50 and 28 OR 50 and 35?

[Asim]

I originally asked this question (a long time ago) because I wanted to know what people thought would go well with the 50mm. I've shot a 35mm for about two decades but there have been so many times that I had wished for something a bit longer and a bit wider. The 50 and 28 would take care of this feeling, but then I worry that I might miss having just a 35mm. I guess I should start another poll: 50mm + 28mm OR just a 35mm?

 

[Bingley]

I originally asked this question (a long time ago) because I wanted to know what people thought would go well with the 50mm. I've shot a 35mm for about two decades but there have been so many times that I had wished for something a bit longer and a bit wider. The 50 and 28 would take care of this feeling, but then I worry that I might miss having just a 35mm. I guess I should start another poll: 50mm + 28mm OR just a 35mm?

I looked back over street photos I've taken in recent years with a 28, and was pleasantly surprised. Although I tend to prefer 35 for street, I think one can adapt to 28 - it's not that huge a difference. I've also found, however, that 28 is as wide as I am comfortable going. I tried a 25 a couple of years ago and found it hard to take a good photo with it; I would have to radically alter the way I see and shoot to make a 25 work for me, and I didn't think itwas worth it, so I sold the lens. Today, I'm happily in the 50/28 camp.

 

[35mmdelux]

A good rule of thumb for a two-lens kit is that one should always be at least 2x the other.

Which means you pair a 50mm with a 25mm, or a 35mm with a 75mm.

While I appreciate your suggestion, rules are made to be broken.

depends: 50/28 or, for me 35/21.

 

[ssmc]

I voted 50 & 35 for RF, for reasons related to viewfinder magnification and framelines (but if I had a ZI it would probably be 50/28...) External viewfinders are something I just don't think I could get used to.

However, I agree with an earlier post about having each lens go up by double the FL. That seems to work for me and is what I use a lot with SLRs (24/25, 50, 100), as there are no framing difficulties. 35/75 sound like a neat setup on a RF - 35mm for a "do anything" lens and 75mm for when a bit more reach is required (and a more significant increase over 50mm)

 

[dbarnes]

Endlessly debated. No right answer.

I'm 35+90.

Experiment to see what works best for you.

 

[FrozenInTime]

Old thread; nonetheless for me it depends on the time of the year:
In the winter, where there is a bias towards indoor and night shots, a 35/1.4 and a 50mm has traditionally won out.
From March to November, the 28 and 50 combination has proved it's versatility.

However with new cameras breaking the ISO bounds of film and the M9 , I think the choice becomes simpler:
With the MM, a 24 or 36M pixel camera, a single 35mm lens and a little cropping covers a lot of ground.
Even a slow 35/2.8 now catches, at ISO 10000, everything you can see at hand-holdable speeds. A two shot rapid pan and stitch covers the 28mm FOV.