CompuServe Messages

Hi Paul, The typical human field of view is 48 degrees which is provided by 3D Studio's default lens length of 48.24mm. The problem that you must deal with is that the field of view of 48 degrees represents a focused view. It does not account for peripheral vision nor does it account for the fact our eyes are usually "scanning" from side to side. Our field of awareness, as opposed to field of view, is quite large. The "natural" field of view will vary depending upon the environment and the subject of your view. Our field of awareness shrinks as we focus more intently on an object and as the environment closes in around us. Landscape photographers frequently use very wide angle lenses (<30mm: large subject, unrestricted environment), architecural photography often uses moderate wide angle lenses (35mm to 40mm: limited subject, surrounded by walls or buildings), while portrait photography uses normal to narrow angle lenses (50mm to 135mm: tight subject, environment closed in by darkness or backdrops). If you have a 35mm camera with a wide angle zoom lens you might consider this experiment. Find a billboard in an environment similar to what you are modeling. Casually look at the scene. Look through your camera and adjust the lens until the scene in the viewfinder is similar to what you saw without the camera. Check the lens length and reduce it by a few mm's (that's because you invariably concentrated a little too much on the scene and subconciously narrowed your field of view). My guess is that you'll want to work with a lens length around 38-40mm. I know this isn't the answer you were looking for but vision is subjective. Steven