If my feet are my zoom

[kshapero]

Then why do we need more than one lens, ie. 50mm or a 35mm? Didn't the great street shooters of old use just one lens? :angeloesn't that allow you to always get the shot? Is it just GAS that causes us to have the 15, 21,25,28,35,40,50,75,90mm lenses in our closet at all times?

 

[Spyderman]

For the moments when you just can't back off...

If you take it from a purely hypothetical point, the best focal length would be 10mm or 15mm, because you can crop from that to get different angles of view...
but film has only limited resolution, so you can't crop too much, and that's wha we have so many different focal lengths - to optimally use the film = to avoid cropping.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Then why do we need more than one lens...

I agree with you completely.

One lens for me, and I know what I can photograph with it.

We all choose a different lens according to our needs, whether it's wide open spaces, or city centers, or low light. But when I chose I've never looked back.

 

[kshapero]

I agree with you completely.

One lens for me, and I know what I can photograph with it.

We all choose a different lens according to our needs, whether it's wide open spaces, or city centers, or low light. But when I chose I've never looked back.

And which focal length did you choose?

 

[pvdhaar]

For the moments when you just can't back off...

That's what stitching software is for.. isn't it?

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

And which focal length did you choose?

I use a 35 or 40 depending.

They are more or less the same anyway.

 

[bsdunek]

Two thoughts:
1. If you just sit in one spot and try to zoom in on everything, your photos will probably be poor and BOOORING!
2. Try to do a wedding in a small church without a wide lens of some sort, or sports without a long lens of some sort.
Lens' are tools to be used as the need occurs. That said, I love my collection of lens' as well as anyone else!

 

[rogue_designer]

focal length also affects subject to subject and subject to background relationships - this cannot be achieved through moving. So depending on your needs, your subject relationship and your aesthetic - having the flexibility of a few different subject relations is not a bad thing.

For my part - I pretty much only use two lenses for street. One wide. One normal.

 

[oftheherd]

I've been thinking of that since I got my Kiev. When I started back in photography, I thought I was the man when I got my 28mm and 135mm. But I still often had to do a lot of moving around to get the framing I wanted. And for the most part that worked. Then I got other lenses. Some, like the 18mm I really did need at times. The 300mm, 80-200mm, and the other zooms were fun I thought, but sure heavy. I didn't have to move so much. I have decided that either with the Kiev, or the ST 801/901, I want to try using less lenses, and certainly not zoom even with the SLRs. Don't know what I will look for with the Kiev, but with the SLRs it will probably be 135, 28, 18, and of course, the 50. It should be interesting.

With the Kiev, I suppose a 135 and hopefully something wider that 35mm. I have used that equivalent in 6x7, but only because at one time that was all the wide I had. I just prefer wider. I have tried it with SLR and just don't care for it. Not wide enough for my tastes.

 

[navilluspm]

For my SLR I only have 3 lenses: a 35, 50, and 85. I used to have a 28 and 135 but sold them to a friend to finance the 85. (For zoom stuff I use a digital P&S). I like the 85 for portraits, the 35 for close spaces and 50 for everything else. I used to hate the 50, but now I seem to grab it more and more (and it is the lens that is in the worst condition too).

But I also strongly agree with Rogue-designer: the main reason to use a different lens is not to zoom in and out from the subject, but because of subject to subject and subject to background relationships. I am starting to see this more and more in my own photography and the more I shoot with only these three lenses, the more I am beginning to be able to previsualize what the effect of each lense will be. But if I had too many lenses (more than these three) I think I would get confused. I try to keep things simple for myself and am trying to learn these SLR focal lengths that I have.

 

[sepiareverb]

focal length also affects subject to subject and subject to background relationships - this cannot be achieved through moving....

It took 8 replies to get here?? Yikes.

Focal length is key to making many pictures. Wide angles allow one to accentuate the foreground, the wider you go the more this happens. Working in cramped spaces is possible too, but it is the effect on subject/background scale relationships that is my main use of wides. Long lenses do the opposite, by compressing the space between objects.

wide- looming foreground object

long- more equal foreground/background scale

 

[kalokeri]

We discussed something similar in the "one body, one lens" thread not long ago (can´t find it at this moment, but most of you will remember). I agreed with the idea of using one body and a 50mm lens, ´cause that´s what I prefer to use.

But for artistical reasons it´s necessary to use different focal lenghts because whether you go shorter or longer the optical effect changes - rogue_designer and sepiareverb pointed that out. Sometimes this is catchy, sometimes not more than an effect, But if you´re familiar with your wide and tele lenses you can use them to force the expression of your pictures. You can´t do this by walking.

Thomas

 

[sepiareverb]

Granted, situation & subject both make a difference here, but a choice of lens going into a situation can allow one to make images with a particular idea or look in mind. I rarely change lenses when shooting, but do usually carry two bodies to cover two different possibilities.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I hope to buy a new camera later today; and it will have a fast 35mm lens.

Of course I have other lenses from moderate wide to moderate tele and I know when and how to use them but I can't remember the last time that I did so. Maybe a couple of years ago.

 

[kshapero]

Granted, situation & subject both make a difference here, but a choice of lens going into a situation can allow one to make images with a particular idea or look in mind. I rarely change lenses when shooting, but do usually carry two bodies to cover two different possibilities.

What focal length of those two lenses?

 

[FrankS]

By choosing where to stand to take the photograph, one determines the perspective and the compositional relationship between the forground and background visual elements. The focal length of the lens chosen determines the angle of view (size of the frame around the scene), that is recorded on the film.

 

[kshapero]

By choosing where to stand to take the photograph, one determines the perspective and the compositional relationship between the forground and background visual elements. The focal length of the lens chosen determines the angle of view (size of the frame around the scene), that is recorded on the film.

hey Frank, how do you get those three stars under your name? I'm over 50, too.

 

[Sparrow]

What focal length of those two lenses?

35 and 75 work well outdoors, and personally I like 21 and 50 indoors; they have the same “feel” as the other pair in tighter surroundings

 

[Spider67]

It reminds me when I got into photography and had some people and books giving advice such as:

"35mm is the reportes lens, 85mm is for portraits and wides are for landscapes"
"using wide angles for subjects like portraits and nudes makes them art"
"get a basic outfit of 35 and 135mm"

this of course fed the automatic basic reflex that makes masses of barely used 135mm and cheap 35 mm very available on the used market.
I had a 135mm, a 70-210 and later on a 28mm I almost never used them. I stuck to the 50mm.
Now with my SLR I use a 35mm (for indoors) a 85 mm (on a 2nd body for portrait sessions.
With my Rangefinders I use 50mm and a J12 and far beaten of 85mm..

So it's true 50mm rules with 35 as deputy

 

[peter_n]

Focal length is key to making many pictures. Wide angles allow one to accentuate the foreground, the wider you go the more this happens. Working in cramped spaces is possible too, but it is the effect on subject/background scale relationships that is my main use of wides. Long lenses do the opposite, by compressing the space between objects.

Exactly. So a 24 & 50mm, or a 35 & 75mm as pairs give you very different FOVs that provides enormous flexibility in how you present the image to the viewer.