Magnification or Enlargement?

[Greg Howald]

So I get a nice view of anything at say, 400x, and decide to photograph the image using a simple eyepiece camera. The field of view from the camera shows about half the field of view in the eyepiece. I switch from a 10x eyepiece to a 20x eyepiece and the fields of view between camera and eyepiece are nearly the same.
Question is... Does the camera increase magnification or does it just enlarge the image?

[apochronaut]

That all depends on the size of your camera sensor and the projected magnification at the sensor. The camera doesn't do anything except capture what is being presented to it by whatever optics are projecting the image to it. Lets say the f.o.v. is 22mm. If the camera sensor is roughly the same size , as the several APS-C sensors are, and the photo relay lens is projecting just out beyond the corners of the sensor, then the magnification is just about equal between the two, slightly greater on the sensor.
If the sensor is a smaller one, say a 1" type, then it will capture about 1/2 the linear field at the same magnification.
If you change the magnification of the photo lens so that the entire 22mm field is being projected onto the smaller 1" type sensor then the magnification will be just over 1/2 of what you see in the eyepieces.

[Greg Howald]

Thanks. Greg

[Plasmid]

[Scarodactyl]

The difference comes at the final enlargement when you view the image on the screen. With a small camera sensor you are cropping the edges of the image and then blowing it up to the same final size. Optically the camera adds no magnification but the final result is as if it is.

[Greg Howald]

That makes sense. I have the reduction lens in use.
I appreciate the tips you folks have given me.
Greg

[Greg Howald]

That makes sense. I have the reduction lens in use.
I appreciate the tips you folks have given me.
Greg