Why equivalent of 35mm?

[wahnamhong]

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Well, I can see why. But is 35mm really the most used out there? Used to love my little Ricoh 28mm and a Canon 50mm.

 

I am thinking of buying a X1 but am wondering whether I would miss for example 28mm.

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[tcrown]

I think X1 is 36mm.

 

But street photographers love the 35mm form factor since it's still wide enough.

 

In my experience, I still enjoyed 50mm more than 35mm ones.

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello wahnamhong.

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

A lens can often be thought of not only as itself but also a composite of many aspects of lenses just on either side of it.

 

You can often use a 35 where a 28 is what is called for.

 

Also the same with pictures you might take w/ a 50.

 

Seems to me, given what you have said, a 35 might be the lens for you.

 

It has the ability to give you more or less the composition of a 50 in many instances just slightly wider.

 

It gives you almost the expanse of a 28 in many circumstances.

 

You have one lens that more or less does the job of two often which has its own characteristics allowing it to be used as a general purpose lens in many circumstances.

 

Photography and especially optics is interesting.

 

These are fields very much like life.

 

Once you have chosen a set of parameters you work within a closed system where to gain this you may well have to lose something else.

 

If you look @ you photos w/ your 28 & 50 and find you pretty much use the wide aspects of 50 and the narrow interpertation of your 28 than nothing more need be considered.

 

A 35 is for you.

 

Less to carry (1 lens) and coverage is appropriate.

 

You might also look @ other people's work w/ a 35 and see if that is what you see without regard to the focal lengths on either side.

 

If you find that only the extremes of what is available w/ a 35 are what you need then perhaps the 28 & 50 are still for you.

 

BTW also factor in the advantages of 1 camera w/ 1 lens.

 

Portability and ease of use are factors which often draw people to Leica.

 

They are worth something.

 

What I just said works for replacing two lenses w/ the one in the middle regardless of focal length.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[h00ligan]

Yah, the only complaint really would be distortion for portraits.. but the x1 doesn't focus all that close anyway.

 

I could see Leica offering a varying line of x1 type cameras providing the x1 is selling well..

[Bo_Lorentzen]

When referencing street photography the issue, as far as I am concerned, rally is HOW close are you comfortable getting to your subjects, generally filling a frame with a 28mm takes a lot more intimacy than filling a frame with a 75lux which can be done from across the street, so generally, wider lenses provides a tighter more intimate image, but because they are wides, they also show more background. As othes have pointed out, the 35mm provide a good midrange wide lens, which could be why it was adapted and loved by street Photographers since the first Leica 35mm hit the street.

 

Modern highly corrected 35mm lenses, such as the one in the x1 also provide a awesome environmental portrait style lens, learn how to use it and love it. Now if that 35mm equivalent should be on a x1, or another camera, that is entirely up to your taste, but 35mm is one of the few lenses, not excluding a 50, which you can comfortably go through life with and miss nothing.

 

.

[cheewai_m6]

35mm definitely the most versatile focal length. i used to not really like it, but after using it a bit, i love it. it's just wide enough for most things, and just long enough for portraits. i know it's not a classic portrait lens.

 

28mm is great for travel. i went on a big trip with a 28mm and 50mm, sometimes, the 28mm is just that little bit too wide and a 35mm would be perfect. having said that, i could easily live with only a 35mm for travel.

[MPJMP]

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My first foray into the world of rangefinders was a Contax G1. I had a 45mm lens and a 28mm. I found myslef constantly switching between them. Sometimes the 45mm was too close. Sometimes the 28mm was too wide. Then along came the 35mm lens. Just like Goldilocks, it was "just right."