Let's talk something practical

[youngeajoy]

Hi all, I am now confused with the gears I already have and want to have.
Now I have a M6 body and a cron50. IMO, Leica M body is not so small that can avoid making people detectable or annoyed. So, 50mm may be a fine focal length to balance big M body and elusive.

But I need a wide angle lens too. So I get to 28mm, Ricoh GR1s is a good choice. It sounds like the M body with cron50 is a bolt, and GR1s is a knife.

But, the thing bothers me most is that people always say the leica's most famous focal length is 35mm. Magnums use 35mm to shoot. But, 35 is neither to long nor too short, like it has no its own unique feature. Like a pistol, maybe.

So, is it worth to sell my cron50 and GR1s to a cron35 maybe?

 

[kokoshawnuff]

No matter the focal length, you're going to get a quality lens with leica. So it's better not to concern yourself with what other photographers' preferred focal length is. There were plenty of fantastic photographers that had a 50mm affixed to their leica (HCB for instance) and very rarely touched a 35mm. If you find the 50mm is not something YOU like, then try a 35mm, but don't do it because 35mm is a preferred focal length for Leica

 

[Hosermage]

But, 35 is neither to long nor too short, like it has no its own unique feature.

I think that's what makes it a great general purpose lens. I started with shooting a single 50mm and it's still my fav FL. However, during that time, I have found it not wide enough on several occasions. Fast forward a few months, now I bring 28/50 more often, but if I'm lazy, I just slap on the 35. We should be fairly used to zooming with our feet, and I feel the differences between 35 vs 28/50 is often a few extra steps away for moderate distance subjects. Check out the 35mm f/2 image thread, you'll see its versatility.

 

[Richard G]

Lots of discussions of 50 versus 35. Each has their favourite. Regardless of result, you have identified one of the practical advantages of the 35: it is smaller. Especially a pre-ASPH Summicron. And scale focus is likely to be more successful because of the greater depth of field. And shooting from the hip is more likely to include the intended subject. The unobtrusiveness of a Leica is partly size, partly sound and a great deal to do with no fiddling around when making the shot.

 

[jsrockit]

Only you can make this decision.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

i used to have all sorts of focal length lenses,
i think i read from this interesting article by
david alan harvey and it sort of clicked with me.

( http://betterphotography.in/2011/08/03/dream-lens-david-alan-harvey/ )

i try to standardize on 35/50 and 90. and shoot with these.
i will probably venture to other focal lengths eventually but my
priority is to master the 35/50 first.

raytoei

 

[sazerac]

I love my 50 'cron, but got the CV 35/2.5 Skopar & 35/1.2 Nokton for those days that I am feeling a little wide. I like the sharpness of the Skopar to match the 'cron and the dreaminess of the Nokton as a character lens. I think that if you are a 50mm shooter, then don't get distracted by an expensive 35mm. You can get a lot out of the CV lenses for a lot less investment. If I were only to have one lens, it would be the 50 'cron with my second favorite as the 90 Elmarit-M. 35mm lenses fall into a distant third.

 

[magicianhisoka]

Honestly speaking, people aren't stupid. They're gonna know if you're pointing a camera at them or not. It doesn't matter if it is a DSLR, a rangefinder or a compact. People get annoyed because you're taking a picture of them.

I think what you should be doing is looking at your shooting style instead. Are you coming across as aggressive or intrusive? If you do, changing your body language would be a better bet than investing in more gear.

Leica may be famous for the 35mm focal length, but that's a pretty recent development. The greats like HCB preferred 50 most of the time. But that's his preference, not yours. If you think you'd like to try out a 35mm, maybe you should look at a cheaper option like a nokton first? I think a 50 cron shouldn't be sold for any reason 🙂

And for what it's worth, I enjoy shooting with my GR1s. Not invisible, but darned portable as a carry everywhere camera.

 

[youngeajoy]

Thanks all above. Finally, I clean all my gears except a M6 and buy a bokeh king from one forum member named Bruno. He's a nice guy.

Actually, in last December, I got my first Leica lens, it was a bokeh king too. In 2012, I tried many lenses, people always complicate a simple thing. Now I decide to own the bokeh king back. One body one lens, focus on shooting, that's all. 🙂

 

[Pickett Wilson]

The modern day "thing" seems to be a tendency toward wider and wider lenses, but my observation is that 35mm is about as wide as most people can control in an environment with a lot of elements in motion. Every millimeter wider adds more elements to keep track of, resulting too often in photographers simply losing track of all the other stuff in the frame and concentrating on a central subject. The result, to me, is chaos.

I think somewhere between 30mm and 50mm is the realistic sweet spot for most photographers.

 

[thirtyfivefifty]

I don't understand the need for being a shadow or ghostlike and be undetected! That's some overrated and foolish thinking. It's about attitude and technique. It's not going to happen overnight, but I can tell you one thing: "50mm" keeps you at a respectable distance from people if that's your concern. If you want something unique, work on composition and subject matter. Technique! Practice! Make everything second nature in order to be creative. People (in DSLR land at least) love lenses like at least 24mm and 85mm and superfast lenses because it exaggerates reality. Don't fall into that trap!!! Don't knock the 35mm. It's wonderful.

 

[paradoxbox]

there is a lot to be said for the importance of stealth

i sometimes shoot in an area of kabukicho, shinjuku in tokyo, that if i were to start shooting pictures of the people there, they might start shooting back with guns..! nonetheless it's a very interesting area that deserves to be photographed.

i think a 50mm in kabukicho would be a difficult task but a fast 35 or 28 would get the job. like the OP i also have a ricoh grd III meant specifically for that kind of situation, though 28 is quite wide at times, the fast aperture makes night photos possible.

 

[silverbullet]

as a young guy, the 28mm length was my Swiss knife for everything
Portraits with this 'sweet spot' or social photography with people and background.
But wearing glasses the 28mm and a Leica M 0,72 wasn't easy for me regarding the viewfinder frames. A 35 mm bokeeh k. helped a lot and I became a real fan of it.
For MY style of street photography the 35mm is now the best for me in terms of coverage of most situations PLUS a slightly longer distance to my subjects compare to the 28mm.
If only a 50mm lens would be available for me it should be one week max. to adapt the inner frame for visualization of scenes.

28mm:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36573929@N00/169533690/in/set-72157594175685831

and

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36573929@N00/435425089/in/set-72157594175682729

35mm:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36573929@N00/3261354582/in/set-72157613753153050

and

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36573929@N00/3855775945/in/photostream

50mm:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36573929@N00/6764635107/in/set-72157594175685831

and

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36573929@N00/3044282308/in/photostream