Changing lenses

[healyzh]

Interesting question and one very dear to my heart. I've long considered myself a 50mm addict. One of the things that really attracted me to the Leica initially was the huge selection of different 50mm lenses. Yet I've found that I shoot with the 28mm and 35mm Voigtlander lenses I have more than I do with 50mm (of course my 50's are a Summar and a Jupiter-8 which might have something to do with it). If I'm in the city, the 28mm basically never leaves the camera.

 

[Ben Z]

Since about 1967 I've used interchangeable-lensed cameras, and precisely because I use different one's depending on the shot. Same reason I carried a full set of golf clubs. I never considered it might be fun to play 18 holes with just a 7-iron, nor to go photographing with just a standard lens. I admit I might have been interested in a zoom golf club if there was such a thing 😀

 

[Roger Hicks]

Since about 1967 I've used interchangeable-lensed cameras, and precisely because I use different one's depending on the shot. Same reason I carried a full set of golf clubs. I never considered it might be fun to play 18 holes with just a 7-iron, nor to go photographing with just a standard lens. I admit I might have been interested in a zoom golf club if there was such a thing 😀

A very interesting parallel, but not one I'm convinced is entirely valid. Yes, I use a variety of lenses on 35mm/digital, from 15mm to 600mm (I sold my 800mm and 120mm), but I find there's a sort of 80-90% rule: 80-90% are taken with one lens, 80-90% of the remainder with the second, etc. In other words, it's (rapidly) diminishing returns.

It's easy to pull a particular club out of a golf bag, but I'd rather take pictures than spend time choosing between (for my Leicas) !5-18-21-28-35-50-75-90-135 and then changing lenses (and finders, as needed).

Cheers,

R.

 

[ray*j*gun]

I do consider 50mm to be natural, but not because of the size of the enlargement or field of view.....its because I have used 50's so long when I raise the finder to my eye I expect to see a 50 pov. If I don't have time enough to change lenses then I don't, when its one lens then the 50 feels right ........ its what I'm used to.

 

[quadtones]

I used to carry two bodies, with 35/75 or 90 or 21/35 combination, depending on where I was, or what I was shooting [former in say, a club, latter in city with narrow streets]. As I've gotten older, I find I no longer want to carry as much gear, and tend to carry one body with a 35. I think I began to feel more conspicuous during the same period people seem to have become more uncomfortable with having photos taken on the street. Currently it's the 35mm v4 Summicron for lightness, f1.2 Nokton if I need low light capability. The 50 seems to sit in a drawer, but I keep thinking I might need it....

 

[Godfrey]

The average lens I choose most hasn't changed much in many years ... typically about a 40mm FoV on 35mm format, and about a 55-60 FoV on APS-C format. The same focal length works well for both (40mm), so maybe it's that I like the focal length and just work with whatever the cameras do in cropping it.

I do go through periods of using longer and shorter lenses. But it seems to always cycle back to that 40mm in the end.

 

[sepiareverb]

I shot with a 28 by far the most for a long time (20 years almost), but find a 35 on my camera about equally often these days.

 

[Morry Katz]

What an interesting thread. My favourite lens used to be the 90 'cron. Now it's the 50 and a 35mm Biogon. Strange how vision changes as you get older. (I'm 79 and have just had cataract surgery! Fantastic results.
Cheers!

 

[mdarnton]

For years all I needed was a 28 and a 50. Within the last few months a 24 has taken over from the 28, and sometimes I carry a 35 instead of a 50.

 

[hausen]

I have always been a 50 guy but bought a 28 Summicron over the weekend and went out walking with it for a few hours and was stunned how we just clicked. Everything I saw seemed to fit between the framelines. Was almost surreal experience. Maybe 28mm is now my 'go to' focal length?

 

[AndySig]

I simply couldn't see the point of wide angle lenses when I first started taking an interest in photography. Now my number one lens is my 35 mm Summaron. It suits most of the things I want to take pictures of. However, I find that the intensive or predominant use of one lens tends to help precisely define when another lens is a must, so I find that the 35mm lens is followed (in order) by 50 mm and 19 mm. It is only on rare occasions that I use the 90mm. If I needed anything longer, I would be reaching for my SLR (and I don't think I've taken a picture with that for about 4 years now).

The whole process of arriving at a predominantly used lens perhaps represents a journey to the destination of how we each see things as individuals as opposed to wanting to mimic the (often dramatic and extreme) shots of others which we get to see in magazines like National Geographic.

 

[kanzlr]

I went with wider lenses over the years, now preferring a 28 or 35mm lens (or a 28mm on APS-C) most of the time.

Except on RFs where I can shoot 50ies. Must be because you see outside the frame with them.

 

[Paul Jenkin]

As most of my photography used to be landscapes, I was always a wide angle shooter. However, the older I get, the more convinced I am that wide angle lenses are more use when it comes to intimate street shooting and interiors as, on my Hasselblad 500c/m, I use my 80mm and 150mm lenses as much as I use my 40mm CF FLE.

I've still got wide angles for my 35mm rigs (though nothing wider than a 24mm) but my rangefinder "daily" kit tends to be my M6TTL (or M4-P) and 28mm f2.8 Elmarit-M and 50mm f2 Summicron-M.

I have a Canon 35mm f2.8 LTM and Leica 9cm f4 Elmar but these tend to sit in the cupboard - only coming out when I don't want to leave any shots to chance. If I could only have one lens, I would go for a 35mm f2 Summicron-M as it's a great all-rounder, wide - but not too wide. As it is, I'm perfectly happy with my ligtweight 2 lens set up.

 

[cjbecker]

For me it has really always been a 50 in 35 and 80 in 6x6. I have tried to use a 35 (35) or 50 (6x6) as my normal lens but it just does not work out. I also never use anything longer then a normal lens though.

 

[FrankS]

The older I get, the wider I get.

 

[Dirk]

I used to be a wide angle guy (mostly 20, 24 and 28). Now almost all I do is 50mm. Which is great, as there so many wonderful and cheap 50's out there.