Prime lens question

[angtomczak]

Is there such a thing as a prime lens for a D90 that will make the cropped frame look/act/feel like a full frame? I'm assuming I need to look at wide angle lenses...? Or do you only get a full frame feel from a full frame camera?

[inkista]

Depends on what you mean by "full frame feel". The crop factor is how you get an equivalent field of view, but you're not actually going to change the focal length of the lens, and the lens will not necessarily perform the same on both a crop body and a full-frame camera.

If you're just talking about the field of view, then dividing the focal length by 1.5 will give you the "equivalent" focal length on a crop body. E.g., to get the same field of view as a 100mm lens on full frame gets you, you need a 100/1.5 = ~67mm lens. So, yes, you're looking for wider lenses.

But for a number of other full-frame factors (i.e., DoF, higher iso noise performance, etc.) a lens alone probably won't be able to duplicate the effect.

[angtomczak]

Yea, I was referring to the field of view specifically.

Recently, I went to a fairly crowded event and attempted to take photos of my daughter. I took my 50mm lens, simply for the compact size, but I found that in order to get the field of view I needed, I had to move so far back that people didn't notice me and kept stepping into my view. Which prompted me to learn about field of view.

So I'm trying to understand if I can find a prime lens that will give me a larger field of view, without too much distortion.

Do you have any recommendations?

Thanks!

[inkista]

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX seems to be the common recommendation these days. I shoot Canon, so, you'll want to do some research or hear from folks who actually own the lens.

50mm/1.5 = ~33.3mm, so a 35 is very close to being "normal on a crop", if you're talking about the field of view.

However, it doesn't actually do the "normal" thing, (where if you have one eye to the view finder, and the other eye open, the magnification will match) that a 50mm lens can do.

[angtomczak]

OH! It just so happens that's the one I was looking into! THANKS!