One Summicron for a year - 50 or 35?

[leicapixie]

i think it is a great idea. it is dangerous! It surely is, that's why many warn against. Why? It will be answered later..
The choice is between a 35mm, 64*angle and 50mm,45* angle.The M3 is best with 50mm as there is no frame finder, unless you use the whole window.It's a close as the poor finders in later cameras with the 50mm,(M4-p,M6,M7). The 35mm as all wide angles has a natural distortion of images close being too large. A hand put forward. If you like that exaggeration, go with it. If you step back slightly, it will be less, so.
The 50mm gives placid very clear images. Simply closing one eye, you know the framing. As a friend said of my photos.."Chocolate box illustrations.."
Another idea is the 28mm for its very dynamic geometry and spatial look.
If i had to choose a year, of one lens, that would be the one!Almost impossible.
Why the danger? After a few weeks you will no longer want or desire all the equipment. I have long ago gone with the 50mm and own numerous 50's for different cameras. These days I prefer the Leica or a light,but film, SLR.
There is no thinking what to pack, to carry. A spare roll and you are set even for an event. I shot a Rodeo with my old collapsible 50mm Summicron.
I captured action, sequences and portraits.
Go with it and let us know of your progress.

 

[clayne]

Wider lenses require more closeness/shared space to get quality shots and immerse the viewer in shared environment. The choice is easy here: 35. Why stop there, how about 24 for a year?

 

[loquax ludens]

It is a very personal decision. I would be inclined to choose the 50 because it would be easy. Somehow it seems tighter, more intimate to me, and I'm used to it. But I might not learn as much as I could. More challenging for me would be the 35 because it is not a focal length I use very often. The most challenging for me would be a 90. I do like it, and I use it at least as much as the 35, but I often feel it limits what I can do. So that is the allure for me. The idea is intriguing. I think I could live for a year with just a 90. I know it would force me to see things differently, or to see different things, and I could use that.

I say go with the lens you are least comfortable with. You stand to learn the most from it.

 

[alexnotalex]

Easy, choose the 50 and get shooting and post some results.

When it's not clear where to start, start anywhere.

good luck
Alex

 

[robinsonphotography]

I just tried to do a 35 only for a week in Paris, and had to switch to a 50 after a few days--mostly because I'm a people-oriented shooter, and for that, I think a 50 trumps....perspective just gets too weird when you are tight in with a 35, and you can't get the same shallow DOF. Either way though, it'll be a fun year--enjoy!

 

[robbiemcintosh]

I would use the 35mm.

 

[helen.HH]

Hmmmm...tough Choice
Love them BOTH

If you want a Year of Ease & a Touch more Storyline
Go with the 35
If You will shoot more Portraits/street Portraits and want a tad More Challenge
Go with the 50

Either way Life is Good when You can Shoot 😉

 

[daninjc]

35 big time!

 

[boomguy57]

I'd say pick the focal length that you find yourself most at home with. Your work will adjust accordingly, as will your way of shooting. In the end, I think you'll find that you will have found a whole new you (in photographic terms).

 

[shadowfox]

Take 50, it forces you to compose tighter, you will learn more.

Take 35, it gives you more composition possibilities, you will learn more.

😀

 

[clayne]

I just tried to do a 35 only for a week in Paris, and had to switch to a 50 after a few days--mostly because I'm a people-oriented shooter, and for that, I think a 50 trumps....perspective just gets too weird when you are tight in with a 35, and you can't get the same shallow DOF. Either way though, it'll be a fun year--enjoy!

35 isn't much of a wide angle. It's wider than 50, but it ain't no 24. IMO the lens to be used is the wider one as it forces closeness. Immersion makes for engaging photography and shared space.

So in short: use a 21. 🙂

 

[seanbonner]

35 isn't much of a wide angle. It's wider than 50, but it ain't no 24. IMO the lens to be used is the wider one as it forces closeness. Immersion makes for engaging photography and shared space.

So in short: use a 21. 🙂

There is something appealing about being forced to learn something new... but a 21 requires an external finder which I don't want. 28 perhaps? Hmm... I don't have a 28, which means I need to get one....

 

[bob338]

I tend to grab a 35mm whenever I go out, usually a Summicron ASPH or a 2.8 Summaron, simply for increased depth of field and size/weight.
But I always take better pictures with a 50mm, Pre-ASPH Lux being my favorite.

One of these days I'll accept that I'm really a 50mm shooter.

If backed into a corner, I would choose the 50.

 

[seanbonner]

But I always take better pictures with a 50mm, Pre-ASPH Lux being my favorite.

One of these days I'll accept that I'm really a 50mm shooter.

In looking through my photos I tend to think the 50mm ones are better shots. I always want to think that I'll "tell a better story" with the wider shots, but...

Sell me on the 'lux. I've only used the 'cron and don't know anyone who uses a lux so never played with one. What do you like about it?

 

[bob338]

Sell me on the 'lux. I've only used the 'cron and don't know anyone who uses a lux so never played with one. What do you like about it?

These are my very opinionated opinions, so take them with a grain of salt. And just for reference, my favorite lens ever was a V1 35mm Summilux, which most people hate.

I have owned a collapsible, a few rigids, several DRs, and a 70s Summicron, and by far the best color rendering of any is my Pre-ASPH Lux. Detail is near perfect, OOF areas is perfect, and it is as sharp as you can focus your camera. It is the one lens I can confidently say I will never sell.
I currently have a Summarit f2.5, a spotless DR, and a rigid. As soon as my Lux gets back from being CLAd at Leica, none of those lenses are going to get used much.
The only negative I can mention is the weight. Mine is chrome, and it is pretty heavy.
I think this lens is destined to be as regarded as the V4 35mm Summicron.

Good luck!

Bob

 

[Ruhayat]

Take a 90mm Summicron and make it a challange.

Incidentally, I used a 90mm Summicron exclusively for a year when I first got an M. Because that was the only M lens I had. 😀 Makes you see things in a whole new way. Turned out okay in the end, once I learned to see it as a long 50. But the weight and size are significantly un-M-like, though.

 

[BobYIL]

Emmanuel Smague for years long has used only one lens (35 Summicron) for all his photo essays.. How about starting with a 35 for the first year?

 

[Murchu]

2 things. Do you really want to shoot with a lens for the next 12 months that someone else chose for you. 35mm will most likely make you unhappy for portraits.

 

[clayne]

A 35mm lens is perfectly fine for portraits. Anyone who thinks otherwise isn't getting close enough.

 

[Keith]

A 35mm would be my choice although I'm predominantly a 50mm shooter.

I've discovered that using a 35mm for any given period of time suddenly makes a 50mm feel rather tight and quite restrictive. You learn to step into your photos a lot more with a 35mm IMO.