I don’t have a 50……

[rsolomon]

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I sometimes wonder if I’m missing something I’m just not aware of…. Maybe that’s really the answer….I’m not missing it. If  I’m not looking for it.

 

My current kit is 21 SEM, 35 Cron, 75 Cron. I basically use a 2 lens kit when out walking, so it’s some combo of the 3. So many consider the 50 as a foundation which makes me think I’m missing something that m not looking for.

do you consider the 50 a core must have ? 

[Knipsknecht]

No one can tell you because it’s a matter of personal preferences. For example: Personally, I really like to shoot a 50mm lens. But others preferred focal length is 35mm or 28mm or 90mm. It’s a very personal thing. 
I would recommend to rent a 50mm lens, if possible,  or otherwise buy a used Voigtlander or Zeiss or one of the cheap chinese lenses (7artisans or TTartisans).

The only “must have” is the lens you feel most at home with.

[pippy]

1 hour ago, rsolomon said:

...Do you consider the 50 a core must have ? 

Yes.

Hope that helped!

Philip.

EDIT : I was trying to think of anything which might have given more info but the more I thought about it the less an explanation seemed to be needed or, indeed, useful. The OP has a 21 and a 75 - both of which I also have but could happily do without so it's simply down to 'how we see as individuals' in photographic terms.

Edited December 16, 2021 by pippy

[tom0511]

In earlier times I liked to not have a 50, it forced be to decide to either go a little wider (35) or a little closer (90).

But for the last years my taste has change to 28-50 as main lenses, and 75 has become more a portrait lens for me.

35-50-75 is pretty close, but for me all three focal lengths are worth to have, and 50 is my most used one.35 has been replaced often by 28mm in my case.

 

[Mute-on]

Nope. I’m extremely happy with 28 and 35.  I have a 50, but only because, like you, I assumed it was an obligatory standard focal length. I find it useable but I really have to force myself to put it to use. 
OTOH I’d love something wider,  like a 21. 
Depends on your shooting style, subjects, location and mood. 

[pippy]

It will be interesting to follow this thread and see which f/lengths are the most frequently named.

For a very long time the only M lenses I had were a 35 and a 50 and I only used the 35 perhaps 5% of the time. Now I have quite a choice from 21 through to 135 yet my most-used lenses(*) - by a very long way - were still either a 40 or a 50. I've really enjoyed shooting with a 28 but anything wider is normally, for me, simply too wide capturing for my view of things.

Philip.

* Until last month when I picked up a different 35.

Edited December 16, 2021 by pippy

[jdlaing]

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2 hours ago, rsolomon said:

I sometimes wonder if I’m missing something I’m just not aware of…. Maybe that’s really the answer….I’m not missing it. If  I’m not looking for it.

 

My current kit is 21 SEM, 35 Cron, 75 Cron. I basically use a 2 lens kit when out walking, so it’s some combo of the 3. So many consider the 50 as a foundation which makes me think I’m missing something that m not looking for.

do you consider the 50 a core must have ? 

If you are really comfortable with a 35 I think you’ll find a 50 a little restricting.

[a.noctilux]

I see nothing wrong with or without 50mm lens.

So the thread might end here 😉.

 

In the past years, I had used only 50mm as only other lens like 21mm/28/35/75/90/etc.

Leica M IS interchangeable lens, so let's use it as such.

[lct]

2 hours ago, rsolomon said:

do you consider the 50 a core must have ?

Matter of tastes. As i "see" in 50mm my answer is yes but you may prefer 35mm or 75mm. Only way to be sure is to try a 50 yourself.

[oldwino]

Historically, yes, 50 is the core focal length, and it is entirely possible to only use that one focal length for everything. 
But, we have a choice…I like 24 a lot, 21 not so much. 28 and 35 are kind of interchangeable for me. 50 is about as long as I tend to go. I dislike 75, and I have (but never use) a 90. 

I should add that I own one 24, one 28, two 35s, one 90, and five 50s. 

