If my feet are my zoom

[sepiareverb]

What focal length of those two lenses?

Not a great difference in length here. The oil tank is a 50. The truck and wall is with a 35. In that situation the 35 was wide enough to get what I wanted, the smooth car to play against the buzz of the wall. A 28 would have reduced the wall in size too much, the 50 would have hidden too much of the car, and made the wall bigger. Backing up with a 50 would have made the wall fill more of the frame.

After years of lugging around a full SLR kit shooting professionally it seems like nothing to carry 2 or even 3 M bodies and 4 or 5 lenses, but when working in town like in these images, I generally work with the 28/50 or the 35/50. A 25 or 21 will also be in the bag should I find myself in some alley needing the f.o.v.

 

[Rafael]

I generally work with the 28/50 or the 35/50.

Many people seem to prefer 25/50 or 35/75. But I'm with you Bob. The two pairings that I use most often are 28/50 and 35/50.

 

[sepiareverb]

A 75 is the logical next lens for me, 90 I find too long and too compressing. I'm gonna hold out for a Summicron.

 

[nico]

Then why do we need more than one lens, ie. 50mm or a 35mm?

I mostly use a 50mm but I also find very useful for environmental portraits my 21mm lens. As a beginner i'm also curious to see how I can use other focal lenght so that's why I bought a cheap 28 and 135 that I barely use. The 21/50 combo fits all my purposes very well even though I'd like to try some shorter tele like a 75/90; I recently gave a try to a fast 35mm lens and found it very interesting and easy to use but the 50 mm focal lenght remains my favourite.

 

[cmogi10]

I tried to shoot football with my 50mm and I just ran up close to the action.
Apperently that's not allowed.

 

[tbarker13]

I'm certain that many readers of this forum (and otherrs) spend far too much time obsessing over this lens or that lens. I know I've been guilty of that.
Now I try to pick lenses for very specific (what does this lens do that another one doesn't?)

If I had to choose two: 35 UC Hex and a 75 Lux. Very different focal lengths.
I also find the CV 15 to be pretty indespensible for what it offers.

I will also sometimes include one of these:
-28 hex for those times I need to wider (but not super wide) than the 35.
-35 Nokton for those times when I really need the extra stops. I much prefer the size of the 35 hex, but sometimes bigger truly is better.

I have this many lenses because of the way I use them. I spend my weekends working on documentary projects of my own choosing. Going in with one lens just doesn't give me the range of views that I sometimes want. Could I get by with just my M8 and a 35mm lens? Sure. But I don't want too. Not when there are other wonderful tools available for the job.

 

[40oz]

the main reason I'd chose another focal length over just moving is the angle of view. If I want the church steeple next to the office tower, I can't simply back up without totaly changing the view. A wider lens lets me capture what I see from that vantage point. Backing up or moving closer changes the vantage pont, and all the included objects/subjects.

Just as an example, a group shot in front of the Alamo had me across the street with a 50mm, and my friends were faceless "people" in front of the building. A 28mm would have at least rendered them identifiable while still catching the facade of the storied mission.

"My feet are my zoom" is a good retort, but not always useful as a credo.

 

[kshapero]

You have to admit it makes an interesting thread. I'd like to suggest that using only one lens forces greater creativity. Limits breed creativity. Just a thought. For me when I go out with only one lens, I am without props. Good things usally happen.