Photography Question?

Question

What is the difference between a 52mm camera lense and a 55mm camera lense? And what is more comenly prefered?

Answer 1

A 50 mm lenses produces a 1:1 picture on the film or electronic imaging surface.

Anything longer than 50 mm produces a larger or closer image.

Anything shorter produces a wider, smaller image.

Some people prefer a slightly larger image for portrait work.

There is no "best." It's what works for you, your camera and your subject.

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_chart.asp

Answer 2

I don't think there is much of a difference in 3mm. You may get a skosh of a wider area with the 52 than the 55 but it probably wouldn't make much of a difference once you have the image printed (photo labs and such crop a full frame).

And what the lawyer dude above said is correct -- 50mm is the standard for a "normal" image (1:1). However, this isn't true with a digital camera. It will be slightly higher in comparison and may vary from camera to camera.

Answer 3

There is virtually no difference in these lenses as far as their focal length (52 vs. 55) is concerned. For 35 mm film photography, they are both considered "normal" lenses because their angle of view approximates the human eye.

Different manufacturers have settled on slightly different focal lengths for their own particualr reasons, mostly dealling with lens design issues, I suppose. In the olden days, I remember that Pentax used 55 mm as their normal lens and this is what usually came with the camera when you bought one new. I think it was Minolta who used 52 mm. These days, kits always have a zoom lens. I think there is still a lot to be said for learning photography with a single focal length "normal" lens.

Answer 4

You will also have a little bit more in the frame with a 52mm lens, not really worth the difference. The 55mm is the most widely used for normal shots.

Answer 5

The difference of the two is the diameter of the lens. Most common is the 55mm. But, it depends on your camera which one you will need. They are not automatically interchangable. A 52 would be too small for a camera that needs a 55mm. That is why if you buy filters for your lenses, you need to know the lens size, or the filter will not be able to attach.