The dining light is read from a chair, not from the doorway, so it is judged at arm's length for hours at a time. Glare matters more here than anywhere else in the house, and so does the drop: hung too high, the light flattens faces; too low, it blocks the view across the table.
Long tables usually suit a linear piece or a run of two or three pendants, and round tables a single chandelier, ring or cluster. As a working rule, keep the lowest point of the light 75 to 85cm above the table top and the piece about 30cm narrower than the table on each side. Every drop here can be set to the room when the piece is made.