28mm or 35mm as every day lens

[01af]

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No, I am not referring to optical distortion.

You're not!?

 

 

They may both have the same FOV but the Ricoh is an 18 mm lens, and as such you will see more subject distortion close up.

That's nonsense. Both are 75° diagonal field-of-view lenses, so you will see exactly the same perspective distortions, both far and close up.

 

 

Try with elbows arms etc. in front of your subject and shoot within 1 m or so, and you should see what I am talking about.

I wonder if you can actually see what you're talking about. If so then show pics ...

[viramati]

to be honest I can't be bothered;) and I don't have the 18mm lens anymore so personally I can't make the comparison now but anyway it was obvious to me (at least with the fuji Xf 18mm) and I have absolutely no intention of getting into one of these forum arguments.

Edited May 25, 2014 by viramati

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[leica lux]

Basically IMHO...

 

Pro 35:

 

• The 35mm framelines are the widest convenient for me in the Rangefinder Window.
  
• 35mm is pretty wide for my style of shooting.
  
• Neutral look in terms of perspective
  

 

Con 28:

 

• Distortion
  
• Framelines
  
• Price/Availability (as I would go for the lux)
  

[Archiver]

Dredging from the depths...

 

My preference is for 28 over 35 as an everyday focal length in general.  28 gives more context to the subject, and gives a more complete sense of being there than 35.  Could I shoot with the Elmarit 28 as my main/everyday lens?  Sure.  The Ricoh GR is my usual pocket camera, and I always enjoy the compactness and quality of the Elmarit on the M9.  A high megapixel count image can always be cropped, but a longer lens makes it harder to create a wide image.  Since my M9 came back from the spa with a new sensor, I've been using just the 28 Elmarit and 50 Summicron, and it's been refreshing to have easy focal length choices.

 

Would I like more speed, more shallow depth of field?  It would be nice, but it's not essential.  If I'm out at night, I will usually use a faster lens like the Voigtlander Nokton 35/1.4.  A 28mm Summilux would be nice, though!  For this reason, I suspect I could quite happily use a Q as an everyday camera.

Edited December 15, 2017 by Archiver

[Jeffry Abt]

My main two lenses are 50 and 28 in that order and I'm usually carrying two lenses when I'm out.

 

If I'm just out for more casual photography, family, or for a-not sure-what-I-may-come-across-but-only-want-to-take-one-lens-sort-of-lens then I'll take a 35.

Absolutely... well said!

[Jager]

Of course there are people who use a 28 as their primary lens.  It's a perfectly fine focal length.  Like any focal length... it has its strengths, and it has its weaknesses.

 

The reason 35 and 50 are overrepresented in the Leica M world are twofold:  first, they are fine focal lengths for general photography; and two, they are in the sweet spot of the M's rangefinder... with framelines that are large enough for fast and easy composition, while still providing enough space outside the framelines to see what's coming and what's going.  As you go up in the focal length those framelines become increasingly constricted, making composition more difficult.  And as you go wider, those framelines expand such that you lose insight into what's just outside the frame.

 

35 and 50 nail it.

[michaelwj]

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I love a resurgent old thread!

 

I use a 28mm Elmarit as my only and therefore everyday lens. I like the drama you can create with a wide angle, and 28mm is as wide as can handle for general purpose. I find a 50mm to stand off-ish and a with a 35mm I got a bit lazy in hindsight. Loving the challenge of an everyday 28mm.

[Donzo98]

Seems Apple agrees with the 28mm focal length too.

 

iPhones have a 28mm FOV.

 

The Leica Q is also a 28mm F1.7, my MOST USED camera.

[enboe]

Personally, I am a fan of 28mm lenses.  The 28/2.8/ASPH-I is super compact, very sharp, and affordable in the Leica sense of the word.  One of my quest lenses is to find it in silver to match my silver M body.  The newer version is even sharper across the field, but I am not as much of a fan of the hood design.

