best pic - 35, 40, or 50?

[ghost]

i figured a survey of "normals" would be interesting, so here it is.

 

[Stephanie Brim]

A 50 has been my go-to lens for two years...and so that will stay. Just wide enough without being too wide to do a portrait of someone sitting across from you at a table in a restaurant. It's also just wide enough that you have to get in there a bit when doing street photography.

 

[telenous]

Both 50 and 35 are comfortable focal lenghts. All in all I am using the 50 a lot more but it does require discipline, both in framing and focusing. Having being used a lot more means that it has given me a greater number (but not necessarily greater ratio) of photos I like.

My vote for the 50mm.

 

[rover]

There are times that 35 works for me, but I am most happy with what I get from a 50.

 

[Nachkebia]

Strangly enough I was hardcore wide angle guy, but now I am loving my 50mm, can not take it off my camera 🙂

 

[back alley]

i had been using a 35 for ages and thought it was made for me.
but since using the 25 and then the 21, i can't stop using them.
yesterday i went out and loaned my zi and 25 for part of the day. i decided to use the 50 planer. i found myself way too close to people and had to keep backing up. no fun.
today i'm heading out with the 28/1.9 and the 90/4 for a lighter kit.
i bet the 28 tays on all day.

 

[wlewisiii]

50 all the way. I can use and appreciate wider lenses (and am slowly starting to learn 28) but if I just want to get out and get it done, I grab a 50.

William

 

[Stephanie Brim]

If I didn't have to work today (cue famous Clerks quote: "But I wasn't even supposed to be here today!") I'd most likely go out as well and take the 35mm. I've decided that I need to spend more time shooting it to get used to the focal length...and not to mention framing without being able to the entire frameline. It's odd that I'm starting to like things wider and wider...but I still keep putting the 50mm on my camera for critical shots.

 

[triplefinger]

the more i shoot 40mm, the more i like it

 

[peter_n]

In all my SLR years I never had a 35. Nikon F3 and 28, 50 & 85 was my kit. I'm now three years into RF ownership and the 50 is a short telephoto to my eyes. I have a 35/1.4 and that lens wide-open (or close) is my normal. You feel like you are there with close-ups using that lens.

 

[narsuitus]

I use 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55mm prime lenses as normal lenses on 35mm cameras. Since I prefer the 35mm focal length to the others, I have used it for a longer period of time; I have shot more photos with it; and I have taken a higher number of “favorite” shots with it. The 35mm f/1.4 is not only my favorite “normal” lens and my favorite wide-angle lens, it is also my favorite lens period.

 

[leica M2 fan]

Voted for 50

Voted for 50

The 50 has been my lens of choice for many years mostly because that's the only lens I had. Never cared much for wides but did love telephotos. Since I've gotten into RF I really appreciate the Jup-12 in 35 and the Nikkor 35 both excellent performers and am learning to really like the view.But still choose the 50 as my go to lens.

 

[RayPA]

I won't vote! Those are my three favorite focal lengths, and some of my favorite images have been shot with each. I've been shooting almost exclusively with the 35 these past three months, before that the 40 on my CLE, and before that the 50.


.

 

[pvdhaar]

On small format, it's 50mm for me..

On med. format, it's 80mm. Which is kind of odd, as it's a little wider on that format than the 50 on my RFs.

I guess it comes from a similar ability to isolate the subject from the back ground..

So, all considered it's not the field of view that makes the 50 the lens for me, it's the shallower DOF possible compared to 35mm..

 

[Todd.Hanz]

I like 'em wide, 28 or 35. I have been using a fifty lately and really enjoying it but like Joe, I end up being too close at first.

Todd

 

[Rafael]

If you'd asked me this question three or four months ago I would have voted for the 50 without a moment's hesitation. The 50 is the lens that I learned on and, up until very recently, I was quite sure that I saw the world photographically through 50mm framelines. However, recently, I find that I am using the 50 less. I still use it often. But more and more I am reaching for my 35 and loving the results it is giving me. And now that I have a 21, don't even get me started!

 

[sebastel]

again, i take it as equivalent FL in the 35mm format ...

 

[iml]

50 for me, nearly always, which means a 35mm on my Epson R-D1.

Ian

 

[Trius]

In ancient history, it would be the 35, now it's the 40, for sure. I love the charms of the 50, but the 42s are on the fixed-lens RFs I love so much, and the compromise between 50 and 35 is just perfect. Unless I need something wider. 😀 For that, I'll grab the OM w/28 or even 21.

 

[Spyderman]

50 mm lens...

... but it's because I only have 50 and 85 for my Bessa. I'm still waiting for the 35/2.5 skopar in the mail...