Normal??

i have a 50 and a 35 and a 20 all of which came with my inherited fm2, was very lucky indeed.

(i know i should be banished from the forum but i would say i joined with a yashica rangefinder which broke almost the instant i entered my first photos with it here and am learning so much from everyone and the posts i am determined to stay!)

i totally love my 50mm lens for just the reason bill says. i take it everywhere and if i think hard it seems i can use it for anything that comes across my path.

i am now saving up to buy another rangefinder one day, hopefully which will not be quite so temperamental as my busted first, and i think i would get a fifty as my initial lens for that too.

versatile and simple and small, seems to ask me what i would like to make of an individual subject without forcing its own opinion on me. and that's the fun.
 
I really like mixing it up and using a lot of different focal lengths from super wide to normal. I rarely use teles. Generally, when I go out wandering I just grab one body and one lens along with my rollei for the day. I've culled a lot of my gear recently and am down to leica m and canon f1 slr systems, my rollei, and my mamiya c330.

I'd stay I stick to 50mm or 35mm each about 30% of the time. The other 40% of the time is a mix of the 15mm heliar, 20mm FD, canon/zeiss 28mm's, 55mm.
 
On various short trips I have very well "survived" with only a single 50mm lens and one M-body. Sometimes I had added a 35mm or additionally 21mm lens but most of the time didn`t really need them.

50mm is just perfect for me. :)
 
I've probably used the 50 as much as everything else combined. The 35 Summilux is my indoor available light lens. I use it enough that trying to carry a single lens around is something of a dilemma. So, I bought a Tri-Elmar (the 28-35-50 model). It only created a greater dilemma (fast or slow lens).
 
I Use a 50 about 90% of the time , the other 10% is the 25/4. I Liked the 35 FL but sold it and the 50 remains as my go to lense
 
It much more depends on what and where I will be photographing that day. I try to plan ahead and anticipate the situations that will confront me. I use that method in selecting the film that I will be using also.
 
I'm still trying to figure it out (focal length, that is). Over the decades I've used everything from 20 to 300, but for the past ten years I've leaned toward wider lenses: CV 28/1.9 and CV 35/2.5, both of which are quite good lenses. I've got a Canon 50/1.8, but when I look through my Bessa R the framelines seem too limiting. Not the case with my M42 Super Takumar 50/1.4 on a Pentax SP, Probably because that's all you can see. Somehow, it's more comforting - what you see (and nothing else, no framelines in the middle of the grand vista) is what you get - live with it.

So, I'm quite comfortable with my 50mm SLR combo, and equally comfortable with my RF 35mm (or 28mm) combo.

However, if I decide to carry two SLR bodies, the other will have the Super Takumar 105/2.8 - a focal length that's great for not invading personal space, as others have pointed out.
 
I still shoot with two RF bodies. If I'm being really serious, a third may come along. I just don't like changing lenses.
The two I carry are an M8 and an R-D1.
I usually don't carry around a lens with a FL equivalent to a 50mm unless I'm just carrying one body.
For earnest shooting assignments I'll carry the Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 Biogon on one body and a 50mm on the other, either a Summicron or a Canon f/1.4.

The third body I carry when I travel long distances and need a guarantee of reliability is my M4.
 
Dave Wilkinson said:
After using mostly fifties for more years than I care to remember....I've now taken a 40mm as my no.1! :)
Click to expand...

I have to agree. I find the 40mm my favorite lens. My normal combo when out & about is a 25mm, 40mm & 75mm.

Best regards,

Bob
 
35mm Summilux
1. Gets me up close and personal with the subject.
2. If there's something to lean on, I can get off a shot at 1/8 or 1/15.
3. Handy zone focusing.
4. For when stealth is required, the fact the the long dimension of the field of view is nearly equal to the distance from the subject permits knowing without looking through the camera what the lens will cover.
 
Due to budget restraints I usually used fixed lens cameras (Fuji GA645) or the Mamiya 7 with the affordable 80mm. Both are between 35mm-40mm in 35mm terms. I find them just a little wide for what I do day to day. Maybe I will sell both and get the Fuji zoom model!
 
If I'm shooting a rangefinder, I'll usually use a 35. I like 50s, but haven't found mine to be as useful on rangefinders as they are on SLRs. I can almost guarantee this is due to my sonnars' .9m close focus mark. The .45m on SLR 50s has spoiled me!

For an SLR setup, it's gotta be a pentax for that sweet 31/50 combo!
 
I used to only use 50. However there were too many times where i just wished I had more space without having to take a few steps back to get it, so now i'm using 35 or 40.
 
Bob Michaels said:
My "normal" for a 35mm camera used to be a 35mm lens but it is changing to a 28mm lens.

I use one or the other. But if I only have two lenses, one is a 28, the other a 35. I sometimes have a 50mm and 25 or 21mm available but seldom use them.

Why? Well, Garry Winogrand expressed it well for me. But I must add that there is about a 1000X differential in talent. I just like to be close to the subjects and I like the opportunity to include some of the background for information.
Click to expand...
Blast it, Bob, stop reading my mind like that! :rolleyes:

Normally, I go out with the whole Hexar kit, but the two lenses that get used most are the 28 and order. It's not some 28-is-the-new-'"normal" thing, it's just how I work, and have worked since my SLR days. It might have something to do with my being a NYC lifer. Now that I also have an M2, with my first-ever 35 M-lens, I'll see if that changes over time. In any case, 50mm is second-banana, but still important.

(Whenever I shoot digital it usually is with the Olympus C-8080, which has a zoom with a 35mm-format-equivalent range of 28-140mm. I rarely move that zoom beyond 28mm.)


- Barrett
 
As nothing more than a reflection on myself, its never ceased to amaze me how popular the 50mm lens is in this type of discussion. Ive tried one a few times but never find the FoV working for me. It feels either too tight for general work and not enough on the other end.

For me, my standard lens is always the 35mm [even with the Mamiya 7II, its the 65mm], although I can live with a 40mm if pushed. the 35mm just feels the perfect photojournalistic focal length [for me at least]. But my other favourite is the 21mm. I can very happily go around with a 21mm, and nothing else, all day.
 
For my Bessa R I have the 28/1.9 Ultron and the 35/2.5 Color Skopar. I also have a Canon 50/1.8. I've had the Canon about three years. I've probably used it a half dozen times.

I love the 28 but, as the Bessa hasn't got 28 framelines, I've never quite sure where the edges are, although some folks have told me that it's "everything that you can see, and then some." This "dilemma" may eventually force me to buy an R4A. How's that for a rationalization.
 
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