Eric Posted January 6, 2013 Share #1 Posted January 6, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello Leica friends, I know it has been done before. Nevertheless I have decided to use only one lens in 2013 and this will be my CZ 50mm C-Sonnar 1.5 with my M6. The reasons: - The main reason is that I love the 50mm angle of view. I bought this lens last year and I want learn to master the possibilities of this little gem. And moreover: - Keeps life simple, you never have to think what lens to take with you. - It is a very light lens and easy to take with you (for me the the only disadvantage of my summilux) - Nice aperture value suitable for low light (not always necessary of course) - Lovely booohkeeeh - I think it will help me to become a better photographer. After this year I will evaluate my work and see what progress I have made. Anyone of you interested in a 2013 50mm challenge as well? I will work only with my M6 and mostly B&W but... you can take whatever camera you like of course. Best regards, Eric 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 6, 2013 Posted January 6, 2013 Hi Eric, Take a look here 2013 a 50mm year!!! :D. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
kokoshawnuff Posted January 6, 2013 Share #2 Posted January 6, 2013 Good luck Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MarcRF Posted January 6, 2013 Share #3 Posted January 6, 2013 good luck nails it pretty much.... I tried it but failed because the M mount has a huge amount of stunning lenses. I could probably do a year without a 50 to get to know the 28 and 90 even better but just 1 lens isnt for me... hope you can do it, dont get disappointed if you fail Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted January 6, 2013 Share #4 Posted January 6, 2013 Nice choice as your solo 2013 lens. As you would know it's almost cheating, being two lenses in one - soft & dreamy open, and razor sharp when stopped down. as they said - good luck - as there are times when 50mm just isn't right, or enough. Though, more & more I take only one or two lenses with me. I could probably manage with just a 50 and 28. Although a 35 is good as a solo all purpose lens, especially for travel or those casual faily get-togethers, etc..... as they said..,,.good luck:)..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted January 6, 2013 Share #5 Posted January 6, 2013 I've been using 50 mm exclusively for some months but because I am so taken with the results from 3 lenses: 1936 uncoated Carl Zeiss Jena 50/1.5 Sonnar (overcast days owing to poor flare performance) 1946 coated Carl Zeiss Jena 50/2 Sonnar (bright days owing to excellent flare performance) 1994 Leica 50/1 Noctilux (low light for obvious reasons). Alas I doubt that I will make it through 2013 using only 50 mm focal length because I've had a Leica M on order since its announcement so that I will be able to use my R lenses. Pete. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
!Nomad64 Posted January 7, 2013 Share #6 Posted January 7, 2013 Hello Leica friends, I know it has been done before. Nevertheless I have decided to use only one lens in 2013 and this will be my CZ 50mm C-Sonnar 1.5 with my M6. The reasons: - The main reason is that I love the 50mm angle of view. I bought this lens last year and I want learn to master the possibilities of this little gem. And moreover: - Keeps life simple, you never have to think what lens to take with you. - It is a very light lens and easy to take with you (for me the the only disadvantage of my summilux) - Nice aperture value suitable for low light (not always necessary of course) - Lovely booohkeeeh - I think it will help me to become a better photographer. After this year I will evaluate my work and see what progress I have made. Anyone of you interested in a 2013 50mm challenge as well? I will work only with my M6 and mostly B&W but... you can take whatever camera you like of course. Best regards, Eric You forgot to mention it'll keep you safe from GAS attacks! Cheers, Bruno Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted January 7, 2013 Share #7 Posted January 7, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) What you need is additional M bodies and then stick with the same lens on a particular body. Kinda point and shoot....!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonki-M Posted January 7, 2013 Share #8 Posted January 7, 2013 tried it, and failed i have.perhaps i lack the discipline for it Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk1 Posted January 7, 2013 Share #9 Posted January 7, 2013 Nice intention, but I cannot do that anymore as I already used other focal lengths this year. Besides, actually the main reason being, that I would not like to restrict myself so rigorously never knowing what is to come. Anyway, I wish you the desired success. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveclem Posted January 7, 2013 Share #10 Posted January 7, 2013 I reckon you'll be hard pushed to resist other lenses myself, I feel your task may be easier with a selection of 50's from a variety of names: Jupiter,Canon,Leitz,CV etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted January 7, 2013 Share #11 Posted January 7, 2013 Seems just like another rule which inhibits rather than helps. personally I think photography should be free and unhindered. By all means I'm not trying to discourage experimentation, I think the intention is admirable, but I think, personally, it's best to spend that time and energy on the content of your pictures rather than spending it on trying to force something to work. Content first. Lens choice comes next. Good luck if you try it though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manolo Laguillo Posted January 7, 2013 Share #12 Posted January 7, 2013 What's the reason for embracing this project? Why forbidding yourself, why imposing anything? Can't understand it, really. The lenses for the Leica M are really small, so there is no difficulty in carrying 1 or 2 of them in a bag. You are not going to be a "better photographer" because of using only this or that lens, I'm afraid to say. What you explain has the charm of every limitation, of course, a calvinistic charm, so to say . It sounds like: "this year I will behave well"... :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MarcRF