Is 35mm All You Really Need?

[JohnnySeven]

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Im a 50 guy. Iv been forcing myself to shoot with a 35mm lately.  The more I shoot with the 35 the more I love my 50. Strange...  But the 35 is no slouch though.  But I still think the 50 is a more useful all around all purpose lens for me. Definite first world problems...

 

Here are some 35 pics:

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Edited January 28, 2018 by JohnnySeven

[JohnnySeven]

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[pico]

I have a friend who retired from National Geographic after decades and all through his career his favorite was a Leica w/21mm. So there should be no question regarding what is best except what works for you - and if you have such - the editors who support you, your livelihood.

Edited January 28, 2018 by pico

[JohnnySeven]

This is the beauty of things like photography.  Its all subjective.  In a few months I may be posting that my 15mm is my favorite lens, or a 90.  Like women I reserve the right to constantly change my mind. 

[pico]

This is the beauty of things like photography.  Its all subjective.  [...]

 

And the worst is that it is all subjective.

Or rather personal freedom of expression free of democracy.

Edited January 28, 2018 by pico

[wlaidlaw]

I have a friend who retired from National Geographic after decades and all through his career his favorite was a Leica w/21mm. So there should be no question regarding what is best except what works for you - and if you have such - the editors who support you, your livelihood.

I have just recently re-acquired a 21mm lens after 8 years without, since I sold my rarely used WATE. I have taken it with me to use with my M7 in New Orleans. It turns out to have been a very good decision, as the lens release has broken on my CL, with the 18-56 stuck on there and my newly bought 11-23, unusable in my luggage. Only issue is having to focus in the RF and view in the accessory VF but having been using Barnacks for a lot of last year, I am now used to that.

 

Wilson

[Ccoppola82]

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I’m not sure the exact reason, but in my DSLR I love the 35mm to the point where I rarely use anything else. On my m6 I probably shoot the 50mm Cron 80% of the time.

[michaelwj]

I’m not sure the exact reason, but in my DSLR I love the 35mm to the point where I rarely use anything else. On my m6 I probably shoot the 50mm Cron 80% of the time.

I am the exact opposite. Love a 50mm on a SLR, can't stand it on a RF. Love a 35mm on RF, can't stand it on an SLR.

28mm I like on both.

[B-A-C]

Yes, maybe...but 50mm is outstanding as well.  Very natural.  I think you need those two as a base, and expand from there.

[JohnnySeven]

Back in the late 70s early 80s I assisted a crazy Brit photographer, he did a lot of fashion and editorial stuff. It was quite an education both in photography and "lifestyle management". Imagine being 18 years old and working for Austin Powers.  He used to say "kid, Ifya can't make it work with a 50 ya don't know how to shoot!"  In his mind using a 35 or wider was a sign of weak composition skills and "dependence on gimmicks".  Those where crazy fun times...  I can imagine what he'd think of modern digital cameras. 

Edited January 31, 2018 by JohnnySeven

[M11 for me]

Does then anybody own 28mm and 35mm and 50mm. When do you use which?

 

I think that mainly the 28 and the 35mm are quite near. The 50mm is then further away of the 2 other ones.

Edited January 31, 2018 by Alex U.

[Lonescapes]

I'm one of those guys who uses 50 a lot more than 35, but I guess if I were to go on assignment and only be permitted one lens, I might only take the 35. The 35 can do what the 50 does, but just looks much worse and requires you to make yourself intrusive. The 50 can't really do what the 35 does.

[JohnnySeven]

If you really have an handle on composition you can make great pictures with either lens.  These discussions about focal length are a bit funny.  Which is a better colour; red or blue?  Which tastes better; lollypops or gum drops?  Which is a better bolt; a 5mm or 7mm?  It all depends on preference, context and application. 

Edited January 31, 2018 by JohnnySeven

[DwF]

I have for years tended toward 35 myself, shooting M2 over M3 because it favored the 35 fov.....or better put, the M3 favored the 50 fov, which interested me less.  I used to think about this more years back with film cameras and in particular the difference in shooting rangefinders over SLR because in large part, the experience of using a rangefinder was paramount. I cannot help but think with new digital cameras that finder-type has influence on the choice between say 28, 35, 40 and 50mm as being someone's normal lens.....body-cap if you will.

