75mm lens, Why do you use it?

[helen.HH]

lovely landscape 'unoh7'... 75 rules

 

[kxl]

ha Keith 😱, you and I are trading 'fields of view' so to speak 😀

Seems like it Helen... Funny how I spent time with the 35/75 and didn't care much for the 28, but as I've gravitated back toward the 50 (on which I cut my teeth as a youngster many, many moons ago), I've grown fonder of the 28mm to complement the 50. We will have to share our new points of view on our newly-adopted fields of view. 🙂

 

[lawrence]

75mm is a rather strange 'in between' focal length, a bit like 28mm is in wide angle. For years I had a 75mm f2.5 Color-Heliar in Nikon AIS mount but hardly used it as I've also got an 85mm. However, the price of the 75mm in Nikon AIS has gone a bit crazy recently -- no idea why -- so I sold it and bought the LTM version. This is altogether nicer with smoother focus and smaller barrel. It really is a lovely lens and, as you can see, the quality at f2.5 is quite superb (sorry if you've seen this shot before). Anyway, I've sold my 90mm Tele-Elmarit as I now prefer 75mm.

 

[MCTuomey]

Because I like it (Summicron).

Superb image quality and the perfect 'other lens' to a 35.

I didn't expect to like it but I do.

Cheers,

R.

+1 I'm pretty sure the last two lenses I'd sell would be the 75 Summicron and the 35 Summilux. That's my travel/everyday kit. I don't love the 75 framelines on my cameras, my sole reservation.

Samples -

Film:

my youngest at 14 by Mike Tuomey, on Flickr

Monochrom:

20140328-20140316-web by Mike Tuomey, on Flickr

 

[xenohip]

The 75mm focal length opens an entirely new genre: across-the-street-photography 🙂 No seriously, you can be at the edge of a scene, close enough to be aware and involved, but not quite a part of the scene itself/yourself.

The 75mm focal length has, to my eye, the most natural perspective (check this against classic painters). An image from a 90 looks as though it was shot with a tele lens… Not so with the 75, if you work it right.

The 75 corresponds to the way I naturally see a scene (or it did for a long time anyway). Just walk up, frame in the mind's eye, point the 75 and it's all right there.

75mm summilux and summicron both are fabulous lenses, each one potentially laying claim to being my all-time favorite lens.

If 50 is "neither here nor there", 75 is it!

Great combo with 35, as has been said. Though for entire vacations I would sometimes leave the 35 at home, taking just the 75 (!) and these times have been some of my most happy, photographically speaking.

I might even buy a DP3M!

 

[peterm1]

Whether shooting a DSLR or a rangefinder I much prefer to use a short - medium telephoto lens - anything out to 105mm gives excellent results for everyday shooting. I have never thought it to be either sensible nor functional to shove a wide angle lens into someones face when street shooting.

If I am photographing a person I want to get them in a natural situation, not reacting to my approaching them. Needless to say a 75mm lens also gives some subject separation from the background and also when shot with a closer subject reduces the distortion that otherwise occurs in facial features.

My only 75mm lens at this time is a Voigtlander 75mm f1.8 which is a fine lens. Its only disadvantage that I can see is that it's a relatively large lens for this focal length. I presume its not strictly a telephoto lens but rather a traditional long focal length lens. Of course if Leica were my only cameras I would probably upgrade to Leica glass but I find it hard to justify this cost right now given I also shoot Nikon DSLRs and some M4/3 and Sony NEX cameras which more than absorbs some of my photo hobby dollars.

A few 75mm example shots taken on an M8:


Red bread by yoyomaoz, on Flickr


Melbourne laneway 2 by yoyomaoz, on Flickr


Through a glass darkly 6 by yoyomaoz, on Flickr


Church by yoyomaoz, on Flickr

 

[NJH]

For me it is an odd in-between focal length but it seems to work in that I like to carry a simple 2 lens kit so carrying my ideal focal lengths of 28-50-90 would only result in me using the 28 and 50. Sounds crazy but forcing myself to carry the 75 instead of the 50 and 90 seems to do the job.

Personally I like 35 to 40 or tight 35 paired with 90, another ideal 2 lens combo.

 

[GarageBoy]

The 75mm FOV should be quite popular now that everyone is using a 50 on their crop SLRs

 

[EastNeuk]

The 75mm FOV should be quite popular now that everyone is using a 50 on their crop SLRs

Indeed. I use a 75mm FOV lens, because it's the longest lens that comes attached to a Sigma DP camera. It's an interesting FOV for closed in landscapes, especially sparse forests. It is wide enough to bring in a sense of the setting, but narrow enough to leave a little mystery. It's useful for portraits, although I'm more used to working with an 85mm lens and find that more natural. I'm not sure that the difference is in fact very significant.