Posted January 8, 2013 Share #13 Posted January 8, 2013 well I understand the point. one might think he's only following HCBs call but it's more of a myth really. but it does help. you definitely do get to know that one focal length better. you couldnt make that progress when continuously switching lenses so it's more of a speed thing. you know where the frame lines will be before the camera is at your eye and with scale focusing and pre-set exposure you can nail a shot instantly with improved composition Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB007 Posted January 8, 2013 Share #14 Posted January 8, 2013 Good luck! I shoot other 135 format bodies as well as various MFs and also 4x5 .....not to mention various focal lengths. Why deprive myself I love the challenges of learning. I grew up shooting Nikon SLRs. Variety is the spice of life Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Muller Posted January 8, 2013 Share #15 Posted January 8, 2013 (edited) It will be the best decision you have ever made to improve your photographic vision! In fact after the year you will probably not stop! You will get rid of all those other lenses that just clutter your vision, slow down your decision making process and make your camera bag, if you still need one so much lighter not to talk of saving you tons of money. You will become a 'photographer' (I am not saying you aren't one already, this is just general talk... ) instead of a camera collector, a person that uses a camera instead of carrying a camera...It will give you a much better understanding of what you need as opposed to what you want, sheesh I can carry on like this all day long.... I talk from experience, I did it for almost 18 months, except my lens was a 35mm one. I now still use other cameras but all have 35mm or very close to 35mm focal lengths on them. On a recent 4day photographic trip I used three cameras, an apsc, 35mm and 36x48mm medium format for various reasons , but all had the same focal length on them....I now know that a 35mm lens is good for 80% of my needs a 24 and perhaps an 80 (which I havent got yet) will do for the rest. I still have lots of other lenses but it just because my dayjob is a photographer and there you need all sorts of stuff to be able to do a commercial job... But for ones personal work.....one lens will do.... and if you doubters don't believe me, go here and see what I have done with my one lens,.....http://www.ivanmuller.co.za/archive/201205 Edited January 8, 2013 by Ivan Muller 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinnfell Posted January 8, 2013 Share #16 Posted January 8, 2013 (edited) If I am not mistaken, 2013 is also the 100th anniversary of the 50mm focal lenght (provided mr.Barnack made the first 50mm for the "full frame"/"35mm"/"leica" format in 1913 as the story goes) I greatly applaud your project. Do not mind the nay-sayers, I am almost willing to bet that you will find your photography improves from using just a 50mm lens. At least it did for me: the first five years of my (serious amateur) photography, I used only 50mm lenses, albeit I did have ten different versions of it (various formats). Even today, as a professional, give me a good, fast 50mm and I can solve 90% of my photographic assignments with ease. Edited January 8, 2013 by skinnfell Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share #17 Posted January 8, 2013 I thank you all for sharing your ideas and opinions with me. I had not thought of it before but it might be 100 years Barnak 50mm indeed! Some remarks about my motivations. I am convinced that it takes time to learn to know a lens. To some extent I experienced this myself. And when you spend quite a lot of money on a lens, why not get the most out of it? I bought my first Leica camera and a 35mm summicron asph in 2009. I used this combination for about a year and shot about 40 rolls (or 60?) of film with it. All black and white. Learning to see in Black and White was new to me and taught me to look for structure/shape and contrast/ light and dark. I loved this way of taking pictures. Great camera, small lens. lots of fun! After a this year I knew that I did not know everything about this lens/ focal length but... I felt the need for a longer focal length (or was it GAS? ). I bought a 50mm lens. This lens was however bigger and heavier (also because it was the beautiful chrome version) and for these reasons after a while I left my camera at home. Last year I realised this was not what I wanted. I love the 50mm focal length and looked for a small versatile lens and... because I read so many positive things (and some negative as well) about the CZ 50mm C-Sonnar, I decided to buy this lens and... go back to the year 2009, the year that I took my Leica with me every day. The nice extra of this little gem is the dual character of the lens: soft and dreamy wide open and sharp when stopped down. It will take me probably more time to master this lens with two faces than my 35mm but it is a challenge which I am looking forward to!!!! Best regards, Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted January 8, 2013 Share #18 Posted January 8, 2013 Eric, you seem to have given a lot of thought to your plan. Good luck! While I am a great believer in going out for a day with just one lens on an M-body, or even slightly longer, I could not bring myself to forego the benefits of a small range of excellent alternative lenses for much longer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charby57 Posted January 8, 2013 Share #19 Posted January 8, 2013 I like very much this approach of a single lens. It is very much possible to produce great work with a uniform look. Hey, some great photographers did it in the past. I wouldn't use exclusively a 18mm, or a 90mm for a whole year. But the 50 could be the lens. Actually, I did go travel with only two lenses. And then, it is almost all the time the 35mm that comes along the fifty. For instance: Une semaine à Rome 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomasis7 Posted January 9, 2013 Share #20 Posted January 9, 2013 using 50mm as only lens is not hard. it is not even needed a luck there are plenty of people to use 50mm. enjoy! /50mm user 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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