What lens is "you"?

W

wlewisiii

Guest
Been reading a couple of threads with some of Brian's excellent discussions of lenses, especially older lenses, in them. It got me pondering how much our personality and attitudes to photography plays in our choices of lenses. So is there any one lens that sums up how you "see" the world?

No need to be objective ;) about this, just an excuse to have some fun.

I'm a Tessar, but with strong leanings towards the younger brother Sonnar.

Anyone else game?

William
 
Another vote for the Tessar type lenses, with the Sonnar-type lenses for my second choice as well.

In my case, there is a strong preference for pre-1960 hardware and those which were fitted with a Tessar-type lens have held up really well. I could however get used to a Summicron in a heart beat.
 
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I'm definitely a wideangle type. XPan lenses and 6x9 MF lenses down to 35 mm (equals 15mm in 24x36).
 
Very interesting question ! :) I definitely like that special 'glow' that Tessar type lenses seem to give when exposed to front light but love also the way some other lenses render the out of focus highlights. As for focal lenght, 35-40 is what works for me. Gives me the freedom of action that I miss in a 50 without the composition issues from a more extreme wideangle.
 
So far, my old collapsible Summicron 50/2 has been the closest to my vision, if I can say that I have one at all. Somehow, after trying out many lenses in different formats and focal lengths, this old 50mm "normal" lens seems like it best "fits" me... I have other 50mm lenses, including the Jupiter, but the 'cron is really something - even with all the scratches and haze in the front element...

Denis
 
It's a Good Thing that We DON'T have to MARRY our lenses or even go steady with them!!! I'm not one of those One-Night stand guys either. You know the type; buy a lens, get a few good shots with it, write a review, then put it up for sale. Each of them have their own strong points, a "personality", that is best to capture a particular mood. If I had to choose one lens, it would be the Nikkor 5cm F1.4 and the Black SP behind it.
 
wlewisIII
Interesting question , I've got a MF Mamiya 6, so the lens size numbers are different. The 75 mm is a very nice lens (probably a 32 mm for 35mm) The wide angle is wonderful its a 50mm.

Really I would like a zoom. I know it's impossible but I like the real punch it makes by compressing images. Why isn't someone on this?

Jan
 
I think I am the 50mm type. Normally I have the Summicron-M 2/50 on my Bessas and I do the most shots with it.
 
I think I'm a Planar type -- love the 75mm Planar on my Rollei and the 80mm Planar on my Blad. In 35mm I'm not sure -- been shooting a lot of J8 (Sonnar) lately and like it a lot. Love the 75mm CV Heliar. I've just received an Ultron 35mm but don't have enough experience with it yet to know ...

Gene
 
My favorite FOV is about 40mm and the lens I really love on the R-D1 right now is the CV Ultron 28/1.9 (42mm FOV).

Sean
 
Like Oscar, I'm a wide-angle vision guy. I'd hesitate about picking a marque. Would I like to be a Planar? Nope. How about a Hexanon? Perhaps. And what about a Summicron? Nah!

Ooops! :eek: I think I'm a Hexanon, now that I reconsider. No offense, but I've yet to use a 'cron wide-angle.

Although the 90mm Canadian lens I bought really makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over. :)
 
This got me wondering, and then I realised that probably 80% of my photogography is done with just one lens. So that'd have to be me.....4th model 35 Summicron.

tim
 
I have several lenses for the SLR outfit I got from my dad, but I find that I almost always leave the 50mm lens on it and just work with that. My TLRs only have a normal lens, so I guess they get the vote by default :).
 
I'm not sure why, but 24mm on 35mm cameras. Of course it has to be a really good one. Best I've found so far is the 24/2.8 Minolta AF on the Maxxum 7 body.

As I've been using just a few RF's since last Fall, I quite like the Helios 103 (53mm f:1.8) on a Kieve 4A and the Yashinon 45/1.8 on the Electro 35 GSN. (But the real surprise was the little Zuiko on the Olympus XA).

I'm currently lusting after the R2A and the Nokton.
 
Not a shabby combination to go for. If I didn't have to sweat the $$$ I'd want a R2C and a 21mm SC lens. But a Kiev 4a and a 35/2.5 makes one heck of a combination too.

William
 
I really like my Elmar-M 50/2.8 especially at f5.6 - that is a Tessar design. I think the Jupiter-8 may supplant it though (Sonnar design) but I haven't seen enough pictures from the J-8 to decide yet.
 
I am using the 35mm focal length exclusively nowadays. So my lens would be Ultron 35mm/1.7! :p
 
I don't think of myself as a lens type. I like having a range of lenses available so I can capture the particular vision I have for a photograph. Short telephotos, for example, lend themselves to portaiture. If I want a dramatic landscape with something interesting in the foreground I will go with a super wideangle lens. Overall, I find the normal 50mm lens (for 35mm cameras) the most useful.
 
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