I always seem to get questions asking if I think a focal length will “work” well for filming. This is sort of a subjective question. I have no idea what is a good focal length to you or what focal length will make you happy on your next film project. So instead of me using hard to define terms like “kind of wide” or “zoomed in” I’ve put together this video to demonstrate focal lengths on a corp sensor camera. Starting with 11mm and working my way up to 85mm. The focal lengths listed are the actual focal lengths listed on the lenses I used, not the crop sensor multiplier number.

The camera was placed 10 feet from the subject matter. I find that 10 feet is about the max distance your camera will be able to achieve in most standard size houses or living spaces. This also gives you an easy reference distance when thinking about each of these focal lengths. I recommend 3 prime lenses for people starting out and I made sure to hit each of these focal lengths in the demo.

Sometimes I have to take a brake from the fun stuff and do something useful like this. So I hope this helps those of you still trying to decide what focal length lenses you need or want for your next project.

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