Which focal length perspective suits you most?

[BillBingham2]

For me it is what I am shooting. Street or family, it’s the 24, for environmental portraits the 40/1.4 has taken the place of my 35s. For tighter shoots it a 105/2.5.

B2 (;->

 

[Peter Klein]

I'm a 50mm guy, too. I think that the 35mm lens shows what we see, the 50 shows what we notice at a given moment, and the 90 shows what we concentrate on when interested.

I think my preference for the 50 is influenced by two factors besides the perspective. First, in my impoverished young years, all I had was a 50 and a 90--a fast 35 lens was too expensive. Second, I find that whenever I shoot with a 35, I often end up cropping to a 50 magnification anyway. Part of that is that I wear glasses, and before I got contact lenses, I could never see the entire 35mm frames in a .72x viewfinder. Now that I wear contacts at least on weekdays, I use the 35 more.

Another issue is that I am 6'3" (190.5 cm) tall. So if I get close enough for a 35mm lens, I tend to tower over my subjects unless I get on my knees or crouch. So a couple of steps back and a 50 is often better.

I tend to use shorter lenses in places with skinny streets, like Europe. If I could have only one lens, it would be a 50. If I could have only two lenses, they would be a 50 and a 90. I'm grateful I don't have to choose, though. Sometimes, indoors, the 35 is the only game in town.

While I have a 21mm VC lens, I use it rarely. Enough that I'm glad I have it, but rarely. I think that wider than 28mm, the picture tends to be as much about the lens as about the subject. Ignore that last statement if you live in Europe, or within a day's drive of the Arizona-Utah border! 🙂

--Peter

 

[Diggin99]

Wider for me...

Wider for me...

I just took my Electro 35 out for a spin yesterday (45mm) and found myself wishing for a wider lens...not possible on the Yashica of course! I am new to rangefinders but generally I like wider lenses, I love the 28mm on my Canon AE-1...

Nancy

 

[existrandom]

hello all,

the 35 is always on my M4, and the 40 is always on my CL; almost 80% of my shots are done with either of the 2 combos; i gather that i like seeing the subject in relation to its environmental context

so the framlines are becoming very important for me and i tend to corp much less than before.

for wider shot, i missed the Konica 24mm/SLR combo i sold earlier:bang: ; fancy a ZI 25 someday:angel:

the rest are done with a 50, which i consider a mild-tele with which i tend to "look out" in the field, like in a different mode...... i flirted with a 85 for awhile before, but it makes me feel like peeping somehow, and the nikkor i had was heavy bulk, plus the extra finder... quite discouraging... my back hurts and i tend to bring only the minimal

just 2 cents
cheers!!

 

[ghost]

28/50. they are so good at what i use them for, i've been wondering what a lens that gives less than one and more than the other will be like. anybody know about cheap 35/2 lenses? doesn't have to be for rangefinders, either.

 

[Nikon Bob]

I would have to say the 35mm is my most used lens followed by a 24 or 21 and then a 85 or 90. I guess I just see wider and a 50 to me is too restricting, like using a mild tele.

Bob Hammond

 

[Spyderman]

Recently I've been on a hiking trip with my entire SLR kit. 28 through 200, but I used 35 and 85 the most, followed by 50. Next time I'm leaving the 200 at home - I shouldn't have taken it at all :bang: 0.5 kg :bang: and tripod :bang: 2 kg :bang:
At least I have learned... 😀

 

[Toby]

I like the 35mm to be honest, I've used 50mm in the past but now it seems very 'close in' I guess you get used to standing in a certain place to take pictures and if you change focal lengths it's all a bit of a shock when you put the camera to your eye because you always seem to be standing in the wrong place -my experience anyway.

 

[pvdhaar]

I've had lenses long and short, but in the end it's 50 all the way for me. The keyword is flexibility. They're long enough to throw a background out of focus, and if you bend your knees a little, they're short enough to give a widish impression..

 

[raid]

Why don't camera makers install a 35mm as the "normal" lens if so many people (here) seem to favor the 35mm focal length? The 35mm lens was my least used lens when I used SLR's exclusively, but somehow the rangefinder group of users kept on mentioning the 35mm as the "standard", and I followed suit and started to explore this lens.

 

[Spyderman]

Why don't camera makers install a 35mm as the "normal" lens

They do. Most prime lensed P&S cameras come with 35mm lens. Just an example: Oly Stylus Epic 🙂

 

[pstevenin]

I use mostly 45-50 due to various 'fixed' lens gear. I always have to adapt my behavior and view when changing FL.

Usually do portraits with the 90 tele-elmarit (or the Rolleiflex+rolleinars close-ups) and landscape with 35 or sometimes a 21 when I want to put some drama....

 

[gustav[] pEña]

28mm 80%
15mm 15%
50mm 1.2 5% (just when I need the extra speed)


gustav[]

 

[raid]

28mm 80%
15mm 15%
50mm 1.2 5% (just when I need the extra speed)


gustav[]

Gustav,

You are one of few photographers here who prefer as their main lens the
28mm. I am beginning to like this focal length again. There is hardly any distortion in the photos and the coverage is adequateto the degree of looking "normal".

Raid

 

[Socke]

I use 28 and 35 for travel/street and club photography, 45/50 for clubs and portraits and very very seldom a 90 when I'm not close enough.

 

[Nachkebia]

I guess everything up to 35mm, for evertyhing btw even portraits 🙂

 

[Zack]

90% 28
10% 50

 

[raid]

I had no clue that so many poeple use 28mm lenses.
The 28mm lens is a lens that got ignored by many rangefinder users.


Raid

 

[telenous]

I started using obsessively the 50 focal length right after the RFF contest. I still find it the focal length that gives me the photos I like best. But I have recently started using a 35 lens and there are aspects of it I find very helpful; in particular the greater DOF makes more practical the use of hyperfocal.

All in all I 'd say I shoot 70% 50mm - 20% 35mm - 10% 90mm

 

[VinceC]

I use (in rough order of preference): 28, 50, 105, 135, 35, 85.

But I use all of them a lot. When using just one lens, I switch back and forth between 28 and 50, depending on my mood that day. And it's very easy to carry both, with one in my pocket and the other on the camera.

I also never used the 35 on my SLRs. But I do like it quite a bit on RFs.
It's often the widest practical lens for the RF viewfinder, and so for whatever reason it feels "natural" with a rangefinder. My 35mm lens is two stops faster than my 28, so it ends up getting used mainly for dark indoor work or nighttime work. Otherwise, I prefer the extra coverage of a 28.