 

This surfaced for me getting my MM back a few weeks ago and realizing how much the range/viewfinder experience inspires the way I shoot.  That said, I've been using a 50 more than I ever did.  It is easy for me to imagine that using a camera with live view vs a standard OVF on an M9 would represent a more drastic change in the experience of shooting than say shooting an M9 w 50mm or an M9 with a 35.

Edited January 31, 2018 by DwF

[stephengv]

Does then anybody own 28mm and 35mm and 50mm. When do you use which?

 

I think that mainly the 28 and the 35mm are quite near. The 50mm is then further away of the 2 other ones.

 

My three kit for travel is a 28 (Elmarit ASPH II), 35mm (Summicron ASPH), 50mm Summicron. I hate changing lenses, so I use one lens a day. This method helps me focus and reduced the risk of dust in the sensor.  Each lenses have very different field of view. I shoot them differently. 

 

Should my focus be Landscape, I tend to use the 28mm. But it so versatile, that I can also use it for Documentary and Environmental portrait.

 

While, the 35mm I mainly use it as my first lens during travel, because it is so versatile. I mainly use it for Documentary also, but can be use for Portraits and Landscape.

 

While the 50mm, I use it if I want to shoot portraits. But I can use it also for Landscape and Documentary work. 

[Exodies]

I shoot what makes me say “wow” as I walk around so by then I have found my scene, found my perspective, it remains to choose a frame and like stephengv I hate changing lenses so I will return another day with the right one. (Unless the light’s very good or I am constrained by time in which case I will change lenses).

[Peter H]

If you really have an handle on composition you can make great pictures with either lens.  These discussions about focal length are a bit funny.  Which is a better colour; red or blue?  Which tastes better; lollypops or gum drops?  Which is a better bolt; a 5mm or 7mm?  It all depends on preference, context and application.

 

Blue.

[Mark II]

Does then anybody own 28mm and 35mm and 50mm. When do you use which?

 

I think that mainly the 28 and the 35mm are quite near. The 50mm is then further away of the 2 other ones.

 

 

I have and use these three. However, my default kit is a 28/50/90 configuration, and 35mm is used rarely. I mostly use the 28 or 50, depending on the project.

 

Currently, I have two 35mm lenses (for historical reasons, a ZM 2/35 and ZM 1,4/35), but will eventually replace them both with either a 28mm or 35mm Summilux. The only reasons that the 35mm is even in consideration is because of the size and weight of the fast 28mm and the pain that is the 28mm frame line visibility when wearing glasses - ie things unrelated to the images themselves...

[Peter H]

Does then anybody own 28mm and 35mm and 50mm. When do you use which?

 

I think that mainly the 28 and the 35mm are quite near. The 50mm is then further away of the 2 other ones.

 

I use the 28 and 35 very differently, so it's impossible for me to say which I prefer.

 

 

I use the 35 for exploring or just walking about not knowing what to expect. I use the 28 when I'm mixing with plenty of people and need the extra compositional freedom the 28 gives me over the 35, as well as coping slightly better with being closer to people.

 

The 50 is the least used of the three, but I like it for the extra bit of distance it can give me while still not being removed from the action. It's also nice just to have a slightly different point of view when photographing in familiar places.

 

If I could have only one, it would be the 35, but fortunately I don't have to make that decision. With a 21 and a 90 either side of this essential trio, I don't want for anything. I certainly shouldn't, either.

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[duoenboge]

My favorite on the M is the Summilux 35 ASPH. It´s imho  the most versatile glass. It´s very compact and it quality is superb as well. In the past I used also the Summicron 28 and APO 50. But I sold both.

For travel I take normally also the Macro-Elmar 4/90 and the Biogon 2.8/21mm from Zeiss. In this way I carry a quite lightweight and compact equipment. I sold also my S-Elmar 3.8/18. But meanwhile I´m not sure if it was my best decision.