The Switch to Micro 4/3 (and Super35 Equivalent FOV)

My camera and lenses were stolen in November 2011. I’ve been saving up some dough to buy a new one. I’m not trying to break the bank, so the Blackmagic Cinema Camera is out of the question. After reading many articles and watching lots of video comparisons, I’m most interested in the Panasonic GH2. When it’s hacked it produces images nicer than any of the Canon DSLRs (yes, even the 5d Mark 3 — though that camera is still the low light king). The reduction in shallow depth of field is fine with me; I’d much rather have deeper focus anyways. However, one thing that was holding me back was the issue of lenses.

[caption id=”” align=”aligncenter” width=”540” caption=”Put together by dvxuser.com member Barry.”][/caption]

Most articles online say that the micro 4/3 lens of the Panasonic GH2 (and AF-100) have a crop factor of 2. That means a 50mm lens on a micro 4/3 sensor will yield a FOV of 100mm. However, that is in comparison to 35mm stills camera. What we really need to be comparing this to is its Super 35mm equivalent — especially if we want to recreate a FOV similar to movies (or APS-C sensors like on the 7D and 60D, which is nearly the same size as Super 35). Using Abelcine FOV calculator, I’ve calculated the Super 35 equivalent FOV of lenses on a micro 4/3 sensor. Here are my findings…

FOV in terms Super 35/micro 4/3 sensors:

• 18mm acts like 25.5mm on micro 4/3. Need 12.7 mm to be equivalent to 18mm on Super 35 sensor.
• 24mm acts like 34mm on micro 4/3. Need 16.9 mm to be equivalent to 24mm on Super 35 sensor.
• 28mm acts like 39.7mm on micro 4/3. Need 19.7 mm to be equivalent to 28mm on Super 35 sensor.
• 35mm acts like 49.6mm on micro 4/3. Need 24.7 mm to be equivalent to 35mm on Super 35 sensor.
• 40mm acts like 56.7mm on micro 4/3. Need 28.2 mm to be equivalent to 40mm on Super 35 sensor.
• 50 mm acts like 25.5mm on micro 4/3. Need 35.3mm to be equivalent to 50mm on Super 35 sensor.
• 85mm acts like 120.5mm on micro 4/3. Need 59.9mm to be equivalent to 85mm on Super 35 sensor.

In terms of Panasonic micro 4/3 zoom lenses (two of which aren’t out yet) and Super 35 equivalents:

• 7-14mm micro 4/3 zoom acts like 19-20mm on Super 35 sensor.
• 12-35mm micro 4/3 zoom acts like 17-50mm on Super 35 sensor.
• 35-100 micro 4/3 zoom acts like 50-140mm on Super35 sensor.

CONCLUSIONS (most common film focal lengths are underlined):

• To achieve 18mm FOV on micro 4/3 sensor, buy 12mm lens
• To achieve 24mm FOV on micro 4/3 sensor, buy 17mm lens
• To achieve 28mm FOV on micro 4/3 sensor, buy 20mm lens
• To achieve 35mm FOV on micro 4/3 sensor, buy 25mm lens
• To achieve 40mm FOV on micro 4/3 sensor, buy 28mm lens
• To achieve 50mm FOV on micro 4/3 sensor, buy 35mm lens
• To achieve 70mm FOV on micro 4/3 sensor, buy 50mm lens
• To achieve 85mm FOV on micro 4/3 sensor, buy 60mm lens

Original Article

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