Is it better to master one focal length with a rangefinder before using other lenses?

[KanzaKruzer]

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I received my Leica M at the end of September, just in time for the Octoberfest 2013 on nikoncafe. That is an annual challenge where you limit your photography to one prime lens for the month and post one photo each day. I chose to use the Leica M and Voigtländer 50/1.5 Nokton as my prime lens of choice. I picked the 50 mm focal length because I like the additional space outside the frame lines and it is a focal length I wanted to work with. I would have selected the 50/2, but it is back at the factory to address minor issues.

 

I guess it will be November before I try out my other lenses.

[Ulev]

Answering your question "is it better to master one focal length ..." then I would say "yes" !

 

You have a number of lenses, first define your "weapon of choice" !

Next, learn how to use it till you "master" it.

Much easier to master when you carry along just one lens. Simply because you can ( and probably will) take your camera along all the time.

You will not only master the technique of focusing a RF, but as well adjusting distance, without looking. Useful for street photography for example, and so on ...

[IkarusJohn]

No.

[Guest borge]

I would say so. It depends on what you want to achieve though.

I have spent about two years almost exclusively with a 50mm focal length.

For almost a year my only lens was a 50mm lens.

 

I feel very at home with a 50mm, and it is my go-to focal length for anything that I would want to shoot. Whenever I put a 21, 28, 35 or 90 on it just feels wrong. I have tried most focal lengths now but I just don't like any of them like the 50.

 

With the 50 I actually never think about framing at all. I don't need to think about where I have to be and at what distance. Framing and taking the picture becomes a totally natural thing that I never have to think about, due to my comfort and experience with the 50mm focal length.

 

Whenever I put any other lens on the camera, no matter what I shoot, I always end up wishing I rather had the 50 mounted.

 

Less is more - for me - but not for everyone, I guess.

[Paul J]

It's better to connect to what you want to say, to master visualisation and use all focal lengths.

[jto555]

A car mechanic down the road from me has mastered one spanner. And he is brilliant with that spanner! He can nearly make it sing.

 

If the job calls for that spanner there is nobody better, but if it is a wrong sized nut he cant do the job...

[MarkP]

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A car mechanic down the road from me has mastered one spanner. And he is brilliant with that spanner! He can nearly make it sing.

 

If the job calls for that spanner there is nobody better, but if it is a wrong sized nut he cant do the job...

 

[Paul J]

There are many photographers who are exceedingly successful using just one focal length.

[firstlight]

limiting yourself to one focal lenght for a period of time (days, weeks, months) will enhance your skills alot.

[Guest borge]

It's not so much about mastering one focal length, rather, mastering composition. If you study the elements of dynamic symmetry, geometry, composition, design and visual relationships you can basically master any focal length as long as you have the proper skillset as a foundation.

 

Ironically you won't find this skillset by studying photography. You have to study art. And it applies just as much to painting and art as it does to photography.

 

I would recommend two books:

 

Geometry of Design Second Edition by Kimberly Elam: Geometry of Design, Revised and Updated (Design Briefs): Kimberly Elam: 9781616890360: Amazon.com: Books

 

The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry by Jay Hambidge: The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry (Dover Art Instruction): Jay Hambidge: 9780486217765: Amazon.com: Books

 

Read those then study some famous artists work and you can basically see that everything regarding good composition also stretches back several hundred years, even centuries. The artists (painters) back then used the same concepts as we do in photography to this very day.

 

Many photographers are clueless when it comes to arts, geomoetry, design and symmetry. And you wonder why their composition is totally off? This is especially evident in modern "street photography" where 99.9% of the pictures is a total mess.