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Distance for Wide Shot


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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 subject

Could someone help me here?

 

Thanks,

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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?
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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 by Jaron Berman
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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.

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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.

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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.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 months later...

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 subject

Could someone help me here?

 

Thanks,

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?

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