: 35mm sensor size 50mm lens length 6' Tall Subject Wide Shot (includes top of the head to bottom of the feet) 16x9 frame dimension What I need to solve for: Distance between camera and still subjectCould someone help me here? Thanks, ~ü Can you just slap a 50mm lens on your dslr and frame a 6 foot subject or perhaps a doorway etc. in your 16x9 frame, and note your distance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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