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28mm vs 35mm for Telling a story


Herr Barnack

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Here is an interesting discussion on the 28mm vis-à-vis 35mm lens for documentary photography:

Focal Length Feud: 28mm vs 35mm for Telling a story – by David Babaian and Simon King

https://emulsive.org/articles/focal-length-feud-28-35

I have used both and at the end of the day it seems to me that either will work well, if you are willing to fine tune your shooting technique for each lens.

Thoughts?

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An interesting read, but I think the two viewpoints of the article reveal less about the differences between focal lengths of the lenses, and more of the perspectives of the respective photographers. I found it more interesting to understand where each photographer was standing — in the literal sense of where their feet were planted — and the emotions they were feeling, or were desiring to feel. Each photographer seemed to have strong artistic preconceptions, creative vision, constraints, and limitations (e.g., desires to be part of a crowd vs. separated, a need for glasses, or a mental block of seeing 28mm as anything but ‘mobile pics’). That’s fine, and perhaps it’s what makes their images interesting and unique. I respect them being conscious about which tools (cameras, lenses, film) best tell their story. But for each carefully considered conclusion about which lens ‘best,’ I kept thinking of my own counter-examples that would prove the opposite. (I mostly use a 28mm Summaron, 35mm Summicron, and 50mm Zeiss Sonnar.)

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I just read that article the other day. I find 28mm difficult to shoot, but I also tend to like the images quite a bit when I used it.  35 seems more natural for me.  I choose which lens depending on the environment I know I will be in. If it’s tight, I grab a 28. If it’s slightly more open, a 35 or even 50.  I don’t think you can make an argument about either a 28 or 35 as a “story teller” because both have and will continue to be effectively used to do so.  Manos, Alex Webb and countless others used a 35....Winogrand, Don McCullin, Sam Abell, Koudelka (25mm) and I think but could be wrong...Salgado favored the 28mm.  All of them fantastic.  IMHO it’s the difference of 2-3 steps closer or further back.  I suspect any of those photographers could be given either lens and within a day or so produce wonderful images.  

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To some extent,  I think it depends on how close you are prepared or able to stand. You can get good photos with either. With that said, 35mm all the way on a Leica M. Unless shooting with a 0.58 finder, then 28mm works well for me. I'd like to try a Q one day.

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For my Leica rangefinders, I prefer 35mm for telling a story and 21mm when I need something wider.

For my SLRs, I prefer 35mm for telling a story and 14, 18, 24, and 28mm when I need something wider.

Yes, I could tell a story with a 28mm.

Yes, I could also tell a story with a 50mm.

However, my personal preference is 35mm.

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5 minutes ago, BradS said:

How can focal length possibly have anything to do with "telling a story"? Surely the ability or inability to tell a story is dependent upon the photographer - not the gear.

100% True. But the OP point (i guess) is more about if the 28 or the 35 is more able to record context, and a preferred angle of view to tell the story.

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For documentary work, I prefer 28 or even 24 (but used a 24 on an SLR instead of the rangefinder). It's where showing emotion/feeling of the situation and connection with the subject is more important than showing pretty/balanced pictures, at least to me.

For walking around catching random things on the street, I prefer a 35 because I don't always want my subject to be aware of my presence.

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4 hours ago, Dennis said:

 ...the OP point (i guess) is more about if the 28 or the 35 is more able to record context, and a preferred angle of view to tell the story.

It seems to me that both are equally capable.  28mm requires a slightly different technique from 35mm and vice versa.

I am okay with using either the 28mm or 35mm but for some reason, the images I make with a 28 appear more three dimensional to my eye. YMMV.

I think that to put it in the form of a question for others to answer, the question would be "When (and for what subject matter) do you choose to use a 35mm over a 28mm - and why do you make that choice?" 

For street photography, I can see using a 35mm lens over a 28.  The 35 gives you a little more working distance from your subject, allowing you to fill the frame while not getting into your subject's "personal space" (and hopefully avoiding detection).  The 28mm requires you to get up closer to your subject, as in arm's length.  Bottom line:  Both the 28mm and 35mm are useful - each serves a purpose.  Sometimes that purpose is general, sometimes more specific.

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... IMHO it’s the difference of 2-3 steps closer or further back...

@Ccoppola82  That is an interesting take on the 28mm vs. 35mm angle of view; I have always thought that the difference was more like one step.  To my eye, three steps with a 28mm and I'm now working with (approximately) a 50mm angle of view. 

Apparently measuring angles of view with steps is not an exact science... 🙂

Edited by Herr Barnack
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2 hours ago, Herr Barnack said:

I am okay with using either the 28mm or 35mm but for some reason, the images I make with a 28 appear more three dimensional to my eye.

