Why Super Wide??

[Vagabond]

Being new to the rangefinder game I am curious about the RFer’s fascination with super wide angle lenses like 21mm and below. After many years of using SLRs, I purchased a Bessa R2a with a 35mm lens which I use primarily for street photography. The wide depth of field that the 35 offers really comes in handy but I haven’t been able to figure out under what conditions you would use something like a 15mm, etc. Maybe someone could shed some light on this and possibly include some examples.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[FrankS]

One would use a super wide when it would give the result that is desired and when there is no more room to back up. I don't need to go any wider than the CV25mm personally.

 

[Goodyear]

WHy normal? Why tele?

Different people will use different lenses for different purposes.

Personally, I love my 21. One of the things I really like is the edge distortion up close - conventional wisdom is minimise it, but I like the drama. I find that I am becoming more and mroe concerned to go wider, whereas when I was just starting to shoot SLR I wanted longer, longer, LONGER!

 

[dcsang]

Oh man..
One reason is because Super Wides for Rangefinders (at least the current bunch of CV lenses) are VERY, nay INCREDIBLY, reasonably priced for the quality of the lens. Sure they're not the fastest lenses (at f4 and f4.5 respectively for the 21mm and 15mm - not to mention f5.6 for the 12mm) but they give you a chance to really have FUN with the camera.

I uploaded a 21mm just last night in the gallery:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=21904&cat=5390

The 15mm allows you to do what you normally would do with a digital P&S and get yourself into the photo 😀

In tight spots, the 15mm allows you to still get your shot. The 21mm can do this as well but not always (depending on how small the "room" or space is).

35mm is ok
28mm is a wee bit better
but if you want to see things "differently" try using some uber wide lenses.

It's all a matter of preference mind you.
GeneW thinks 25mm is more than enough where as I think it's still a little too narrow 😀

Cheers
Dave

 

[laptoprob]

Here is an example of what a 15 can achieve. Sometimes 35 or 25 just is not wide enough...

Rob.

 

[phototone]

If you shoot interiors of an architectural nature, the super-wides allow you to show almost the whole room. Also, for street photography, you can walk right up to some one, or some event, and shoot from your chest, never having to raise the camera to your eye. Truly "candid" photography. No one suspects. The wide angles allow you to be close enough to what you are photographing to be an active participant in it. Also there are some of us, who like the exaggerated perspective of ultra-wides, and use this as an artistic tool.

For years, there were no affordable new ultra-wides in rangefinder mounts, so the introduction of the modestly priced (by rangefinder standards) Cosina/Voigtlander ultra-wides has opened up this area to a much wider audience than could afford the very pricy Leica lenses.

 

[ywenz]

Why would you not need 15mm? A super wide lens like the 15mm gives a different look than lenses of other focal lengths. That alone should be reason enough.

Why do people get multiple 50mm lenses? <--- same answer..

Here are examples of the CV 15mm + Leica (They're not mine)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/notraces/tags/15mm/

 

[JohnL]

Curious. I never thought of RF photogs as being more inclined to superwides than SLR users. My shortest rectilinear lens for 35mm SLR is a Sigma 12-24mm zoom (aka "Popeye"). It's pretty massive, but it's just as wide as you can go with RFs, AFAIK.

 

[oftheherd]

WHy normal? Why tele?

Different people will use different lenses for different purposes.

Personally, I love my 21. One of the things I really like is the edge distortion up close - conventional wisdom is minimise it, but I like the drama. I find that I am becoming more and mroe concerned to go wider, whereas when I was just starting to shoot SLR I wanted longer, longer, LONGER!

When I first got into SLRs I also lusted for long telephotos. My first two extra lenses, a 28mm and 135mm, gave me a little experience. That was lucky. At least for the type of photography I preferred, I found I really liked wider better. My next lens was an 18mm. Since I have also acquired a 24mm. Of course, I have up to a 300mm, but it seldom gets used. I once had access to a 1000mm lens too. I used to use a jeep as a tripod ( 😀 ). You will find many people who do prefer telephotos for their type of photography. With my Super Press 23, my first two extra lenses were a 65mm and a 50mm. I only recently acquired a 150mm, and it has yet to be used. Go figure.

 

[x-ray]

Exagerate perspective, isolate a subject by exagerating features or push the background back into the distance. Also a tele will do the reverse. I use teles to compress the background or pull it forward. I also use the shallow depth of field of a tele at large aperature to isolate the subject. Many uses for both.

 

[JonB]

Exagerate perspective, isolate a subject by exagerating features or push the background back into the distance. Also a tele will do the reverse. I use teles to compress the background or pull it forward. I also use the shallow depth of field of a tele at large aperature to isolate the subject. Many uses for both.

The closest image I can get in my head is a dolly zoom in film ... er ... movies. But do you know of any sample images I could look at in photography that would demonstrate the pushing or pulling of the background? Thanks!

 

[ywenz]

i've provided link in my post that shows pics from a 15mm CV lens

 

[Bertram2]

I haven’t been able to figure out under what conditions you would use something like a 15mm
Bill

First under those conditions which acquire that angle of view to do the job, for a 15mm this is mostly indoors. Some use it as a toy too but that's is not easy. Most of the " creative perspevtive" stuff I've seen shot with a 15mm was plain nonsense, let's say the demonstration of a misunderanding 😉

Those who know how to use it correctly achieve breathtaking impressions tho.
I personally don't use more angle than I really need, the lower limit for my purposes is 25mm, I don't need more.

Regards,
Bertram

 

[aizan]

i doubt they're technically necessary, but they've got a lot of pizzaz.

wait, except for fisheyes. i think some annual reports and stuff for high tech companies need a fisheye pic here and there.

 

[Poptart]

I like superwides because they impart a feeling of movement without blur.

 

[RJBender]

Here is an example of what a 15 can achieve. Sometimes 35 or 25 just is not wide enough...

Rob.

Nice photograph! Now I have to get one! My 16mm Nikon fisheye has too much distortion.

R.J.

 

[Dingo]

This is a question deserving more discussions. To me, I think different types of cameras suit particular purposes, no one will use a RF for sports shots nowadays (not for reporters at least).

A good example is a friend of us, Roger Williams, he used to be a RF shooter, now being switching to M42 SLR, he takes a lot of close up shots, much more than he did. So Bill, get a RF at hand and you will find a super wide very useful.

But don't switch to any DC, they will only take away your passion to photography.

Here are some CV15 example :

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=5503

Hope you like them.

Dingo

 

[JonB]

ywenz, I saw the examples of wide-angle perspective, but wanted a comparison between wide and long lenses. To answer my own question--if anyone else is interested--this page has some interesting comparison pics about a quarter of the way down. Curious stuff; love learning about it all.

 

[julianphotoart]

I don't use my CV 15 too often, but it's so reasonably priced for the quality. And, sometimes, it's just fun. I include a recent shot done with this lens handheld wide-open. Maximum aperture for this lens is 4.5 but even then the depth-of-field goes from something like 2m to infinity.

 

[RML]

Why super wide? Because I can! Because I need! Because I want!

Seriously, I use my CV 25/4 whenever I don't have much space or when the situations is closed-up and crowded. It's a bit slow but being able to shoot at 1/8 makes up for much. Check my Mongolia gallery ( http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=374 ). Many of the shots were taken with the CV 25/4.