50mm...a sad admission

I think one can get used to anything. I find that I like the 50 for the way I like to frame, and the perspective is better for me. I use an aux VF on the rangefinder, though.

35 lenses bother me with their perspective, and I have to get annoyingly close to a person to get a candid unless I plan on a lot of cropping.
 
I agree with both your points. The camera heavily affects what
I consider "normal". Using the M3 (and R3*, Joe) makes 50 much
more attractive, and the .72 M finder is made for 35mm.

I also think wide angles are overrated, and most shots out there,
wider than 25, look like lens tests to me. Including my own.

Roland.

larmarv916 said:
I would say that some of the pain that some shooters feel with the 50mm is misplaced as I own a M3 DS and a M6TTL .085 and a M5 .72 With the M3 the 50mm "normal" Frames show are very close to the space on the M6 or M5 with the 35mm Frames. So with the M3 being so close to a 100% viewfinder the normal perspective feels visually very close to the 35 on the M6 & M5. Meaning the spacing around the Frames of 50 and 35 seem somewhat about the same.

But with When I go from the M3 and 50mm normal frame and look into a the M5 with the 35mm frames the difference between the two seems magnified dramaticly. I tend to look at the total viewfinder and not see the frames and then make a decision as to how much extra surronding scenary feels...Normal.

That may not sound logical but it seems to work. That seems to make the final perspective of a shot never feel so "wide angle" or cramped because of using a normal lens. I find the viewfinder really effects me when I use the 90mm lens.

Our generation is really the first group to have unlimted wide angle opportuities. So we tend to reach to far and the compositions seem distorted often.
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Confortable ??

Confortable ??

When one works very often with one lens one makes better pictures with this lens.
My personal experience: the first portrait lens I have been using was a 135 mm 2.8 fd canon lens with the AE 1 - bought 1975; I have worked with this for 20 years ; when I bought the 85 mm 1.4 with my Contax RX I felt same difficulties as "back alley" ... never on the right place.:p
I have recently bought a Konica Hexar AF with the 35mm ... easy to shoot with compared to my Contax IIa with the 50 mm 1.5....I could capture snapshots easier but at the end of the day my 50 mm pictures are better because i feel good "confortable" (so to say in French) with this lens.:p
I'll need more rolls done with the 35 mm but it is quite possible that my Hexar will be sold quickly...:confused:
 
I love my 50 Nokton. It has a wonderful beautiful bokeh on the M8. The files are just superb. I do agree that 50mm was never a favorite focal length, but I do find uses for it now and then. I prefer the 90 over the 50 whenever possible. The 50 is perfect for the M3 as stated above.

Just so you know Joe, I was having a difficult time just keeping the 50 on the camera. I had to work all day and night, as I have to do all this weekend. So it has been a challenge to do some shooting. I should be able to post tonight or tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing everyone's images!
 
I recently posted a thread asking people what they'd keep if they could only have one lens. Many responses were some brand of 50mm. And I noticed on one of the recent RFF polls about people's favorite focal length... the big majoriity said 50mm. I've been using wider lenses for some time now... 25, 40. But I do remember that my first cameras were Pentax and Olympus SLRs with a 50mm lens... and I was happy! So, with all these endorsements and memories, I went out on the web tonight and bought a Zorki camera and a Jupiter 50mm. We'll see.... :)
 
I might be the odd man out. prior to getting hooked on rf i was a nikon dslr person ( i still am ). my favourite lens then was/is the 50/1.4.

in the rf world my favourite len/s are still the 50mm, on my m7 or my m8. so much so that i have the sonar,planar,nokton,and the 'lux. when i travel i am
now just carrying my 'lux and sonar 50mm.

guess i am a shy person or have tunnel vision. for me no better fov exists.
 
Dr. Ruth says that the only reason that you do not like a 50mm lens is because you just can't let yourself get close to someone.

Use it, or the bad metaphors will continue.
 
Back when most of my shooting was done with an M6 and M4, I considered the 35mm FL to be my mainstay. The lens that was always on.

But a funny thing happened when I switched to an RD-1 and then an M8. I find myself increasingly using the rough equivalent of the 50mm FL. (applying the crop factor to my 35mm lenses).
Probably one of the reasons why i am dying (already put a deposit down) to get my hands on the new CV35/1.4 in action.
 
back alley said:
my bet is that bud could do wonders no matter what focal length he used.
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Well that is obvious just by his photographs, but at the same time... it gives you a clear indication of how he uses a 50mm to frame, etc. Because i mean in essence that is what we are talking about the framing of subjects, etc with a 50mm. ;)

Just go with whatever you feel comfortable with back ally. :) In the end its you that has to be happy, not anyone else. :D
 
Joe, take this with a grain of salt, but I think one outing doesn't a preference make.

