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Category: Digital Terms Dictionary

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What The Numbers Mean on A Camera Lens


There are numbers on the lens of my camera like "5.9-59 mm". I don't think this represents the 10 x zoom, does it?


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November 15, 2001

 

Hermann Graf
  It could be if you have a digital camera. There, focal lengths are much smaller because the frame is much smaller, compared to the normal 24x36mm film format.


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November 15, 2001

 

Laura Johnson
  Hi there..

I am not an expert, but I think the 5.6 refers to the aperture and the 59 to the focal length - just going by the numbers, that would make sense.

Let us know.


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November 20, 2001

 

Bradley D. Benjamin
  If a lens has 2 f stop numbers on it (like F4.0-5.6) this is the largest aperture opening available at the closest and farthest focal points with the lens. Example: a 35-80mm lens marked f4.0-5.6 would have a largest possible 4.0 aperture at 35mm and a 5.6 largest possible aperture at 80mm.


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December 04, 2001

 

Kevin Boutwell
  the 5.9-59mm does mean that you have a 10x zoom lens. 5.9-59mm seems weird to you sice the CCD of the camera is alot smaller than that of a 35mm neg.


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June 13, 2002

 
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