your 35/50 preferences

your 35/50 preferences

  • slow 35 and fast 50

    Votes: 138 23.7%

  • fast 35 and slow 50

    Votes: 25 4.3%

  • fast 35 and fast 50

    Votes: 280 48.0%

  • slow 35 and slow 50

    Votes: 26 4.5%

  • only slow 35

    Votes: 6 1.0%

  • only fast 35

    Votes: 47 8.1%

  • only slow 50

    Votes: 7 1.2%

  • only fast 50

    Votes: 54 9.3%
  • Total voters
    583
dleyva2 said:
I always seem to find my way back to a 50 hard as I try not to.
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Yes. 50mm is for serious shooters. 35mm is for point-n-shoots. It's an okay focal length though. 50 is much, much better - and it must be f1.8, f2.0 being acceptable but no slower. 50mm Best. Focal. Length. Ever.
 
A good fast lens is sharp even when used wide open. The only disadvantage of fast lenses can be size and weight and cost. An exception is the pre-asph 35mm/1.4 for weight and size. This and the Summicron are my two favorite 35mm lenses. Among my 50mm lenses, I most often use the Summicron 50/2 and the Sonnar 50/1.5. Why would I prefer a slow lens? In special applications, an old Elmar 5cm/3.5 or Tessar 5cm/2.8 have a special rendition for portraits (what I use them for).
 
I shot RUSH with my old medium speed 40/2, and it turned out great, but then shot SLAYER and Rob Zombie with my friends 50/1.1 Voigtlander, and I must say...

I ended up buying both fast voigtlanders. Too good and too fast to pass up. So far the 35/1.2 has seen the most use, but besides the weight and size, I have no complaints. heck, I am already used to carrying them both, every single day.
 
I think, Nick was just joking and making a point that some people actually prefer using the 50mm lens over the 35mm lens.
 
i shoot with i've got: 50/2.5 and 35/2.5 color skopars for the iiif and r2m; nikkor 50/2 and e 35/2.5 for the nikon slrs.
my favorite lens is the fixed 35/2 equivalent on my x100, and that is after only a month of use.
then again, i haven't had very many lenses ...
 
On my Canon P and IIIf, I always go back to my Jupiter 8, as opposed to my Jupiter 12. I find a 1x viewfinder with a 35mm frameline to be a stretch and my only external 35mm finder isn't exactly an all-star. A 50mm is far superior on each body. I'm tempted, however, to trade the Canon and Jupiter 12 for a 2.8 Elmar, Summitar or Serenar 50/1.9.
 
35mm summilux pre-asph and 50mm cron v4.

But just shooting just these 2 focal lengths will be boring. I wish to add a SA 21/3.4 or a SE 21/3.4 asph in time to come. 😉
 
I've been shooting mostely with '56 Industar-22 50/3.5 this time and find it a pure joy to use at daylight. Keeping it at f/4 or f/5.6 gives pleasant and smooth bokeh. The lens itself is nimble and good-looking virtually on any rangefinder it can fit (true, it may not fit). The only drawback that it is eye-catchy and draws unnecessary attention.
 
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Since I got my Nokton Classic 35 I haven't used my 50 (an old Jupiter 8). I know it's not the best 35 out there, but it's fast, cheap and I really like the pictures I take with it, that's what matters to me. 🙂
 
35mm - CV Color Skopar PII 2.5 and Zeiss C-Biogon 2.8
50mm - Leica Summarit 2.5 and CV Heliar Classic f/2

I guess I like small, well performing, lenses that are slow, have short focus throws, and not much distortion.
 
My rangefinder time started out with 40mm lenses. When I moves up to LTM bodies, I started with 50s as they were inexpensive and fast.

In medium format, I shoot the equivalent of 50mm most of the time so I've adjusted to it, but in 35mm cameras, I find myself using 50mm either for the speed or as a short portrait lens.

If I had a fast 35mm, I'd probably use it much more than 50mm. If I'm only going to take one lens, its usually a moderately fast 50 (either 1.8 or 1.5) as I often find myself needing the extra speed compared to my 35 (a 2.8).
 
For RF use, smaller (slower) the better. Currently use the VC 35 2.5 which is a fine lens. For my 50 I use a 70s era Summicron, although I tend to use SLRs when wanting the use of 50-90mm focal lengths. The Nikkor 50 f1.4 is a particular favorite, mated to a plain prism F.
 
Both my 50 and 35 mm are Voigtländer Color-Skopar f/2.5 lenses.

My fast lenses are an Ultron 28mm f/2 and Nokton 40mm f/1.4. The Nokton is perhaps my most used lens on the GXR-M. I use the 35 and 50 Skopars mostly on the Leica M4-2.
 
I found these pairs matching well on my film Leicas.

Sonnar ZM 50/1.5 w. Summilux 35/1.4 pre-As.

Summicron DR 50/2 w. Summicron 35/2 (8-elements)

Summicron 50/2 V5 w. Summicron 35/2 Asph.
 
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