Brand:
Sony 85mm f/1.8-22
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Although 85mm and 35mm lenses are versatile, the following 85mm vs 35mm guide reveals their difference. This will help you to choose the right lens for capturing portraits and closeups or shooting interior photos in tight spaces.
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Camera lenses come in varying focal lengths, some fixed and others variable. Lenses with fixed focal lengths are the most popular due to their outstanding image sharpness. The following guide details the differences, suitability, and applicability of the 85mm and 38mm, the two most popular prime lenses.
An 85mm lens is a lens with a telephoto perspective of 85mm when paired with a full-frame camera and an equivalent angle of view of 136mm when paired with a Canon APS-C camera with a cropping factor of 1.6x.
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Brand:
Sony 85mm f/1.8-22
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Brand:
Nikon 85mm f/3.5G AF-S DX Micro
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Brand:
Canon 85mm f/1.8 EF
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Lens Type:
Telephoto
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Lens Type:
Telephoto
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Lens Type:
Telephoto
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Compatible Mountings:
Sony E
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Compatible Mountings:
Nikon F
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Compatible Mountings:
Canon EF
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4.8
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4.5
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4.7
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This angle of view changes to an equivalent of 127.5mm when paired with crop-factor cameras with a crop factor of 1.5x from brands such as Sony, Nikon, and Fuji.
A 35mm lens is a lens with a 35mm wide-angle field of view when paired with a full-frame camera and an equivalent normal perspective of 56mm when paired with a Canon APS-C camera with a cropping factor of 1.6x.
The field of view changes to a normal perspective of 52.5mm when paired with 1.5x crop-factor cameras such as Sony, Fuji, and Nikon.
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Brand:
Nikon AF-S 35mm f/1.8
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Brand:
Canon EF 35mm f/2
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Brand:
Sony FE 35mm f/1.8
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Compatible Mountings:
Nikon F
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Compatible Mountings:
Canon EF
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Compatible Mountings:
Sony FE, Sony E
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Lens Type:
Standard
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Lens Type:
Wide Angle
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Lens Type:
Wide Angle
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4.7
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4.7
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4.7
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There is a difference of around 50 mm between the focal length of these two lenses. This difference makes one have a wide-angle perspective and the other a telephoto perspective, resulting in the following similarities and differences.
Although the lenses result in different depths of field, the two lenses have the following similarities that make them versatile depending on the sensor size they are paired with.
Although both lenses can shoot well-focused and take sharp photos, their focal length differences give them the following angle of view, magnification, and weight differences.
The angle of view refers to how much of the scene the camera lens can view and project to the camera sensor at a given time.
Usually, the angle of view depends on the lens's focal length, with longer focal lengths having narrower fields of view than their shorter focal length counterparts. A 35mm lens has a wider angle of view and is known as a wide-angle lens like Canon.
On the other hand, an 85mm lens has a narrower angle of view and is known as a telephoto lens. For instance, a 35mm lens can capture the entire real estate property when shooting from a tight backyard, while an 85mm lens might capture only a part of the property from the same distance.
Magnification is the relationship between the size of a subject as captured by the camera sensor to the size of the subject in real life. Magnification is specified in ratios, with a ratio of 1:1 representing a macro photo where the size of the subject in the image is equal to the real-life size of the subject.
The narrower angle of view of longer focal length lenses creates a cropping effect, where the lens cuts out the background elements and creates an optical zoom or magnification effect. As a result, a Nikon 85mm can make a distant subject more prominent in the frame than a Sony FE 35mm.
For instance, if you are capturing a flower in the backyard from the house's balcony, an 85mm lens can magnify it to fill the frame without affecting the image quality, while a 35mm lens might capture it in a zoomed-out state with a large background around it.
The size and weight of a camera lens depend on several factors, such as whether the lens is constructed with a plastic or metal alloy casing, the length of the lens barrel, and whether the lens is designed to fit the larger full-frame camera sensor, the medium APS-C sensor or a micro-four-thirds sensor.
Keeping in mind that focal length is the distance from the camera sensor to the lens's optical center, a longer focal length translates to a longer barrel and larger size. As a result, an 85mm unit is generally larger and heavier than a 35mm lens.
Distortions refer to how much the subject looks deformed in the image compared to its real-life state. Distortions result from the imbalance between subject distance and angle of view. Generally, distortion increases when the lens tries to compress a broad scene to fit in the frame at a small subject distance.
Keeping in mind that a 35mm lens has a wider field of view, it needs to compress a larger scene to fit in the frame than an 85mm lens. As a result, a 35mm unit results in more noticeable distortions than an 85mm lens at the same subject distance.
The camera shake effect is the blurriness that occurs when the subject moves or the camera shakes when taking a photo. In most cases, this happens when shooting real estate interior photos handheld in poor lighting with high ISO settings and slower shutter speeds.
Since this effect results from physical camera vibrations or movements, the lens focal length can't reduce or increase it. However, the focal length can amplify its effect on the resulting image. Lenses with longer focal lengths have a zooming effect that enlarges distant subjects.
This enlarging also enlarges those tiny camera vibrations and shakes, magnifying the blurring effect. That means there are higher chances of capturing blurry images handheld when using the 85mm unit than when using a 35mm unit.
The major distinguishing factor between an 85mm lens and a 35mm one is the bokeh effect, which is how the lens renders the out-of-focus areas in an image when using selective focus techniques.
The wide-angle perspective of the 35mm lens gives it a deeper depth of field, where everything in the frame is in focus.
On the other hand, the telephoto perspective of the 85mm lens makes it have a shallower depth of field, where the main subject is sharp and in focus, while the background is blurred and out of focus. This makes an 85mm lens achieve a better bokeh quality than a 35mm unit.
Since an 85mm lens has a telephoto perspective that can magnify distant subjects, it might be the best lens to use under the following circumstances.
Considering that a 35mm lens can have a wide-angle or normal perspective depending on the camera, it might be the best option in the following situations.
A 35mm lens is more flexible and a better option as you can pair it with a crop-factor camera and shoot portraits and closeups with an equivalent normal perspective of around 50mm or pair it with a full-frame camera and shoot wide-angle photos.
The above 85mm vs 35mm guide explains how you can take advantage of the 85mm telephoto perspective to capture portraits and closeups or the wide-angle perspective of the 35mm lens to capture wide-angle photos of real estate exteriors.
