street with a 50...aarrrrrghhhh!

[Todd.Hanz]

I just think it's cute how the girl is laughing so much she's gotten horse

Thanks for the tips guys.

Brett,
I guess I just need to "pony up", "trot" right out there, take the 50 by the "reigns" and shoot. Is that what your trying to say? 🙂

Todd

 

[JoeFriday]

right, Todd.. after all, it's never a good idea to change lenses in midstream

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

We clearly have the makings of a RFF comedy troupe ... is it too late the change the Zeiss RFF contest rules to the best 3 puns?

 

[JoeFriday]

I'd be chomping at the bit if that were the case

 

[back alley]

i too find 50mm lenses hard to use.
the 28 is easier to use for me than the 50 but 35 is best.

 

[jan normandale]

Hey Todd, knowing your style and what you are trying to achieve I'd suggest backing into a 50. Try a roll w a 35 then take a close look and figure where you would have to be to shoot a 40-45 lens. Go shoot the 40. By then you will probably have a feel for what the 50 is going to make you do and how to make the 50 work for you.

Personally I find the 50 to constraining. Also the world is different from HCB days. People are no longer amused by cameras w a 50 shoved in their face. I think the attempt to replicate his work is a mistake for today.

I also don't want a 'streetside facial portrait' I'm more interested in showing the viewer a story about how people are responding to an environment that they themselves can relate to. I like the 35. I can step backand include setting or come in close and shoot up close and intimate.

My response to the 50 is somewhat like yours and I think it is in fact a very natural response to this '50 mm tool' good for some but not all situations. Sorta like comparing a scalpel to a chef knife. Both cut, but very differently.

Good luck with your shooting.

 

[FrankS]

Sticking to that analogy Jan, I'd say the 50 cuts more precisely than a 35, and a 90 even more precisely.

You all know how I feel about 50's. 🙂

 

[35mmdelux]

The 50mm is okay for some applications. I used it for 20 years because I didn't know there were so many lenses and didn't care enough to pursue the issue. I bought 1 camera and 1 lens, and moved on to more important issues. Once I got involved in photog I immediately switched to the more extended 35mm lens. Love it and have been using it for 12+ years w/ my Leicas. With my H'bld I use a 60mm Distagon, which is the MF equivalent to the 35mm focal length.

Paraphrasing Garry Winograd, the street master, "we believe (including Friedlander) that the 50mm is from another time, long ago." Simply put, the 50mm is an anachronism.

 

[FrankS]

Sometimes famous and talented people say stupid things. Garry and Lee have made this statement based upon their own personal preferences and biases, not based on any facts or data, no? To say that any particular focal length is "from another time" is as inteligent as saying a particular focal length is boring. It is the photographer that makes his images exciting or boring, not a focal length.

 

[jan normandale]

Frank, LoL don't take this thread personally....

 

[FrankS]

I"m okay, Jan. 🙂

 

[Todd.Hanz]

I don't have anything against 50's, just not my style. I'll consider it a challenge to use the focal length to the best of my abilities. It seems the current street shooter tends to go wide and close, but hey, what's good enough for HCB is good enough for me!

Todd

 

[harry01562]

Why not just frame with your feet?? In a lot of street work, being too close is not a good idea, which makes the 35 a bit problematic. In that kind of situation a 50 can be a good compromise, and give you a large enough "image of interest" to make a keeper shot. I was front row at an off-broadway improv a few days ago, and found the 50 perfect for up-front stage of one person. The M3 is quiet enough that those around you don't really notice anything. Works for me.... (and I love 35's and wider).

Harry

 

[sockeyed]

I spent years shooting with just a 50 (on my Canon SLRs), and I got some 'street' shots I was very happy with, particularly when travelling. It was only when I got into RF photography that I realized some people have other notions of what a 'normal' lens is. Now, by far, I shoot more on my 40mm lenses than anything else, and I've come to really enjoy street shooting with a 25mm. Nonetheless, I'm excited by the challenge of going back to a 50mm (the fact that I just got a 1957 Summicron 50 doesn't hurt, either).

 

[lido]

I love 50 mm view through .7 viewfinder. It really gives me a chance to see the rest of the world around my frame and helps with composition. I find that 35 and wider lenses make me sloppy with composition, almost as if I can't see the tree from the forest.

 

[Uncle Bill]

I usually shoot with both a 50 and a 35 wideangle lens with both my Leica M3 or Kiev III. I do not see the contest rules as a hinderance. I love the challenge to be honest, the only camera that will not be used in this contest will be my Canonet for obvious reasons. This weekend I will be packing my Contax IIIa and 50 Sonnar Jenna lens with 400asa colour film. My plan is to shoot a body of work of both colour and black and white to narrow down two shots for the contest. I posted the third few weeks ago.

Bill

 

[st3ph3nm]

I guess some of you guys are really jealous, then, that the only RF I have is an Oly XA, with a fixed 35mm lens. 😛

The irony is, I'm still more comfortable with a 50mm from my SLR self-training. 🙁

Cheers,
Steve

 

[ErnestoJL]

For many years I´ve been used to shoot SLRs with either WA or Tele lenses, depending on what did I need at the time, and sometimes (very few) with the normal lens, when I needed to get really closer to the subject or just macro. I have to admit that I forgot almost completely the "normal" lens (say it something from 45 to 58 mm) for every day photography. After realizing that almost 100% of my actual shooting is with a "normal" lens, just because the RFs I have are either fixed lens or I have no other lens but the 50 mm, I think now that this one is the most versatile lens If used properly. I´ve learnt again to use my feet for framing, and most important, there were very few times I really needed something else.
Of course, it doesn´t mean that I won´t use a tele or WA anymore. I do it, but my everyday lens is the normal (any way I´ve not too many choices!).

Ernesto

 

[James Burton]

Mmm 50mm lens, yummy

 

[bruenhilde]

Haha, at last I finished a roll today on the Bessa-T with the 50 Summitar, only that I discovered too late that I left the 50 finder at home 😀

And on some shots I forgot to fully extend the summitar 😛

Isn't that a complete success !? 😀

Taffer, what is your opinion about Summitar ?
I mean, when fully extended 😉 and compared to Canon 50mm lenses...
I got Canon 50 f1.8 with Canon 7, but have not time to try it out, yet. 🙁