 

[kossi008]

Raid, funny enough in my bag there's 21 + 35 + 75.. and I took years to understand that this combo could have been an option...

It's my perfect 3 lens combo. I happened into a Bessa R on eBay that came with this set of lenses (CV 21/4, 35/1.7, and 75/2.5), and it was just *the* perfect entry point into rangefinders for me. At a reasonable price point, too. 😀

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

I haven't posted on here in years, but hi. I got out of Leica a while back, but my favorite lens for any camera, ever, remains the 75mm Summarit. I like tight framing. Lately I've been shooting with the Fuji X system and like the 56/1.2, but I miss the 75. It might, eventually, be enough to make me return to Leica...

 

[segedi]

For even tighter framing, the new 75mm Summarit allows you to get even closer. Had the one, have a new one on order.

 

[Doug]

After favoring wides a few years ago, I recently have been trending to the long-normal / short-tele range. Like 40-50mm on APS-C and 75mm on full-frame. I'm finding it quite versatile. As Peter, I very much like the Voigtlander 1.8/75mm. And enjoying a new 100mm Summicron (80mm equiv on the camera).

1.8/75mm on M240:

 

[dee]

I had a weighty 85mm f1.7 Rokkor with my Minolta SRT which I loved !
My M8 was a once in a lifetime, inheritance indulgence as I craved a film styled digital camera with 50s style lenses .
The crop factor for my Summitar and Elmar and amazing Fed 50mm Collapsible dictated a nominal equiv 67mm which is perfect for the architectural details I like to capture .
I love the extra reach . For me, perfection by default ?
dee

 

[wes loder]

Why do I use a 75?

Why do I use a 75?

Because it's the only long lens Zeiss ever made for the Tenax II. It's not like one has much choice. Not a bad lens and very compact and not heavy. Gives equivalent of a 94mm lens in 24X36 format. WES

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I would say it a little differently than the folks above. A 50, even Leica's 50's, which are optically excellent, still "pulls" subjects' faces a little at the very near end of its range. Makes 'em horsey. I am not saying that you can't fill the frame with a face, but I don't like the look of that, full frame, with a 50. 75mm just eases you back to a "natural" look on a full frame camera with the frame filled by a face. It is a convincing head-shot lens. A 90 at f:2 really isolates the eyes. . . a 75 is more forgiving there too. I use a 75 for about 80% of my close up portraiture and a 90 for the rest. Like it so much I have one in f:1.4 and one at f:2. Some of the best Leica glass in my cabinet.

 

[Finglas]

As mentioned in other threads I use 75mm on both RF and SLR film cameras.

I have the Summitar 75mm f2.5 for the Leica MP and the CV 75mm f2.5 AIs fit for the Nikon FM3a and the recently added (again) FM2n.

Clearly I like the look and framing of the 75mm lens, but for both the above lenses there is another factor - simply the ergonomics suit me perfectly.
The size and weight of both are so good with my smallish hands, nothing else comes close.

all the best,
John

 

[kermaier]

I tried a couple of 90mm lenses (M-Rokkor 90/4, M-Hexanon 90/2.8), as well as a Nikkor 105/2.5 LTM, but I couldn't compose and focus properly in the small 90mm frame lines. So I picked up a well-used CV 75/2.5 for little money, and it's an excellent performer, small and egonomic, and very usable in the RF viewfinder. I also have a Nikkor 85mm LTM, which I use with the 75mm frame lines.

If I need a longer lens, I have an Elmarit-M 135/2.8, which brings up the 90mm frame lines, but the lens has goggles that magnify the viewfinder, so it's actually quite usable.

Cheers,
Ari

 

[Rob-F]

One difficulty I find with the 75 is framing. The little corner brackets inside the 50mm frame are not always enough to prevent me from accidentally using the 50mm frameline instead. I've gotten a few shots that were tighter than intended!

Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[Richard G]

I would say it a little differently than the folks above. A 50, even Leica's 50's, which are optically excellent, still "pulls" subjects' faces a little at the very near end of its range. Makes 'em horsey. I am not saying that you can't fill the frame with a face, but I don't like the look of that, full frame, with a 50. 75mm just eases you back to a "natural" look on a full frame camera with the frame filled by a face. It is a convincing head-shot lens. A 90 at f:2 really isolates the eyes. . . a 75 is more forgiving there too. I use a 75 for about 80% of my close up portraiture and a 90 for the rest. Like it so much I have one in f:1.4 and one at f:2. Some of the best Leica glass in my cabinet.

Most convincing argument for the 75 I've read.