Can I use my 50mm F1.4 lens for landscape?

[mark744]

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Hi everyone,

 

I have a trip coming where I would prefer to travel with one lens. I'm new but keen to learn this rangefinder photography. I'm also keen to travel as light as possible. Could one of you experts enlighten me to the pro's and con's of using this lens.

 

Many thanks

[Walt Calahan]

Sure, as long as the lens works with your vision for landscape photography.

 

I suggest that you use the lens for its strengths. See the world with its shallow depth-of-field to isolate subjects in the landscape.

 

Study Henri Cartier-Bresson's landscape world. You'll see how this master used a 50 mm lens to his advantage.

 

On a side note, Ansel Adams was a large format shooter of landscapes, but if you study his work, you'll notice he rarely use extreme focal length lenses. Most of his best work was done with focal lengths that were near the "normal" of his format.

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[aesop]

...great lens, so long as you are able to interpret your vision within a 40˚ horizontal field of view. I am no expert, but I once schlepped halfway across the world with one M6 + 50 Summilux - it is a fascinating discipline (the interpretation, that is).

 

Not sure how long you have before your trip, but I would strongly recommend you immediately start messing around with your 50 Summilux - shoot as many vistas as possible to determine how you "see" things naturally. Your results should provide all the pointers you need.

 

It is great to have wide-angle lenses for landscapes, but I certainly would not see the lack of one as an outright restriction. Now get cracking.

[LeicaBraz]

Wouldn't a 35mm be more suitable?

[aesop]

Wouldn't a 35mm be more suitable?

 

...perhaps, and that's what the rules suggest, LeicaBraz. On the other hand, I have shot portraits with a 35mm lens . And it worked. There is an artistic moral in there somewhere.

[antistatic]

Of course you can.

 

If I had to travel with one lens then this would be the one.

[01af]

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A 50 mm lens? For landscape!?

 

Never, never, NEVER use your 50 mm for landscape shots! Landscapes are far too big for this lens' rather smallish angle-of-view; that's why you must always use a wide-angle for landscape. If you try regardless, your sensor may crack due to image overload as you fire the shutter ... as unfortunate users have reported.

[andybarton]

You can use 90 or 135 lenses for landscapes. It all depends upon what kind of landscapes you want and your imagination.

[mark744]

Thanks for the replies, I'm confused as ever!

 

One of the reasons I want to use this lens as much as possible is that it cost me "an arm and a leg", so it would seem a shame to leave it behind. Having spent so much I feel I need to adapt my shooting to take advantage of such a great lens. However, if you guys are saying it really isn't suitable, then I may have to reassess my plan, but as a number of posters have suggested it should be ok.

[andybarton]

Of course it's suitable. You just need to understand what the angle of view gives you and how to use it to its best advantage.

 

If you want to see what a 35mm would give you in terms of field of view, just move the lens selector lever over and look at the 35mm frameline.

 

Some of my best holidays have been the ones where I took just one camera and one lens (usually a 35mm) and got on with enjoying myself and my surroundings rather than constantly worrying about changing lenses. Your travelling companions often appreciate this approach too. Unless I am deliberately going somewhere with a view to specifically taking photographs, I often find that the one lens rule works very well.

 

Have a good holiday.

[Walt Calahan]

Use your 50 mm so you can learn how it sees. A shame to spend an "arm & a leg" without learning its advantages and disadvantages.

 

Bottom line is there is no rule what to use. You use the tools you have. Don't let your gear dictate how to see. First learn how to see, and then apply your lenses correctly for the image your mind sees.

 

You should use the 50 mm lens because you've asked the question. If the lens doesn't work with your vision, then you have your answer.

[earleygallery]

There are no rules in photography that can't be broken! OK apart from never use black body with a brown strap unless wearing tweed.

 

Most people would say you should take something wider as well, say a 28mm. You can buy a Voigtlander 28 3.5 which is meant to be excellent and is not very expensive.

 

Be careful though as wide landscapes can easily look very boring - big expanse of sky and foreground and small distant objects.

 

Also you can make a panorama by taking a number of photos with your 50mm and stitching them in photoshop or similar (assuming you are using digital or can scan the negs).

[stunsworth]

Don't worry about it, the lens will be fine. You won't get the same compositions as with a wider lens but so what?

[lct]

Yes field of view is a matter of tastes. Some people "see" landscapes in 50mm, others in 35mm, 28mm and so on. Now the 50/1.4 asph will give you sharp and contrasty landscapes, even at fast apertures. You will be happy if you like this but beware of blown highlights if you shot digital.

[jaapv]

A 50 mm lens? For landscape!?

 

Never, never, NEVER use your 50 mm for landscape shots! Landscapes are far too big for this lens' rather smallish angle-of-view; that's why you must always use a wide-angle for landscape. If you try regardless, your sensor may crack due to image overload as you fire the shutter ... as unfortunate users have reported.

ROTFLMAO! That is the best explanation of the sensor crack I have heard yet!

[aesop]

A 50 mm lens? For landscape!?

 

Never, never, NEVER use your 50 mm for landscape shots! Landscapes are far too big for this lens' rather smallish angle-of-view; that's why you must always use a wide-angle for landscape. If you try regardless, your sensor may crack due to image overload as you fire the shutter ... as unfortunate users have reported.

 

 

...funny, 01af - but I think we need to be mindful of the fact that the OP is new to our world and came to us seeking advice; thus, at this stage, he would benefit a lot more from clear and concise direction. Our in-house jokes have only succeeded in confusing him further. Not good, in my view.

 

And before you label me a killjoy, I really did think your input was hilarious.

[Doug A]

I think the f1.4 50mm is a good choice. Different focal lengths "see" differently, but good examples of landscapes with all of them abound. The ability of the f1.4 to do differential focus and shoot in dim light would tip the balance for me - unless you also have a fast 35mm :-)

 

If all goes well I will soon be leaving for a week of camping with an M2 and one lens. The choice of lens is easy because I have only one Leica lens - an f2.5 35mm.

[tdtaylor]

ROTFLMAO!

 

Finally met an acronym I can't understand, as well as understood by my teenage daughters! What the heck does it mean?

 

MARK477, Enjoy the one lens, and stop worrying. I have shot landscapes with 14mm to 200mm, all yielding very different results. As mentioned above, if you find yourself confronted by a situation you need wider, shoot several overlapping shots and stitch them together- there are many programs that work- PS, PTgui, etc.

 

The main thing is learn your lens, and stop worrying about other lenses.

[andybarton]

An M2/35 Summicron combination did me very well in Venice two years ago

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[jaapv]

Finally met an acronym I can't understand, as well as understood by my teenage daughters! What the heck does it mean?

 

MARK477, Enjoy the one lens, and stop worrying. I have shot landscapes with 14mm to 200mm, all yielding very different results. As mentioned above, if you find yourself confronted by a situation you need wider, shoot several overlapping shots and stitch them together- there are many programs that work- PS, PTgui, etc.

 

The main thing is learn your lens, and stop worrying about other lenses.

Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off.