21mm or 25mm. Is one better than the other for street?

[fixbones]

For those wide-angle practitioners....

21mm or 25mm. Is one better than the other for street photography or is it pretty much a matter of personal taste/preferance??

Care to share your experience?

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

I actually prefer 28 for street, but between those two I think you'd be better off with a 25. You have to get REALLY close to a subject with a 21...take a look at Bruce Gilden, he gets right up in people's faces and he's using a 28.

Here are a couple of 25 street pics of mine

 

[Bill58]

I've tried both and my preference is the 25 set at around F5.6 or 8 and shooting at hyperfocal distance (taking no time to focus). The 25 allows a perfect closeup shot w/o having to be too close to the subject. The image of a 21 is just too far away IMHO.

 

[fixbones]

Have to agree with you that i'll have to get pretty close to the subject with the 21mm

Don't you think the 35mm is too close to the 28mm focal length?

 

[fixbones]

Bill58: that would be my intended use if i get the 25mm as well. I might have to get an external finder but at least with the DOF and hyperfocusing, i can forego the RF focus patch and not juggle between the 2 viewfinders.

 

[BillBingham2]

I'd go 25. When I had the 21 it just was too wide or not wide enough for my tastes. I prefer a 15 for W-I-D-E stuff and then jump to a 25 for my every day lens. From there I went to a 50. Now I happend to have a 35 in my carry mix, but that's because of the built in frame lines. My 25 was always on a Bessa L when I was using M/LTM based cameras.

B2 (;->

 

[Bill58]

Bill58: that would be my intended use if i get the 25mm as well. I might have to get an external finder but at least with the DOF and hyperfocusing, i can forego the RF focus patch and not juggle between the 2 viewfinders.

I should have added that I only use my CV25 VF--never the camera's VF. why? The CV25 VF is like looking at a big screen TV--big clear image that is FAST to frame.

 

[peter_n]

I worked with a 21 for two years and finally gave up, the focal length just wasn't for me. I sold it and bought a CV 15 which I immediately loved. A couple months ago I sold that one and bought the new M-15 that focuses and I love that even more, it seems to be a lot more sturdy too.

However there was a gap between the 15 and my 28 and I filled it with a 24mm that is an amazing lens in every respect. I was comfortable with the focal length straight away and so I think part of the choice is what you're really comfortable with. No matter how I tried with the 21 I could never fill up that gaping hole in the foreground but I've never had that issue with the 24.

My regular kit is a 35/75 combo with the 24 in the bag ready for stuff that is too wide for the 35. Those three lenses cover 95% of what I need for the street. If you're in a crowded urban environment and set your distance scale and DOF the 24 is just perfect.

I would strongly recommend the 24/25 lens over the 21 for street.

 

[Rob-F]

Between these two focal lengths, I use 25mm. A 21mm is just that much more critical to frame and level when working quickly. And I'd agree with Mabelsound that a 28mm is already plenty wide for the job. One problem with an extreme wideangle for street work is that too many extraneous things can get into the frame. I use 24, 25, and 28, and even 35. Seldom do I use 21 for street shots.

 

[Al Kaplan]

As I slid into retirement I became more and more in love with my 15, which I mostly use on a lightweight Bessa L. It's the best "street lens" I've ever had. I carry a LTM to M adapter also.

 

[photocrazy]

21mm is difficult to control but in a very narrow space, it's useful. I have 35, 25, and 21 set up, omitting the 28 which i feel too cliche in angle. 24/25 has its punch. the pic shot with kobalux 21mm on m6.

 

[hawkeye]

I have used 15 21,24,25 and 28mm for street shooting and at some point realized that I was using them to make myself comfortable more then for their graphic power. Comfortable in the sense of being unseen.

I began to experiment with longer lenses and realized that they pulled me more into a scene, which was somewhat uncomfortable.

I guess I am saying that I had used the wide lenses because they did not intrude into the subject"s personal space. Where the longer lenses put me visually next to the subject, in their space and as I said uncomfortable. I have finally gotten very comfortable with longer lenses and actually enjoy them for street shooting.

Try it.

Hawkeye

 

[mfogiel]

This is my pyramid of lenses, when I have to choose:
1 lens - 35mm
2 lenses- 28 and 50 mm
3 lenses - 21, 28 and 50
4 lenses - 21, 28, 50 and 85/90
5 lenses - 15, 21,28,50,85

Special wide combinations : 12 and 21, or 15 and 25.

The 25 is a good substitute for the 28 mm if you are more landscape minded, or more frequently shooting in the interiors. The 21 is more of a landscape/architecture lens, or for camera-in-the-face street shooting, but you have to be quick on your legs in case something goes wrong...

Biogon 25

C Biogon 21

 

[BillBingham2]

I should have added that I only use my CV25 VF--never the camera's VF. why? The CV25 VF is like looking at a big screen TV--big clear image that is FAST to frame.

Bill58 is SPOT ON with his review. The CV finder is big, bright and a joy to use. I should note that I use a 28 when I'm doing the digital thing but that is with a CV Black Metal BrightLine Finder on a GRD I. CV finders are just some of the best.

B2 (;->

 

[back alley]

on the street - for me -

35 = normal
28 = wide, easiest wide to use, good first street lens
25 = wider, a bit more edgy look than the 28, almost as easy to use as a 28 but does need some up front practice
21 = very wide, great fun on the street but more limited as it has it's own look, harder to use well
15 = extreme wide, also great fun but restrictive, you have to get very close, much harder to master

 

[jonmanjiro]

I'd go for a 24/25 over a 21 for the same reasons given above. Definitely easier to shoot with. I have a 24/2.8 as my "wide" wide in my SLR kit.

However, I moved from a 25 to 28 with my RF kit, because I now find I prefer minimal distortion (e.g faces in the corner of an image don't get turned into footballs so much). Plus I also like having frame lines in the viewfinder for the lens I'm using.

 

[craygc]

Im a 21mm user more & more every day. I still use 35mm & 28mm but I love a 21mm. However, the common message throughout this thread is that you need to be in close and be able to fill the frame to make it effective, and its going to be your comfort zone in doing that which should really be driving your lens choice on the street.

A couple of 20mm shots from last week...

 

[leicashot]

I think unless you have the 'balls' of Bruce Gilden, wider than 28mm is difficult to shoot with. You need to be courageous and fill the frame with content. Things become further away than what they seem in the rangefinder as well, so what may look one way, looks different once processed. Distortion, especially with people can be a real issue unless of course your goal is use the distortion to your advantage - something Bruce Gilden does better than anyone else! It's a lot harder than one would think. Usually 28-50 is the preferred focal length range to work with. Me? I prefer 28/35 on the street.

 

[Al Kaplan]

Some people just seem to see wide better than others. I think that to a large extent it's innate, and not really something you can learn to do in fast moving situations.

http://thepriceofsilver.blogspot.com

 

[35mmdelux]

21-35-50 provides a wide range to work with.