35 mm ore 50 mm too street photos

[Sean Bodin]

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I bought my first Leica M6 TTL for my street photography. Now I will buy my first lens, but has suddenly started to question whether I should take a 35 mm or 50 mm lens. It is only for street photography. HELP! ; O)

 

Sean

[lars_bergquist]

There is no 'approved list' of lenses for specific jobs. Henri Cartier-Bresson did own a 35mm but took nearly all of his pictures with 50mm. Lots of 'street photographers' (a term I hate) have used 35mm. Garry Winogrand used mostly 28mm. I – no comparison – have done much action photography with 24 and 18mm lenses, but most of it with 35mm.

 

It's all about how you see and how you work, and what kind of person you are. 18mm is not for shy people. But only you can find out what suits you best. My advice s to start with 35mm. Skip that Angst. If you don't want that 35mm, you can easily sell it. The important thing just now is to learn the rangefinder ropes. Learn to see the picture and the framing without even raising the camera. Learn to focus quickly and accurately (always from infinity). Exercise, exercise, exercise.

 

The old man from the Age of the M2

[bill]

I agree with everything Lars said, except the "always from infinity" stricture. I focus by feel with tabbed lenses (Leica and Zeiss), keeping the tab around the 6 o'clock position. This enables me to rapidly prefocus before even raising the camera to my eye, rather than cranking around from infinity every time.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[menos I M6]

I agree with everything Lars said, except the "always from infinity" stricture. I focus by feel with tabbed lenses (Leica and Zeiss), keeping the tab around the 6 o'clock position. This enables me to rapidly prefocus before even raising the camera to my eye, rather than cranking around from infinity every time.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

Bill, absolutely, but I know, that for starting with a RF, it is extremely helpful, to force yourself, to always start from infinity, as to not get confused, hunting the RF patch around ;-)

 

Once you know your lenses, you shoot with a prefocus by feel.

 

I second, there is no formula for the thing, many people name "street photography".

Go by the focal length, you like best.

 

A 50mm will give you wonderful out of focus effects, second using it as a very nice portrait lens, while still be usable "on the street" (my most used lens, being out has been a 50mm on a crop body).

 

A 35mm lens will include much more surroundings, providing context and scenes, sometimes even possible, to use it as a true wide angle, if the place is not too tight.

 

Anything wider than that is really for people, who work close and really think wide.

I recently sold a 28mm, as on a full frame camera it is just the bit too wide for my liking, than the sweet spot 35mm.

 

But this is all absolutely personal - you need to know this for yourself. For some, this comes only after trying out many different lenses.

[jpattison]

Sean,

 

Try walking about with your M6 body, seeing which viewfinder frame suits your point of view in the "street".

 

John

[Xmas]

Hi

 

The focal length you need depends on the density of people you have locally.

 

If you want the decisive moment you need to be be able to shoot first focus afterwards, e.g. use f/8 and six foot for 35mm.

 

If you are not too shy 24mm and four foot.

 

The M fabric shutter will be audible at six foot, unless your subjects are deaf or you are down wind from loud speaker in a loud DISCO. So the first shot will be the last candit.

 

Noel

[alun]

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Sean, 99% of what you see on my blog is taken using a 35/2. A handful with a 50/2. Personally I find that I can handle a 35 much more quickly. I can zone and scale focus, I can to a degree guess or focus by feel, and the short focus throw, focusing tab and ergonomics of the 35/2 all add up to something approaching my ideal. Having said this I am trying to use a50 more quickly and more effectively.

 

In some respects the 50 is a tidier, more 'formal' lens -- you can keep more out of the frame, selective focus is much more pronounced, and it is easier to fill the frame.

 

BUt there are no rules, only what works for you...