 

28mm lenses provide that extra field of view you need when capturing rooms and buildings.  I tend to shoot an crop later, knowing I have captured what I want.

 

28mm lenses are handicapped, however, in isolating the subject from the background.  They have wider depth of field, so if bokeh is your priority, consider using a 50mm or longer lens.

 

Any of this useful?

[Narsuitus]

28mm or 35mm as every day lens

 

 

In spite of the fact that 28mm has never been one of my favorite focal lengths for 35mm cameras, I have a few of them.

 

A.  Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 pre-AI (use in reverse position on bellows for close-ups and macros)

 

B. Zeiss 28mm f/2 Distagon T* ZF 2 (replaced slower 28mm f/2.8 AIS Nikkor)

 

C. Vivitar 28mm f/2.5 screw mount lens (replaced broken 28mm f/3.5 Fujinon)

 

D. Nikkor 28mm f/4 perspective control (use for panoramic and architectural photos)

 

E. Asahi 28mm f/3.5 Super-Multi-Coated Takumar screw mount

 

F. Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AIS (not shown)

 

G. Zeiss 28mm f/2.8 Biogon for Contax rangefinder (not shown)

 

However, I do not own a 28mm for my Leica rangefinders.

 

Shooting only landscapes and/or street candids everyday, would be the only reason I would use the 28mm as an everyday lens. I would select the 35, 40, 45, or 50 (in that order) before I would select the 28.

 

28mm Lenses by Narsuitus, on Flickr

[IkarusJohn]

I’m another 28/50 fan. If I’m taking one lens, it will be the 28 for it’s drama. 35mm does little for me.

[Tailwagger]

So much depends on how you see and what you're typically expecting to shoot, but if I could only have one lens, it would be a fast 35mm as to my mind that focal length represents the single best compromise between angle of view, potential for subject isolation and being forced to cope with optical distortion. That said, if I had sell all my current optics and keep only one, it would be the 50mm Summilux.  There really is so much more to one's sense of affinity to a lens than just its angle of view. 

[Herr Barnack]

I shot a lot of Tri-X with my 28 Summicron and found it to be perfect for street photography and documentary.  I did not see any distortion that some claim the 28mm will produce. 

 

Now I shoot a lot with a 35 Summicron on my M-P 240.  I find it to be a good all around lens, but the 28mm Summicron (no longer with me) produced a more three dimensional look to my eye.  With my 28 'cron gone, I filled the 28mm niche with the new & improved 28/2.8 Elmarit.  This is an outstanding lens but I still  miss my 28 'cron.

 

If I were limited to only two lenses for the rest of my days, they would be a 28mm Summicron and 50mm f/1.0 Noctilux.  The 35mm lens has its place in the scheme of things, but I still prefer the 28mm focal length over the 35mm. 

 

Both 28 and 35 have their disciples; it is up to each photographer to figure out which they prefer.  When in doubt, acquire both, just to be safe.

Edited December 17, 2017 by Herr Barnack

[tom0511]

I agree that it depends A LOT on what you shoot and what you want to achieve.

For me also 28+50 or even 35+50.

28 only is not for me because I sometimes like to get closer to people and faces and 28mm does not look natural for such images,

[jhluxton]

I bought my first M a typ 262 at the start of October last year and with it bought a 35mm Summicron as the standard lens. Within a week I was back to buy a Summarit 75mm.

 

Just after I made the purchase the 28mm Summaron was announced and I thought something slightly wider would come in handy and decided to start saving up for one.

 

This summer I went back to the shop, Leicastore Manchester to buy a flash for the 262. At the same time I took a look at a Summaron they had in stock.

 

Looked quite nice and I decided to keep on saving.

 

However, by early October 2017 whilst browsing their used stock pages I spotted a boxed as new Elmarit 28mm which was for sale for £1,000 less than the Summaron. Needless to say I bought it! 

 

Logic was telling me that whilst the Summaron looked a classic paying £1000  more for something for a slower lens perhaps wasn't the perhaps the most sensible thing to do.

