Focal points

[willywonka]

Help, I'm so confused with terminology used in the photography world that I have a headache. I'm trying to research the technical parts of photography and what Focal Plane, Focal points and focal axis area.
After research I'm still not the wiser, I did find a website regarding Focal points which is to do with composition, this can't be right can it, because I'm researching lenses.

[chris-p]

Hi Willywonka, welcome to the forum

Focal point can mean one of several things. In lens terms, the focal point (or focal node) in the lens is where the light rays are focused (within the lens body) for projection onto the sensor or film. You're probably also reading articles about focus points used by the autofocus system (which you can see through the viewfinder of an SLR).

The terminology is often used in an interchangeable fashion when (technically) they're not interchangeable phrases!

[willywonka]

Thanks Chris, the focal plane, what is this? Is this located in the camera or in the lens

Thanks

[Forseti]

Welcome to the forum willywonka, You might like to bookmark this site for future use/reading as it contains huge amounts of very useful information. For now though, you might want to read the third tutorial - 'Understanding Camera Lenses; Focal Length and Aperture'. Enjoy.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm

[willywonka]

Thanks for the post, I've just read The position of the focal plane is indicated on the top of most cameras by a
o with a line through, I will have a read thanks

[chris-p]

The site Forseti linked to is full of useful information.

And you're right, the focal plane is usually marked. It's basically where the film or sensor sits (in the orientation) and it's where the lens focuses the image to.