Compose within 50mm framelines, anticipate outside them, or just grab a 28?

[Richard G]

At the Leica 100 party in Wetzlar an interviewer bailed up well known photographers and asked "Carefully compose or seize the moment?" And then, "Which focal length for life?" To the latter nearly everyone answered 28. (See Instagram.) Bill Pierce favoured the 35 in his heyday, alarmed and pleasantly surprised by a friend's telephoto 50mm lens when he borrowed his camera.

I remember taking my first and almost only 28mm lens shot, when I picked up my recently serviced OM2n. Then ten years ago or more I bought a 28 Elmarit M and surprised myself with how much I liked it, hardly ever using the frame lines or the external finder on my M9. Since getting the 28mm Summaron M it has hardly been off the M9. I know the iPhone gives about a 28mm perspective, but is that really why so many photographers favour 28 now? When did this actually happen and why?

 

[pvdhaar]

My guess it's all about context. More so than even a 35, the 28 allows more of the environment to be included in the frame, even if your subject fills most of it. Don't have a 28 for my M4, but I've got a 28 glued to my FE2.

 

[robert blu]

Interesting question, complex answer!

I think maybe the iPhone 28mm perspetive has been decided by Apple because it makes easier specially for casual shooters to make a photo, not accurate framing being necessary.

Personally I like to compose with attention even when I use my much loved 28/5.6 Summaron, but this is me. I rarely crop in postproducton. Years ago a made a 7.000 km road trip with the M10 and only this lens and it worked.

Interesting point, I'll think more about it!

 

[Formerly presspass]

28 is a focal length I've struggled with. I took an Elmarit to Prague a number of years ago and it worked well for me there. At home, I rarely take a 28 - rangefinder or SLR - out. For more than 50 years, I shot for a series of weekly newspapers, retiring at 80 earlier this year. In all that time, my go-to primes were, at the short end, 35 and 20 or 21. I'm still trying to come to terms with a 28 on a regular basis.

 

[Godfrey]

This is akin to the old liturgical debate about "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?"
There is no right answer: there's what you have, and what works best for your photography.

For me: 40-45 mm focal length on 35mm format (24x36 mm) is probably my best use-for-anything, all-around focal length. It sees as I tend to see the world. When I want something wider, I usually go to 20-21mm; when I want something more selective in angle of view, a 50-75 mm does me well. I have a couple of 28mm lenses and they do fine; I have 90, 135, 180, and longer as well ... they do fine when that's what I need, or want.

Being dogmatic about lenses is a way of constraining your vision, which is sometimes good for creativity ... and sometimes not. In the end, whatever you have in your bag, on your camera, make the photo and work with it.

G

"No matter where you go, there you are."

 

[raid]

I use mostly 50mm lenses and also a 35mm, such as the Summilux 35/1.4, The 28mm lens is used less often, but I use it. It would be the Kobalux 28/3.5 or the Rokkor 28/2.8 M. It allows more of the environment to be included in the images. Focusing is less precise and not needed so much to be perfect. Distortion is minimal for a wide angle lens. Lens size is small.

 

[38Deardorff]

Any chance to change the auto-correct "tramlines" in the title to frame lines?

 

[Timmyjoe]

When I was first shooting for the paper, I would use two bodies with a 28mm and a 85mm. Worked well for me, YMMV. Everyone else was using the 20-35mm and 80-200mm zooms, but my kit was lighter and to me, it felt faster. Then the 24-70mm and 70-200mm zooms came out, and their optics were superb, so eventually we went with that.

But I still love that 28mm and 85mm combo.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Rayt]

It’s all personal style. To me the 50mm is a short telephoto and 35mm is normal lens. 21/24mm are wide and 28mm is happy medium. Today with 40 to 60MP sensors I just use a 28mm or even 24mm. With digital I can adjust perspective in post to get straight lines and that involves cropping.

 

[38Deardorff]

Rayt, for me as well the 50mm is a short tele. I never bonded with the 28mm....but the iPhone caused me to try it again. I'd always travel with medium format and end up as well with some nice phone shots...but i wanted to print them. So that brought me back to 35mm film. After using the 28mm on the Leica CL in Italy last summer i'm quite happy with it as the one lens. I'm now very happy with my latest rig. Ilford Delta 400, the 28mm & the Leica lllg with the Leicavit....the ideal fast point & shoot. That & a Rolleiflex or tiny Voigtlander Perkeo covers a lot of ground. If i use 2 lenses it's the 21/35 combo.

 

[Richard G]

I learnt a lot here over the years. I remember reading recommendations for a 50 and a 28 for travel. I thought about that, and that is what I took to Paris and Nice in 2014. In the old city of Nice I missed having the 21, but the 28 worked well enough. Godfrey’s 20/21 and whatever is in the bag comment resonates. I shot 21 for six months when I first got that focal length. Interesting that a couple of professionals here were using 28s decades ago.

(Thanks for fixing ‘tramlines’.)

 

[Richard G]

Rayt, for me as well the 50mm is a short tele. I never bonded with the 28mm....but the iPhone caused me to try it again. I'd always travel with medium format and end up with some nice phone shots...i wanted to print. So that brought me back to 35mm film. After using the 28mm on the Leica CL in Italy last summer i'm quite happy with it as the one lens. I'm now very happy with my latest rig. Ilford Delta 400, the 28mm & the Leica lllg with the Leicavit....the ideal fast point & shoot. That & a Rolleiflex or tiny Voightlander Perkeo ll addresses a wide range of possibilities. If i use 2 lenses it's the 21/35 combo.
View attachment 4874564

Noticed this rig the other day. A very open minded journey to it.

 

[Rayt]

Rayt, for me as well the 50mm is a short tele. I never bonded with the 28mm....but the iPhone caused me to try it again. I'd always travel with medium format and end up as well with some nice phone shots...but i wanted to print them. So that brought me back to 35mm film. After using the 28mm on the Leica CL in Italy last summer i'm quite happy with it as the one lens. I'm now very happy with my latest rig. Ilford Delta 400, the 28mm & the Leica lllg with the Leicavit....the ideal fast point & shoot. That & a Rolleiflex or tiny Voigtlander Perkeo ll covers a lot of ground. If i use 2 lenses it's the 21/35 combo.
View attachment 4874564

I prefer the 24mm myself but the 28mm is a good compromise if I don’t want to carry two cameras with lenses. Before I started using Leicas I never owned a 35mm but the M6 framelines made the choice for me, and over the years came to appreciate its flexibility. Before that I used a 50mm because my Canon AE1 came with one. I would have bought one anyway because 50mm lenses are fast and cheap. And the second lens is always a 28mm or 90/100mm. For 4x5 it’s 90mm and 150mm for similar reasons. So not until decades after using these focal lengths did I truly know what I wanted to shoot and how to do it with which lenses.

 

[38Deardorff]

I prefer the 24mm myself but the 28mm is a good compromise if I don’t want to carry two cameras with lenses. Before I started using Leicas I never owned a 35mm but the M6 framelines made the choice for me, and over the years came to appreciate its flexibility. Before that I used a 50mm because my Canon AE1 came with one. I would have bought one anyway because 50mm lenses are fast and cheap. And the second lens is always a 28mm or 90/100mm. For 4x5 it’s 90mm and 150mm for similar reasons. So not until decades after using these focal lengths did I truly know what I wanted to shoot and how to do it with which lenses.

Rayt I used Nikons as well as Leicas for decades. On the SLRs it was always 24mm..... (I should have kept the Canon 25mm LTM i had!)....
But because i used the 35mm as my standard on the RF.... 28 was too close..... so i got the 21/35 habit