Agree, and so on the 24, then the 21, always more 3D. 

2 hours ago, Herr Barnack said:

The 35 gives you a little more working distance from your subject, allowing you to fill the frame while not getting into your subject's "personal space" (and hopefully avoiding detection).  The 28mm requires you to get up closer to your subject, as in arm's length.  Bottom line:  Both the 28mm and 35mm are useful - each serves a purpose.

Agree. I think it's a matter of tastes. Without offense for the 28 lovers here, my respects. But the 28mm for me, it's a bad commitment: it's too tight for be a 21mm, and too wide to be a 35mm. I love well done 28mm photos, of course. I just don't enjoy use this FL.

 

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On 2/24/2021 at 9:00 AM, Herr Barnack said:

Here is an interesting discussion on the 28mm vis-à-vis 35mm lens for documentary photography:

Focal Length Feud: 28mm vs 35mm for Telling a story – by David Babaian and Simon King

https://emulsive.org/articles/focal-length-feud-28-35

I have used both and at the end of the day it seems to me that either will work well, if you are willing to fine tune your shooting technique for each lens.

Thoughts?

 

This is the second time you've posted this.

 

 

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In the situations that the two featured photographers were working in (civil unrest), the rapidly changing nature of the event negates any ‘fine tuning’ of technique. The situation is far too dependent on how reactive, or brave, the photographer is, their personal preferences and whether they are more contextually or intimately inclined with their compositions.

My own preference is for 28mm, I have three that I use with my Leica and other 28mm equivalents with different systems and formats.  I have one 35mm that I use with my Leica and one fixed 35mm on another system.  I personally don't buy the catch all 'a couple of steps backwards or forwards' idea, perspectives are at play between two different angles of view.

I look upon 35mm as a ‘utility’ aov, more suited to those times when I don’t want to take more than one lens.  
 

 

 

Edited by Ouroboros
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2 hours ago, Ouroboros said:

I personally don't buy the catch all 'a couple of steps backwards or forwards' idea, perspectives are at play between two different angles of view.

I agree with this statement as far as an image aesthetic goes. I do think 28mm adds perhaps some drama or action through perspective while 35 is slightly more relaxed. I suspect this is why I struggle with the 28, yet usually enjoy the photos more than with my 35. I sort of have to be in a more aggressive mood to use the 28.  As far as capturing a scene in a contextual, “story telling” way I will stand by the “couple steps” statement though. The photographers I mentioned above are evidence of the effectiveness of each focal length for doing so, albeit with different styles and aesthetics.  

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28 and 35 are my two favourite FL. 

If I had to chose one, it would be 35 for its history, and my history with it. 28 is a relatively new addition to my life (I've shot 15 years on nothing but 35), but it's been real love. 

At this point, if I'm out shooting people, friends, family, etc... I pick up one of my 35. It's a tad more flattering. 

If I'm out shooting street or landscape, it's the 28 Lux. I've loved it for street as I can now see much more and make interesting compostions without having to be stuck against a wall. 

The great thing about shooting with these two focal is that while they are extremely different, there's nothing I cannot do with one or the other, so there's never any regrets to have, the decision of which lens to go out with has been relatively simple so far. 

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For me, the wider the focal length, the more story there is.  For my RF, I have a 35mm which I love and will never sell and don’t have a 28mm however, there is a train of thought that 35mm is neither one thing nor the other which I do understand.  I am sort of subconsciously using the 35 as a substitute for both 28/50 focal lengths and know deep down that the 28/50 combination would probably be better than the 35. Anyway, that’s just me.

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The human eye is adjusting to the booming "smartphone" look which is at the moment somewhere near 26mm, or to be on the safe side anywhere between 23 and 28mm.
I love how the smartphones have put the 28mm "feel" back in fashion and on the radar. It used to be my fav wide angle focal length, but now I do not reach for it as often as I did - shooting Afghanistan, Madagascar and Sri Lanka reportages with it exclusively on my M6 TTL.

I am now more at 24mm for wide angle and the Holy Trinity of 24mm - 35mm - 75mm aficionado and devotee, the Summilux variety of course.

Edited by Al Brown
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I consider myself a storyteller. My preferred range of seeing is 28, 35 and 50. For me these 3 lenses are the same and it comes down to how much of the environment I need to help contextualize my subject. Here is a photo of my kit - made originally for a bag thread

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12 minutes ago, Kwesi said:

I consider myself a storyteller. My preferred range of seeing is 28, 35 and 50. For me these 3 lenses are the same and it comes down to how much of the environment I need to help contextualize my subject. Here is a photo of my kit - made originally for a bag thread

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When and why do you use the 21mm external viewfinder?

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