 

Anyway since I have had the 28mm Elmarit it has become almost my standard lens in the past two months. The Summicron has come out for the slightly wider aperture in tricky lighting but it is now the 28mm Elmarit which is on the camera most of the time.

 

I have had a bit of a history with the 28mm wide angle with previous cameras. When I bought into the Contax SLR system at the start of the 1980s the first extra lens I bought was the Carl Zeiss 28mm f2.8 Distagon which I tended to use quite a lot. In the mid 90s I switched  the Contax G1 system and the 28mm Biogon tended to be on the body more than the 45mm Planar. 

 

After that camera I switched to digital and worked my way through a succession of Leica digital cameras from the early "naughties" some with Zooms which included 28mm such as the Digilux 2 and X-Vario but in both cases the 28mm length did bring in noticeable distortion, unlike that I recall from the fixed CZ lenses
 

Anyway in the two months or so I have had the 28mm Elmarit I have really enjoyed using it been a very useful lens for me and is now really now my standard lens.

 

John

[aj55]

My experience is that I tend to see things according to the lens I have mounted. I personally have a 28/50 combo and if the 50 is on the body I spot different scenes than if the 28 is mounted. So zoom lenses don't work for me and even changing a lens on my M9 requires reconditioning my eye/brain.....;-)

A bit exaggerated off course, but still.... I can easily do a whole vacation with just the 50 (or the 28 for that matter).

 

Arnold

[mls1483]

A 28mm lens includes more of the surrounding and has a larger DOF (at the same aperture). However, with all wide angle lenses you need to get close.

 

The 50mm lens allows more subject separation, especially if it is fast.

 

A 35mm lens is closer to a 50mm one than to a 28mm one.

 

 

I prefer the 28mm (or even the 21mm wide angle) if I want to include the viewer into the scene. In case of dynamic action one feels right in the middle of it. I then shoot hyperfocally. I use it also inside smaller rooms or outside for buildings or people, just because of the perspective. For portraits of course, one would prefer longer focal lengths and shoot wide open. So I rarely take only one lens with me, although this frees you from thinking.

[Gregm61]

Before a couple of days ago, I would say I bounced back & forth between 28 and 35 as my standard lens, but after shooting around a little bit with with the brand new 35mm f1.4 FLE recently received from Tamarkin I'm pretty darn sure my standard lens for a good while is now set, LOL, with lens #2 being the 21mm f3.4 Super Elmar I also bought new a few months ago from B&H and used extensively during a trip in September to the Canadian Rockies. A good 85-90% of what I do, I could with just these two, adding the 75mm f2 Summicron APO to round out a three lens travel ensemble.

 

It's easy enough bouncing back & forth between Summicrons and Elmarits, but when you dig down for a new Summilux, be it a 28 or 35mm, you've made (in my case at least) a pretty substantial commitment to that focal length

Edited December 31, 2017 by Gregm61

[mls1483]

Before a couple of days ago, I would say I bounced back & forth between 28 and 35 as my standard lens, but after shooting around a little bit with with the brand new 35mm f1.4 FLE recently received from Tamarkin I'm pretty darn sure my standard lens for a good while is now set, LOL, with lens #2 being the 21mm f3.4 Super Elmar I also bought new a few months ago from B&H and used extensively during a trip in September to the Canadian Rockies. A good 85-90% of what I do, I could with just these two, adding the 75mm f2 Summicron APO to round out a three lens travel ensemble.

 

It's easy enough bouncing back & forth between Summicrons and Elmarits, but when you dig down for a new Summilux, be it a 28 or 35mm, you've made (in my case at least) a pretty substantial commitment to that focal length

 

21 - 35 - 75mm is a perfect line-up.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[mls1483]

BTW: With the new Summilxu-M 28mm f/1.4 it is possible to do both: Wide angle perspective (include background) and subject separation (very shallow DOF at f/1.4). This is actually new to the M system.