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

[Turtle]

I would go for 25 any day over 21 for regular use. In fact, personally, I feel 28 is the widest 'regular lens' for street work in that any wider than that, the ability to use it well (without looking naff) drops off exponentially the wider you go.

 

[Bill58]

One more comment-I pre-set the focus at 6ft. and I'm good from 3ft. to way out there.

 

[Cron]

as it seems you only use film cameras my turn for street would be a 24/25 lens;
for me the widest in street use is 28, normally 35

 

[fixbones]

do you guys think 28mm and 35mm is too close together?

 

[Leigh Youdale]

28-35?

28-35?

Yes, I think the 28 and 35mm focal lengths are too close together to provide best value for money.
On the other hand 25mm and 35mm are a much better combo in my view, and I support all the other comments suggesting that 25 is a very versatile lens (and one I use often). I have a 15mm for really wide stuff but it's not really for people or street, and until recently I used a 40mm in conjunction with the 25mm, but that was mainly because the R3A only has framelines down to 40mm (although a supplementary viewfinder overcomes that problem).

The R4A has framelines of 50/35/28/25/21 and so I bought a 35mm to go with that camera along with the 25mm. A very good combination for street.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Not onl;y is it intensely personal: it may also be age related. I almost never use 21 for street photography any more, though I did in my 20s and 30s. I never liked 28, so 35 is my default lens. My wife, on the other hand, went from 90 to 50 (millimetres for her main lens, that is).

Cheers,

R.

 

[Turtle]

do you guys think 28mm and 35mm is too close together?

Not at all. I use 35 most, followed by 28, then 21 & 50. in fact 28/35 accounts for about 90% of my shots.

Were there a 0.52 Leica M, I would very possibly shoot 25 instead of 28, but I like using the internal finder and having the option of a hot shoe finder, rather than being forced to use one. I have considered the R4 but want to use one body type only.

Not that this matters, but salgado used 35 and 28 a LOT. I think there is a world of difference between these two FLs and would summarise it as this:

50 - for things happening over there
35 - for things happening in front of you
28 - for things happening around you

 

[fixbones]

do you get a unpleasant distortions with the 25mm for pictures with ppl?

 

[furcafe]

Not for me. I can notice the difference between a 50, 35, & 28. As others have opined, it's a matter of personal choice & depends on your preferred look, subject matter, etc. Generally, my preferences roughly correspond to how close I can get to my subjects, which are mostly people. Thus, for shooting on the actual streets/sidewalks here in Washington, DC (or similar "wide-open" city areas like Michigan Ave. in Chicago), I prefer the 50, for the more crowded streets of, say lower Manhattan in NYC or the French Concession in Shanghai, a 35 is better, & for household interiors, a 28mm or wider can be more useful, etc. I am not big fan of the "wide-angle distorted" look (which starts @ 28mm in my eyes) for its own sake, don't need the extra DoF to shoot quickly (I can focus fast enough for my purposes), nor do I shoot from the hip.

do you guys think 28mm and 35mm is too close together?

 

[fixbones]

thanks for your input furcafe.

 

[Krosya]

I tried time and time again to like 25mm lenses. Never worked for me, while 21 - I really really like - both digital and film. I suppose its all how one sees things.