The One Lens to Rule them All?

i've got both the 35 pancake2 & the 40 f/1.4. they're both nice lenses. i'd give the nod to the 40. it works well with the 35 framelines on the R2 (which used to have until recently).
i use both lenses all of the time - right now the 35 pancake2 is on my r4a and i'm using the 40 & 28 on the r-d1. i have both bodies with me in my backpack.
 
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Bryan Lee said:
If I were to only have one lens it would be a 50mm in a speed of 2.0 or faster. The main reason is the distortion of faces at close range which is not a problem with the 50 but impossible with the 35 and I'm guessing the 40 too.
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Bryan,

The 50 and the 35 exhibit the same "distortion" (in fact, exaggerated perspective effect) when used at the same distance. The point is that you have to get closer to your subject with a 35 to obtain the same magnification as with a 50 and this leads to an alteration of the proportions, which is detrimental to portraiture.

For the OP: The minimum shooting distance for portraiture is 1.5m (5ft) if you want to preserve the natural proportions of face features. So, if you like to shoot tight portraits, get a 75 (the Color-Heliar is great) or a 90mm (Leitz Elmarit, Apo-Lanthar). If you like "environmental" portraits, choose a 50mm (Leitz Summicron, Classic Heliar) or a 35/40mm (Color-Skopar PII, Classic Nokton) for narrow streets or interior shots. Get a 21/25mm if you're into landscape work. And if you think you need anything longer or wider, you'd better switch to an SLR with a tele or a fisheye, as tele lenses are not very usable on RF cameras and fisheye lenses render perspective much more nicely than rectilinear super-wides IMHO.

Cheers,

Abbazz
 
you guys are
great!!!!
THANKS ALL. SOME REALLY HELPFUL RESPONSES AND WHILE I STILL HAVE HOMEWORK TO DO.
it looks like I'll be choosing something fast. I like the 40mm f1.4 idea because of the speed. I've seen the work of some members who've really use this lens to show their craftsmanship. I am also keep my options open for anything a fast 50mm as well. Im going to be doing maily PJ work to fine tune my skills. I shoot a digital Nikon D200 and I just think I need to take it back to basics so my work at be as good as what I'm seeing coming from the film rolls of you all.
I'm glad I joined this Forum. I think I'm in the right place

Regards
Visuals~

PS: It's weird hearing the names of these lenses and it's weird apertures of f1.7 n stuff
Cheers:)
​
 
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Hi there, quick question.....I have a Canon III rangefinder and am wondering if I can screw in my jupiter-12 2.8/35mm into it without doing anything nasty. anyone have any thoughts?

oh and one lens to rule them all.....im sorry but it would have to be a Takumar 1.4/50mm. my Serenar 1.8/50mm is a close second......
 
Also, consider if it is weird to have a lens like a 40 on a body like the R2 that does not have a matching frame line.

I put my vote on a M-Hexanon 50/2, but you have to decide whether it is affordable enough.

/Håkan


Visuals said:
PS: It's weird hearing the names of these lenses and it's weird apertures of f1.7 n stuff
Cheers:)
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my one lens would be the 40mm summicron C. Lenses have come and go, and i've shot the 12mm, 21mm, 25mm, 35mm 1.7, 50mm 1.5, 75mm f2.5, 90mm and am now doing the 28mm 1.9, the nikon 85mm f2 and i'm still using the 40mm 95% of the time. I'll safely say its my ONE lens...

Gosh, never realised i've used so many lenses until i start listing them.....
 
I vote for 50mm. Since I gave in to the demand and bought a R2M - Kit I can highly recommend the use of a 50mm. It just fits. I barely used other focal lenghts with my rangefinder cameras although I´m thinking about something really wide ...

Thomas
 
amateriat said:
Here's a fifth (sixth?) for the 35mm Skopar pancake, conceptually speaking (I haven't actually used it). Compact, a truly usable focal length (matching the R2's widest frameline...it's nice to keep any guesswork to a bare minimum). Smaller/lighter means a setup you'll carry with you more often, more places. Yes, it's not the fastest in the West, but you'll deal with f/2.5, even if it means the occasional one-stop push (but remember, it's smaller and lighter, giving you an edge here. Unless I end up with a CLE shortly (cross your fingers, everyone), I might consider one of these m'self. (Wait...I might have to consider one if I get the CLE, although it would stay on one of the Hexars, while the 28 M-Hex would go on the CLE.)


- Barrett
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well...the CLE has 28, 40, 90 framelines, so the 35/2.5 isn't a *perfect* fit, but the good news is you get the 40 FL, which means the 40's are a perfect fit. The 40/1.4, and the Rokkor and 'Cron 40's are fantastic lenses! AND with the CLE you get to consider what is probably THE MOST compact lens/M-mount combination, the CLE & CV 28/3.5.

:)
 
I keep hearing about this "framelines" and i don't know what it means. May someone do the honors in a sentence or two :)


Cheers
Visuals~
 
There is a switch on top of the R2 that controls which lines in the viewfinder appear to depict the field of view of the lens.
You are to match the switch position to the focal length of the lens.
Unless you have a 40, for which you need to buy an R3.
So the answer to the lens question for the R2 is the ultron 35 1.7.
 
Visuals said:
I keep hearing about this "framelines" and i don't know what it means. May someone do the honors in a sentence or two :)


Cheers
Visuals~
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With rangefinder cameras you don't look through the lens; instead you look through a viewfinder. The viewfinder has framelines that show the field of view for a particular focal length lens. Some cameras (like the Canon P, for example) have fixed framelines (showing all the available framelines at one time), other cameras like the Bessas have manually selectable framelines (there's a switch on the camera), and other cameras like the Leica M's have "auto-selectable" framelines. For Leica cameras when you twist on a 35mm focal length lens the 35mm framelines appear in the viewfinder.

In my example the CLE has framelines for the 28mm, 40mm, and 90mm focal lengths. IIRC, the 28 framelines are fixed and the 40 and 90 are auto.

more than a few sentences. hope that helps.
 
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