Is "normal" perspective the most pleasing?

[ic-racer]

It is often stated that a "normal" lens (one whose focal length is equal to the diagonal of the film size) produces images which appear "normal" - when not cropped and when viewed from a "normal" viewing distance.

(See Wikipedia for a nice explanation of "Perspective Distortion" with illustrations.)

Is "normal" perspective the most beautiful, the most pleasing? Or is it simply the least distracting?

I have no issue with the term "Normal Lens" because everyone knows that that is. However I have found it to be no more, or less "Normal" than any other lens. In fact no matter what lens you put on the camera the perspective never changes.

[Oren Grad]

Which 227.6 mm lens are you using on whole plate?

I bounce back and forth between 210 and 240. I wish I had a 225mm Apo-Sironar-S.

[Oren Grad]

So is there a most flattering sense of distance from the subject?

That's just the flip side of your perspective question. I like 7/8 precisely because of how that renders space. OMCV. (Others' Mileages Clearly Vary.)

[Heroique]

In fact no matter what lens you put on the camera the perspective never changes.

Here’s an analogy to help address the “normal” and “pleasing” parts of this important issue.

If I share the same viewing position w/ a hawk, the perspective is identical for both of us.

But my “normal” human vision would (very likely) be displeasingly wide for him, and his “normal” raptor vision would be displeasingly long for me.

But to return to our shared perspective – I suspect it would appear “normal” and perhaps even “pleasing” to both of us, no matter whose eyes we were using. For it wouldn’t change – even if the angle of vision did change to a displeasing degree.

[mdm]

A camera has 1 eye so it does not have a sense of depth as we do. A photograph flattens space onto its surface. The perspective, or the space and the way it is flattened is chosen by the photographer, by chosing where to put the camera and what focal length lens to use. A normal lens in my hands has different perspective to a normal lens in your hands, focal lenth is only half of the equation. Given the same situation, no 2 people make exactly the same photograph therefore there is no such thing as "normal" perspective. I personally find a normal lens most pleasing.

[Heroique]

I personally find a normal lens most pleasing.

Another heretic.

I suddenly feel less alone.

And so does my magical 150mm g-claron.

[Mark Stahlke]

To paraphrase Ansel Adams: There are no boring lenses (or perspectives), only boring photographs.

As someone else said, the subject matter and the photographer's vision determine the lens or perspective choice.

If I may be so bold as to use one of my humble images as an example, this image was shot with a 55mm lens on 4x5. Is this perspective displeasing or distracting? I don't think so. I think the wide angle perspective gives it an energy and dynamism that a similar shot with a normal lens would be lacking. In my opinion the wide angle perspective pushes this shot from the mundane to an almost abstract study of lines and planes, tones and textures. The wide angle lens gave me what I wanted. I ask again, is this perspective displeasing or distracting? Would a normal perspective be more pleasing or less distracting?

[Ken Lee]

So is there a most flattering sense of distance from the subject?

That's just the flip side of your perspective question. I like 7/8 precisely because of how that renders space.

Thank you!

[Bruce Watson]

Is "normal" perspective the most beautiful, the most pleasing?

For me, no.

I've been reluctant to post on this thread because I'm sort of confused by it. I'm confused because I don't see it. I've been wandering around the house looking a photographs of mine shot with lenses from 80mm to 240mm. I know from experience that I tend to shoot about equally with my 110, 150, and 240mm lenses on 5x4. To tell you the truth, I can't tell by looking at the prints which lens I used to make the capture. Some of them I just happen to remember, but some I just couldn't tell ya.

Perhaps this is because I use lenses a little differently. My only consideration when choosing a lens is angle of view. I walk the scene to find the best spot to make the photograph, then choose the lens that lets me capture what I'm after from that spot. I don't know that I've ever moved the camera position to accommodate a lens.

End result is that I can't say that a photograph I've made with one lens is any more pleasing to me than a photograph I've made with a lens of different focal length.

[Ken Lee]

"It would make more sense to base lens selection on the horizontal angle of coverage, since that's the way we perceive the world."

Let's use a circular sheet of film whose diameter is 6 inches. A 4x5 inch sheet would fit snugly inside. The diagonal of that 4x5 inch frame is 6 inches or ~150mm.

A lens that is 150mm above that frame would have a viewing angle of around 53 degrees. A 120mm lens would give a viewing angle of 64 degrees. A lens that is 225mm above the frame has an angle of around 36 degrees. A 300mm lens has around 28 degrees, and a 450mm lens has a viewing angle of around 19 degrees... is that right ?

That's using the diagonal. Are you suggesting that we use horizontal measure - IE the longer of the two lengths ?