Museum lens?

[uroman]

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Could one of the knowledgeable gentleman or ladies here, please give me a recommendation for a museum lens? I was thinking 21mm 2.8, but perhaps not a low enough aperture? Maybe a 24 lux?

[DigitalHeMan]

Whatever is a 'museum lens'?

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[jto555]

Whatever is a 'museum lens'?

 

 

An 'old' lens.

 

I'll just get my coat and leave now.

[Lenshacker]

It depends on the type of Museum that you are visiting. I use anything from a 20mm lens up to a 50mm lens. 35mm lens is a good compromise. At an air museum- the 20~35 range is very useful, for a Museum with mannequins, smaller objects- the fast-50. With digital cameras, higher ISO means the F2.8 and F3.5 lenses do quite well.

 

Examples using a 20/3.5 here:

 

 

Big displays at close-quarters, wider is better.

 

This is with the 35/1.7 Ultron on the M9,

 

Pilot's Day 2013

 

This picture is with a "Museum Lens" at the Marine Museum in Quantico, was almost 20 years old when the Korean War took place. A 1934 5cm F1.5 Sonnar, converted to Leica mount.

 

Marine Museum, Quantico

 

I've also shot this display with a 5cm F1.5 Nikkor-SC, same batch as what David Duncan Douglas used. What better lens to use at a Museum than a lens made at the same time of the collection. I can go back most of the last century.

 

http://www.leicaplace.com/showthread.php?t=185

Edited December 25, 2014 by Lenshacker

[FrozenInTime]

It seems to be a trend these days for museums to use dramatic lighting - including very dark rooms so a fast lens is certainly an asset.

 

I've found the 21mm Summilux useful for it's wide view, up close perspective, speed and for subject/background isolation.

 

For detail the 50mm Summilux works well.

[LeicaPassion]

In art museums, the 28 cron is my go to lens. It can capture people viewing the artwork.

[yorbard]

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Alternatively, a (Kobaiyashi[Cosina Co.] Voigtländer 25mm f/4 fitted with M mount will cover most w/a situations; it is an extremely sharp lens; while the build quality of the barrel is not as robust as an near-equivalent Leitz one. It is vastly cheaper. I have one ( also a fifteen mm ( one hundred and ten degrees FOV!) which distorts slightly but easily cropped to remove any slight curvature, and , oh wow it's sharp, if at four point five, a little slow); - which I use to great effect on land- and sea-scapes. The one with screw fit lens mount is now around 14 years old. Why does your lens requirement have to be " museum" age?

[wda]

Assuming that you already have a lens or two, why not carry out an experiment in a local museum, changing lenses where necessary to give you some comparisons? For critical work you could apply for permission to use your tripod for optimum quality results at low ISO. That would be my approach. Then return with revised techniques based on analysis. After that consider buying or hiring a lens to fill any gaps in your current capability.

 

Museums vary widely in access for photography and lighting; interior and outside exhibits. It is difficult to give generalised advice. But I find a 35mm Summicron a good starting point.

[250swb]

Elliott Erwitt did book called 'Museum watching' and my guess would be he used a 35mm lens. There is perhaps a difference between wanting to get as much in the frame as possible and getting only the important things in the frame.

 

https://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2S5RYD5ZFOR

 

 

 

Steve

[IWC Doppel]

If your looking for a classic 35mm lens with classic rendering then the Summaron f2.8 is lovely. It has superb detail, modest contrast at wide apertures and reminds you of old reportage images