Anyone prefer 85 to 50 general walkabout

[jgrainger]

Hello,
I wondered if anyone here has adopted 85 / 90 mm as their standard walk about focal length (35mm/full frame) rather than 50?

I usually stick to a 50mm due to being common and cheap / low light ability / usual good performance / being just wide enough but still practicably long to crop from. Also, things like camera cases are generally designed for a 50.

I would just try it but I'm presently out of good 85mm lenses and didn't really consider it enough / have sufficient faith to do it before.

To anyone who has or does go the 85/90mm way, what do you prefer to use them for besides portraits?

Jonathan

 

[02Pilot]

I've definitely used longer lenses for landscape work, and have generally been happy with the results. Both the Elmar 90/4 and the Canon 100/3.5 are really good for this sort of thing, and both are light and small, making them perfect for easy carrying.

I haven't tried it yet for street photography, but I intend to. I'm normally a 50 shooter in the street, but I have seen several places where I would like more reach (mostly unusual perspectives that keep me further from subjects). I have a couple of lenses that should work, but I will probably use the big and heavy Nikkor 85/2 LTM as I love the rendering.

I doubt it would ever get to being a regular thing for me, but I can certainly see where it would be useful at times.

 

[pschauss]

Jupiter 9 (85mm) is my favorite lens. I think that has something to do with the way my brain processes what I see, looking at details instead of my entire field of vision. The short telephoto lens allows me to fill a frame with the part of the scene which interests me.

 

[RichC]

Mostly 50mm as that's the way I see the world.

But I always take an 80mm lens with me, as sometimes I want to "zoom in" on something if I can't or don't want to get closer to my subject. Also carry a 35mm as I - more rarely - want to "zoom out".

 

[Michael Markey]

Yep .... I often use an 85 or 90 .
Short telephotos have always been a favorite

 

[Canyongazer]

While 50 has always been my most used lens for street and other applications, I will on occasion pull out the 85 just to change things up at bit. It is refreshing.

On the other side of 50, many street shooters prefer 35mm and even wider but I find some, myself included, frequently too far from the subject and thus produce images needing a good bit of cropping.
I often should be much, much closer than my comfort zone when using a 28 but have a hard time doing so.

85 helps a lot in "de-cluttering" even compared to 50 for we shy types

Agree that 85 is often a good choice for landscape.

 

[raid]

I have done this for a short time period only. I was fascinated with the Zeiss Planar 85/1.4 which I first used on the Rollei SL35 and then I used it cropped 50% on M 4/3 cameras. It is a dream lens . I then bounced back to using 35mm or 50mm as my everyday lenses. Then I started recently going wider, and I got a Zeiss Hologon 16/8 which I want to use for a while as my "walk around lens". Tele to Normal to Wide.

Zeiss 85/1.4 with Olympus E-PL1

Pensacola Beach:

 

[raid]

Zeiss 85/1.4:

 

[Steve M.]

Yes, my "normal" lens has been a 90 for many years. It suits the way I see a scene, and of course is great for portraits. A 135 is good for portraits too if you have large noses due to the compression factor. Currently use a Leica R 90 2 Summicron on a Nikon SLR body. Superb lens in every way you could measure it.

 

[BillBingham2]

Like Steve M. I found my 85/90/105 felt better on an SLR. When I want that look I already have focused on a framing in my mind so a RF doesn't hold as much advantage for me.

I tried the 85/90 on RFs for years and while it worked, for me it felt like I was forcing it to work. It just feels more natural on an SLR.

B2 (;->

 

[shimokita]

With the MP/IIIf it's 28 or 50 and for fun street with a 15. With the SLR / dSLR I often shoot 10.5cm f/2.5 and 100 f/2.8 Macro respectively... with the latter I can add some close-up details. Also have but rarely use the 135 f/3.5 with the IIIf - maybe it's time to try ; )

 

[ornate_wrasse]

I used my Nikkor 8.5cm 2.0 for landscape when I went to the Steens Mountains in Eastern Oregon. However, I don't normally carry it around as it's too heavy. For carrying around, I like the 35mm and 50mm lenses. Once in a while, I will use my Voightlander 75mm 2.5 if I need something longer than 50 but don't want to carry around my much heavier Nikkor 8.5cm

 

[NaChase]

I often prefer my 75 Summilux or 85 Nikkor to a 50 or wider when walking around. I find that rather than feeling like I'm missing out on anything, using longer focal lengths forces me to consider different types of composition, which can be pretty cool. For instance, the two shots below would not have been possible, or at least would not have been as good (in my opinion) if I had used a wider lens.
Cowboy hat and Parasol... Contradiction? by Nick Chase, on Flickr
Under Arrest by Nick Chase, on Flickr

 

[Fixcinater]

An 85mm feels more natural to my way of seeing smaller portions of a scene vs a 35mm taking in lots more context for the subject.

A 50 is a good compromise for me so gets more use and I've been trying to force myself to see more of the 35mm way, but the longer lenses feel more comfortable.

 

[bayernfan]

75 feels a lot more natural to me than 50. Unfortunately, my M bodies dont have 75 lines and Nikon doesn’t make a 75 in F mount. Guess i’ll stick to 35. 🙂

 

[02Pilot]

On RF, I've found the best setup for me is one of the Canon RF bodies with the auto-adjusting parallax viewfinder. I have the matching brightline VFs for 85, 100, and 135, so it's easy to switch as needed, and the large body (relative to the smaller Barnack bodies) tends to balance better with long, heavy lenses.

 

[peterm1]

As a general rule I do. My kind of shooting relies on being able to shoot candidly so the extra reach of a longer lens is appreciated. As is the ability to blur the background. 75mm, 85/90mm and even 105mm all work for me.

Through the window. Shopping by Life in Shadows, on Flickr

By the Bus Stop by Life in Shadows, on Flickr

Cafe Study 27 by Life in Shadows, on Flickr

 

[shimokita]

75 feels a lot more natural to me than 50. Unfortunately, my M bodies dont have 75 lines and Nikon doesn’t make a 75 in F mount. Guess i’ll stick to 35. 🙂

I am using an AI'ed Nikkor-P 10.5cm f/2.5... you might enjoy shooting with the 105/2.5 or 105 f/1.8 in F-mount.

 

[farlymac]

I like my 85. I don't use it enough, but it's always there.


The New Water Hole by P F McFarland, on Flickr

PF

 

[bayernfan]

I am using an AI'ed Nikkor-P 10.5cm f/2.5... you might enjoy shooting with the 105/2.5 or 105 f/1.8 in F-mount.

I have a pre-ai (sonnar) Nikkor 105/2.5 that I like very much. I use it on occasion, but it's a little too tight compared to 75.

But you make a very good recommendation with the Sonnar or Gauss F-mount 105/2.5.