What's _YOUR_ RF Focal Length?

What's _YOUR_ RF Focal Length?

  • Wider

    Votes: 12 1.8%

  • 25

    Votes: 16 2.4%

  • 28

    Votes: 39 6.0%

  • 35

    Votes: 218 33.3%

  • 40

    Votes: 95 14.5%

  • 50

    Votes: 259 39.6%

  • 60

    Votes: 1 0.2%

  • 75

    Votes: 6 0.9%

  • 85

    Votes: 2 0.3%

  • 90

    Votes: 5 0.8%

  • Longer

    Votes: 1 0.2%
  • Total voters
    654
A normal lens. I shoot multiple formats, mostly RF. If it's 35mm film, I want a 50 and so on. Wides and tele's have their places, to be sure, but more often than not, it's a normal that brings the image home.

There are many good reasons these focal lengths have stood the test of time. All you have to is look around to see them... 😉

Edit: Hey Ted, good to see you posting! It's been a bit. I do like the 28 FOV (my Canon 28/3.5 is something I should not have sold... :bang: ) as well but if you ever decide to part with that 50/1.8 let me know 😀

William
 
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Through out my life the lens I have used the most is the 50mm focal lenght and for rf compacts 40mm, I must admit that after buying a cv 25/4, I still lean towards the focal length of 50mm but really enjoy wider
 
35 was my FL with my film slrs, I sold off all my non 35mm lenses in FD mount since they were never used. When I got my first rangefinder, I got a 35 with it. I only started using 50's again because they're simply faster. Until getting my 21/4, my canon 50/1.2 stayed on my M5.

I think since getting my CV 21mm that 21 has become my FL of choice, and basically if I have enough light, I go with the 21mm, if it's getting dark, back to the 50/1.2. There are, of course, times when either of those focal lengths is 'useless', but generally I find myself using and wanting to use the 21mm more. I was worried at first from some people here saying it's 'too wide' and that it's hard to frame, but I find it to be a lot of fun to shoot with and I get a lot of shots with it that I wouldn't otherwise, and not just because of the focal length
 
I agree, very very natural, I love 40mm for street photography, I need to be very close to the subject and let me capture environment and that is what makes I love street photo.

jbielikowski said:
40mm is the king, very natural and I dont have feeling that I lost something, just like with 50mm. also on square i have 75mm which is nearlly same FL.
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aizan said:
50mm...there's a greater emphasis on composition with it, though i'd like a 35mm, which seems to place a greater emphasis on content.
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makes a lot of sense for me, at least. as a beginner, i switched around and now stick with 50mm to train composition. however, in a long run, i suspect the train gets into some style or habit, right?
 
I like Aizan's thoughts about differences between 50mm and 35mm lenses. For years I wouldn't use a 50mm lens because I wanted to "get everything." Eventually this led to using a 28mm lens and, finally, a 21. Then one day, scanning recent prints, I saw a boring visual repetition. Took a while to figure out what nagged me: It was the field of vision.

However, I recently got a Leica III with a 50mm lens and find myself framing much more carefully, instead of just shotgunning the scene with a wide-angle lens of some sort.
 
Wow, this thread has been going for a long time!

Wow, this thread has been going for a long time!

A little over 3 years ago I posted that I was using the 25mm and loving it. It was the CV 25/4 made for the Nikon S camera. Truly a delightful lens and it led me to another super lens- the CV 21/3.5 which I have enjoyed using also. But as much as I like these on RF I found that I was using the 35 and 50 more! It's funny because with SLR I prefer 28 and 50. Furthermore, I am not a long lens user very much, not like when I first started in photography about 60 years ago. Then I used a 90 and 135 almost exclusively for everything! 🙂 Interestingly, over these last 3 years so much has happened with me with regard to photography that is is head spinning!
 
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My Olympus 35-S has the fixed G. Zuiko 42mm 1.8 lens...I own three of these cameras and they are the only Rangefinders I shoot with...
Now, I also have a Aires III C that has an H Coral 45mm 1.9 but I don't use this one...I have tried it many times but haven't been happy with the results as yet...
 
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