What I find is that 50mm is excellent for taking close-up pictures of two/three people.
Maybe you can get into a mini-project about those.

Having said that, I am gravitating towards 35mm on RF because I'd like to force myself to get closer to my subjects. :D


back alley said:
i cannot make the 50mm lens work for me.

try as i might, i can't seem to get really comfortable with the 50mm field of view.
today, i went out with my fastest lens for the saturday shoot out. that lens happens to be the zm 50/1.5 sonnar, a lens that i love the look of the images it produces.
but as i was shooting i realized that i am never in the right place for the shot i want to take. too close usually, i have to always take a step or 2 back. no matter what i do, the 50 fov is not my normal fov, not how i see things.

there are absolutely no plans to rid myself of the sonnar but i think i need to accept that for me it will be my short tele and used for portraits or shots from across the street.

the 35 is my normal and the 25 is my wide. and the rest? i just don't know...

joe
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will, it has been way more than one outing with a 50...more like a lifetime trying to get used to what others see as normal.

i also realize that we are basically talking about framing and that is my problem. while i often like the look of a simpler, less cluttered image - the images i much prefer are the cluttered wide shots of wholesale activity.
probably while i don't get much feedback on my flickr site;)

joe
 
Interesting opinions.
I had 50mm/1.4 on Minolta SLR, but didn't use it a lot. So, I sold it. Not becouse of "inconvenient" FOV, but becouse I have another lenses which was more interesting for me. For portraits I always used (and continue to use) short tele - like 85mm or 100mm. For street and city photo - 35mm and wider. The only case where I'd take 50mm over 85mm is portrait in the restaurant/bar across the table.
 
I, too, feel more at home with a 35 than I do a 50, which is strange. I'm capable of using the 50, no problem, but my best composed shots seem to come from the 35, and strangely enough, my 85. I find that if I need a compromise and the 35 isn't cutting it, that the 40mm f/2 Summicron-C does a fantastic job of giving me that tiny bit of extra crop I need for proper composition.

I apologize for the OT note, as well, but Joe, are you folks up there still doing the breakfast and shooting thing here and there? I find myself unemployed, and I recall I'd been trying to make it to one before my life took a turn for the busier -- now that I have all this free time for a while, it'd be nice to get myself back into shooting. Just wondering.
 
back alley said:
will, it has been way more than one outing with a 50...more like a lifetime trying to get used to what others see as normal.

i also realize that we are basically talking about framing and that is my problem. while i often like the look of a simpler, less cluttered image - the images i much prefer are the cluttered wide shots of wholesale activity.
probably while i don't get much feedback on my flickr site;)

joe
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Joe, your newest photo on flickr is from Oct 2007... :)
flickrites are like news junkie, they like up-to-date stuff ...

didn't know you have the GRD. How's the shutter lag on that puppy?
 
can't be october, i just put some stuff on there saturday night past.

i use the grd in snap mode and don't notice any lag. that grd is a great little camera.
 
kvanderlaag said:
I, too, feel more at home with a 35 than I do a 50, which is strange. I'm capable of using the 50, no problem, but my best composed shots seem to come from the 35, and strangely enough, my 85. I find that if I need a compromise and the 35 isn't cutting it, that the 40mm f/2 Summicron-C does a fantastic job of giving me that tiny bit of extra crop I need for proper composition.

I apologize for the OT note, as well, but Joe, are you folks up there still doing the breakfast and shooting thing here and there? I find myself unemployed, and I recall I'd been trying to make it to one before my life took a turn for the busier -- now that I have all this free time for a while, it'd be nice to get myself back into shooting. Just wondering.
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i tried to organize one this past fall but it seemed doa.
i meet a few guys every saturday morning on whyte ave for breakfast and then usually do a bit of shooting on my own, if you're ever this way let me know and we can do a walkabout.
joe
 
> the images i much prefer are the cluttered wide shots

HHHmmmm. Yes, very interesting. I see. Likes lots of clutter, does not focus on the main subject....

All of this can be traced back to being potty trained too late in life.
 
Yes... yes... I'll be pulling out the Luscher Color Test Charts...

I think we can have you using that 50mm lens as soon as we find the roots of why you do not love yourself...
 
Brian Sweeney said:
I think we can have you using that 50mm lens as soon as we find the roots of why you do not love yourself...
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Maybe that a 50 reminds Joe of his age.. he would rather like to be 35, or, better yet, 25.. ;)
 
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