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Can someone tell me why I need to use a lens with a longer focal length when aiming to take pictures of distant objects?

Eliza
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1 Answers1

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You don't. I've taken plenty of pictures of distant terrain with low focal length lenses.

What you need is a longer focal length to reduce the angle that the camera sees so that distant object looks bigger. What you care about is the field of view of the lens vs the angular width of what you are looking at.

https://www.nikonians.org/reviews/fov-tables

Loren Pechtel
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  • I was actually asking this question with a theoretical point of view. Whenever I read textbooks on lenses, its said that the focal length of a lens in a camera used for taking images at a distance is required to be large. However, I am never told why that is the case. – Eliza Sep 21 '19 at 03:26
  • @Eliza And how does my answer not address that? – Loren Pechtel Sep 21 '19 at 03:28
  • @Eliza - Are you asking why longer focal length lenses provide greater image magnification of distant objects? (i.e., why telephoto lenses have long focal lengths?). If so, you should explicitly state that in your question because Loren is correct with his answer as your question is now phrased. People take landscape photos of distant scenery all the time with relatively small focal length lenses. –  Sep 21 '19 at 03:58