The market for focal reducers has exploded in the last decade. These lens adapters have changed the way filmmakers look at cameras, lenses, and composition. But as with all new things, there has been equal amounts of love and hate, along with a healthy dose of misinformation. So what are focal reducers, what do they do, and why has Canon decided to make one? Let’s dig in and learn some stuff! A focal reducer is the inverse of a teleconverter. While the latter increases the apparent focal length of a lens, a focal reducer does what it says on the tin: reduces the apparent focal length. It does this much like a magnifying glass, by taking the image circle produced by a lens (which is designed for a bigger sensor size), and shrinking it down so that the (smaller) sensor or film plane can capture more of the image produced. It does what now? All lenses produce a circular image. Hence, the term image circle. Usually, this image circle was only big enough to cover your frame. However, with the development of different films sizes, and now sensors, the mismatch between capture medium and image circle has never been as pronounced. Focal reducers and teleconverters alike, take advantage of this mismatch to sync up your image circle with the frame size of your capture medium. And that is where some magic starts to happen. Focal reducers can not only make your images wider but also brighter and sharper. Why? ‘Cause...
Published By: CineD - Saturday, 24 July, 2021