The Wonderful 50mm Lenses

Hi Gene, I liked the Shutterbug Article.
I think that 50mm is sometimes undarrated because some camera's used to come with one as an starter lense. I was always looking for an wider or a tele lense, but actually where shooting most of the time with th 50mm one.
In the 90's I used an Pentax P3 with a 28-80 zoom and thought I was ok, but finally I had to get an 50mm to feel the camera in better way.
Actually that I've discovered RF photography, I've enjoyed very much taking pictures with the standard 50mm FSU lenses.

Pablo
 
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I, too, have returned to using the 50mm on most of my cameras. Even the slrs wear 50s, except for the Minolta X370, it has a Rokkor 45mm, close enough. Actually, it is a great lens, flat and fast. Anyway, Industar 50, collapsible, is worn on a Leica IIIc, Jupiter 3 or 8 on the Bessa R, and a Schneider-Kreuznach 50mm on an Exakta vx IIa. I guess I am a 50 seer. But I also use 24/25/28 on most of them too. Am I confused....go wide, be normal, go wide, be normal... 😎
 
i'm torn.
in the past i preferred the 35/40 lens and thought it pretty much lined up with my 'vision'.

then came the 'p' and all i had was the 50/1.8. at first it was strange and i always seemed to close or too far away from the action.
but i got used to it and really started to like it.
the i got the canon 35/2.8 and it has not left the camera. of course i have the 50 on the other 'p' but i have not used that rig in a while.

35 or 50?
just can't decide, don't wanna have to, but i DO lean towards the 35.

joe
 
A lens in the 40mm range actually is closer to what the human eye sees. I probably use the 35mm more than any other lens. The 50mm is underrated, however. If I could only have one single focal length lens, I would take a 50mm in the f1.8 to f2 range.
 
The reason that I prefer the 50 over a 35mm lens is that it allows me to be more selective and disciminating in what is inside the frame and the distracting elements that I can exclude from the frame of the image.
 
I like the 35mm and wider because the 50mm seems semi telephoto to me and less useful. If I want telephoto I'll go 90mm or longer. Maybe the biggest thing against the 50mm is that it will do most things asked of it , just like the family sedan, but with no real panache. Then that is the way of most good versatile utilitarian items, sort of jack of all trades and master of none.

Bob
 
I've always been far fonder of the 50mm than wides and much more inclined to longer than that. But I'll admit that since I bought the Skopar, I've been using it alot and have begun to "see" the differences and how it can be very useful.

And now with a builtin brightline finder in my Kiev 5, well, it's a lot of fun learning and playing of late.

William
 
I've always liked the 50mm and used it as my standard until I bought a 35.;I cannot take it off the camera. It seems to see everything I need to see. Maybe it's just a change of personal vision, something different, a new view.
 
The 50mm is easier to handle and more flexible than a portrait focal length. What I like about a good fast 50mm is its sharpness in low light. Most wide angle lens that I've owned have suffered somewhat when used wide open. At f/5.6 to f/8 all lens seem to do just fine, but I prefer one that crisp wide open look and here is where more than a couple of my 50mm lenses excell.

The bad news is I think I have a 85mm focal length vision in 35mm, because I tend to use 50mm at under 2 meters a lot of the time.
 
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Nikon Bob said:
Then that is the way of most good versatile utilitarian items, sort of jack of all trades and master of none.

Bob
Click to expand...

Yes, the 50mm focal length is the General Practioner, but does many thing well enough.
 
There are many applications for which the 50mm lens is the perfect focal length and not second best to either a shorter or longer lens. I have to disagree with the "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" description of the normal lens.
 
FrankS said:
There are many applications for which the 50mm lens is the perfect focal length and not second best to either a shorter or longer lens. I have to disagree with the "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" description of the normal lens.
Click to expand...
I think HCB (RIP) would back you up on that one 😀

Gene
 
I, too, prefer the 35-40mm perspective. The Canonet, J-12 and Hexanon 40mm lenses all fit what I like in a "glance".
 
I can't remember where I read it, but an instructor of a photo class had his students mount 135mm lenses and go shoot a roll. They were then to bring in what they considered the best shot on the roll. The instructor then had them use a 35mm lens and told them to take a shot of the same location/person whatever as an exercise in understanding the differences in focal lengths. He felt it was easy to go from wide to tele, but the reverse was a more interesting proposition. I'm going to have to give that a try sometime and then perhaps even add a third shot with a 50mm just because.

William
 
I pretty much shot mostly with a 28-200 zoom lens on my digital camera and 50/135 lenses on my SLR prior to "limiting" myself to an Olympus XA (35mm lens) on vacation last year. Having just the one lens really made me focus on what I was doing to get the shot, heard myself saying "get closer, fill the frame" under my breath almost constantly. The amazing part is... it worked. I came away with a solid understanding of that focal length and also the highest percentage of quality shots I've ever had. I still really like the 50mm lens I have for my K1000, but if I can find a 35mm lens as good as my 50 I'll mount it without hesitation and probably leave it there.
 
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