35mm POV...

[dave lackey]

So, whilst recovering from dental torture, I have had some time to reflect on a week's worth of images using Sam's 35 cron. In total, I had "zero" keepers using it on the M3.😡

This is so frustrating. Now, this was in February and I have had about 4 months experience since then with the Leica X1 on loan in between using my normal 50mm lenses, so, it was a newbie experience for me.

It is HARD getting used to a different POV when one is completely trained to think and use a 50mm POV for so many years. But, I have kept at it.🙂

I am beginning to get a feel for when the 35mm lens would be appropriate and when it is not. In some respects, I am actually framing with the 35mm in mind rather than the 50mm as before.

So, I figure it will take another 6 months before I am ready for a 35 Cron of my own. It is kind of like the book...A River Runs Through It... it just takes a long time to think like a fish.:angel:

 

[jsrockit]

I've always been good at swapping back and forth between 35mm and 50mm lenses, but anything other than those, I get slowed down. With the 35mm and 50mm...I know where to stand before I even bring the camera to my eye. With anything else, I have to look through the VF and then decide where to stand.

 

[Rob-F]

Dave one thing that helps is to know that the width of the field covered by the 35mm lens is equal to the distance from camera to subject. If I'm 15 feet from my subject, the lens will cover about 15 feet of image width.

 

[Keith]

What opened up the 35mm field of view for me was shooting thousands of images at gallery openings with my D700 and Zeiss ZF 35mm Distagon. Up until I got that combination and started using it in that environment I really wasn't comfortable with that focal length. It has translated to other cameras for me now and I'll happily put my 35mm Zuiko on my OM-1 for a day's recreational shooting.

I believe it's the most versatile focal length!

 

[daveleo]

Love the 35mm field of view.
My most-used lens on the D60 (APS sensor) is a manual focus 24mm for that reason.
(I'd buy the X100 tomorrow but She-who-must-be-obeyed would kill me.)

 

[dave lackey]

What opened up the 35mm field of view for me was shooting thousands of images at gallery openings with my D700 and Zeiss ZF 35mm Distagon. Up until I got that combination and started using it in that environment I really wasn't comfortable with that focal length. It has translated to other cameras for me now and I'll happily put my 35mm Zuiko on my OM-1 for a day's recreational shooting.

I believe it's the most versatile focal length!

Yes, that is why I am shooting 35 only with a digital camera because it would take an awful lot of money to burn through the wall that the change in POV has placed in front of me if I were using only film.😱

It is working... and Rob, it is a good thing you mentioned. The mind is a difficult thing to retrain in a short period of time for me but I am getting there.

One of the things that irritates me with the 35mm POV is that resolution needs to be extremely good when there are signs, etc. in the distance. I cannot stand a nicely framed and composed image where a sign in the background cannot be read. So, I tend to have to crop the image if that is important and the resolution simply needs to be there.

Here is an example. This is a crop because the original image needed to be enlarged to get the sign readable. It was perfectly sharp at 16x24 but since I work with 8x12...I had to crop it to get a decent image...please pardon the crappy low-res for posting. It is a shame to have to deal with this kind of detail issue because the enlargements show the sign very well.

 

[jsrockit]

Here is an example. This is a crop because the original image needed to be enlarged to get the sign readable. It was perfectly sharp at 16x24 but since I work with 8x12...I had to crop it to get a decent image...please pardon the crappy low-res for posting. It is a shame to have to deal with this kind of detail issue because the enlargements show the sign very well.

Dave, is this just because you could not get physically closer to the building and sign?

 

[besk]

Maybe that is why switching from 50mm to 28mm has not been a problem for me. The 28 is so much wider I naturally feel that it will cover my normal field of vision.

 

[Paul Jenkin]

I have 35mm lenses for my Leica M6TTL (a nice little Canon LTM f2.8), Pentax S3 (Takumar 35mm/f2.0, Nikon F5 (Nikkor AFD 35mm/f2.0 and I really like using the 65mm lens on my Mamiya 7 (which has an angle of view similar to 35mm). I'd vnever thought of it before but I'm a big fan of the 35mm POV.......

 

[dave lackey]

Dave, is this just because you could not get physically closer to the building and sign?

Absolutely...the building is over 100 yards away from the side of the stream I was on. This is a crop where I was able to crop out the vegetation on my side and a 16x24 print yields a sharp image and very readable sign. Never had the problem much with a 50mm but again, I am learning where the 35pov is more appropriate.

 

[dave lackey]

Maybe that is why switching from 50mm to 28mm has not been a problem for me. The 28 is so much wider I naturally feel that it will cover my normal field of vision.

Yes, I like the 28 on my zooms lenses but when I have used them at this location (above), I always zoomed to 50 and higher because the sign is unreadable with anything wider than a 50mm pov.

 

[philipus]

I also prefer 50mm and have had trouble getting used to 35mm. I bought one but found that I kept being too far away all the time. I have a 90mm and I like that FOV. Still, believe it or not, now I'm thinking of getting a 75.

Based on my experience trying to "agree" with the 35mm FOV all I can say is get closer than you think you would need to.

 

[The Meaness]

Dave, I like your image as you are presenting it here. How much did you crop it? I like it because I think the balance between green and red is good (especially considering the reflection). The sign is not really a factor for me.

 

[dave lackey]

Dave, I like your image as you are presenting it here. How much did you crop it? I like it because I think the balance between green and red is good (especially considering the reflection). The sign is not really a factor for me.

The first image above is a crop of this original jpg below, before final processing and the image is very sharp at 16x24 and the second is a crop of the crop...I simply prefer to read the sign but it is not really possible at this distance:

Again, apologies for the low-res images.
But, I hope the point is coming across about the frustration I keep having with some images in this POV. Here, getting closer was not an option.

Overall, the image was terrific for a quick snapshot with the X1. It was not really intended as anything other than a grab shot whilst walking around the area.

 

[smk]

I started with 35mm, but I just couldn't get used to it. Then I switched to 50mm, and for 5 years it was my only focal length. Very comfortable with. A couple of years ago I added a 28mm, and I found the 28mm to be easier to work with than the 35mm. I went back to 35mm few times, but I can never feel comfortable with. It's fun to play around with different focal lengths, but 1) it can be expensive, and 2) it takes a lot of time to form an opinion on a focal length (at least for me).

Savvas