How to shoot with 50mm lens?

I love doing street shots with the 40 seems to me closer to what my eyes see. 28 is good as the DOF is wider and easy to get most subjects in focus "F8 and be there". I use the 90 for my close shots where I'm at a distance from the subject. For me, a typical street shoot will be CLE with 40 and 28 on standby and M3 with the 90. Btw, it all fits in my F5xb.
 
reiki_ said:
Recently I got serious with this film developing business , I have olympus om-2n with a 50mm lens and a minox 35gt.
I do street with both , and the thing I have noticed is that the negatives from my om-2n seem cold and distanced like I'm not at all close to people I photograph even when it looks nice and all , it just doesn't "feel" right.
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Robert Capa said "if your photos are not good enough, you are not close enough." He did not say "frame tighter", he said "get closer".

50mm lenses don't normally work for me because it just puts me too far away from the subject / action. Could that be what you are experiencing?
 
I make the effort to move in closer when I shoot with 35 or 50mm. wasnt it one Capas who said if your pix arent good enough then your too FAR.

Ive had alot of fantastic gears but Ive limited my myself to 35/50mm to get higher on the learning curve. The 50mm is a throw back to the old days of yonder, but you can still squezz some good fotos out of it.
 
Hopefully you get the feeling that you are in the midst of this New Orleans "second line" (funeral procession) shot with 25mm. A longer lens would have eliminated the perspective distortion that causes you to feel like you are there instead of looking from afar.

2nd-line-3.jpg
 
I had one leica and a 50mm lens for a couple of years before I bought my second lens...I learned how to use a 50 and I was aware of its capabilities...it worked for me, but then again, everybody is different....cheers, michael
 
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Yes, you are right Michael. What works for me may not work for someone else.
Just do what you feel is best for you.
 
gilpen123 said:
I love doing street shots with the 40 seems to me closer to what my eyes see. 28 is good as the DOF is wider and easy to get most subjects in focus "F8 and be there". I use the 90 for my close shots where I'm at a distance from the subject. For me, a typical street shoot will be CLE with 40 and 28 on standby and M3 with the 90. Btw, it all fits in my F5xb.[/QUOT

Great bag, by the way.
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I agree with all these disparate statements! In a way one should, however, not do what is comfortable. I had a 50 only for around 20 years. I never fully understood it until I had a 35 for a few years. I remember how uncomfortable I was with the 35 at first, consciously trying to float the main subject in that wonderful context, and learning to get in closer. Now that has become second nature, sort of, and I appreciate the medium telephoto of the 50, which I would never have viewed in that way otherwise. My next unsettling experience was getting a 25 which was another world altogether, and after a few weeks I got some good shots and now love that focal length. And yes, it has deepened my understanding for the 35mm focal length. Time for a 21 I think.
 
A 50mm feels like a wide angle to me, so I often get in close and try to include some foreground interest. This does mean stopping down as much as possible. Or get in close, focus on the foreground, set f/4 and feel the bokeh.
 
My two cents:
it all depends. 🙂
I used to make photos on medium format - not even close to any rangefinder (all that stuff with waist-level viewfinder, etc.), and usually on standard lens (that is 80mm for 6x6).
But sometimes I just have to go shooting with my Bessa/21mm lens. I need this - I need the wide angle, I need the quick snaps, I need that light camera.
It all depends on my needs and mood.
And the results are very different: MF shooting you can see here, rf here.
 
what Raid said, + remember in your mind the 50mm is a slight telephoto and has the characteristics of such. 42mm is the real normal or standard for 35mm film. After using a 40mm the 50 seems long.
 
I like the flat, even perspective I get when shooting with a 50mm lens. Distortion is minimal, and I can being able to fine tune the depth of field, which is not as easily done with wider lenses. I have used a 90mm lens for street shooting as well, it works nicely for isolating the subject from their surroundings. In my bag I now carry three lenses, a 21mm, 50mm, and the 90mm, but the 50 gets used the most.
 
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