Edited December 16, 2021 by oldwino

[Gobert]

I used to be primarily a 35 fotographer, not having a 50.

Nowadays I rarely use a 35, I have three fifties and the fourth will come as well.

I’m just saying that things change.

[Stein K S]

I can copy Gobert on this one. Being a 35 guy for ages, I now tend to like how the 50 both challenges a bit more than the 35 by being somewhat narrower... and at the same time often facilitates ¨cleaner¨ pictures in the sense that fewer elements naturally are included... Understandable?

[TomB_tx]

50 Summicron has been my standard lens for 50 years. Back when I bought my first Leica, 35 was considered “the” wide angle, and the new 28 was the ultra wide angle. I still prefer the perspective of a 50 FOV, but on digital I keep a 35 as my walk-around lens for the flexibility, as the M10 can crop to 50 FOV and maintain quality. I do keep a small 21mm in my kit for the rare times I want that perspective.

[rsolomon]

I had always a 35 & 75 cron kit…… and then wanted wider and went with a 24, then traded that for a 21 SEM. For me seemed to be an awesome 3 kit lens. 
 

as many mentioned above, we evolve, mature, and perspectives change.  I suppose that’s where I am. 
 

Great thoughts and perspectives to think about. Way back I never thought I’d have a 4 lens kit. 
 

if I knew I’d have a 4 lens kit I may have built it differently but to be honest the leica journey has provided so much to me in so many ways over so many years I would not change a thing. 

[wizard]

vor 18 Stunden schrieb rsolomon:

do you consider the 50 a core must have ? 

Considering the lenses you already have, no. Other lenses are my most used lenses, but sometimes a 50 comes in handy. But I could do without a 50 easily, if need be.

[spydrxx]

I'd say "no" it is not a core lens if you are satisfied with using other focal lengths all the time. I went almost 20 years without a 50 and never felt the need. As time passed though, I decided to expand my vision and began to use a 50, such that today it gets about half of my shooting. So, I suggest getting one if you like experimenting or are perhaps tired of other focal lengths. But it becomes a core only when you really put it through its paces time and time again.

[Mech-Dragon]

My most used focal lengths are a 35 and 21. I find these two are a great two lens kit for walkabouts. I've got many 50s from trades or acquiring bodies but I'm sometimes wishing for that 35 cause it's too restricting. Honestly though, I'd love to try a 75 to see if it compliments a 35 better for single element pictures. 

 

Shoot what you like and what makes you happy! 

[insideline]

8 hours ago, rsolomon said:

I had always a 35 & 75 cron kit…… and then wanted wider and went with a 24, then traded that for a 21 SEM. For me seemed to be an awesome 3 kit lens. 
 

as many mentioned above, we evolve, mature, and perspectives change.  I suppose that’s where I am. 
 

Great thoughts and perspectives to think about. Way back I never thought I’d have a 4 lens kit. 
 

if I knew I’d have a 4 lens kit I may have built it differently but to be honest the leica journey has provided so much to me in so many ways over so many years I would not change a thing. 

To me the matter of focal length is just one aspect of what to shoot with as the character of lenses Leica offers within each focal length is pretty amazing and almost startling IE: For everyday photography I shoot primarily with Mandler lenses and specifically a 50 1.4 black paint Pre-Asph, a 35 1.4 V2 Titanium pre-asph and a 50 E58 F1 Noctilux as my "regulars". I then have more special lenses I have acquired over the years but use much less like my AA Double Aspherical 35 1.4 or my Dad's 1968 f1.2 Noctilux and all of these render "very" differently regardless of focal length, so I find its a matter of what I am going to shoot and the mood I am looking to attain, then which focal length and character. After that there are the modern lenses which render rather differently again, 50 M APO, 35 APO, 21 SEM etc etc. I couldn't live without at least 2 or more 50 mm lenses, and two 35 mm lenses because my 35 1.4 Ti lens is such an amazing lens on so many levels, very artsy and vintage at 1.4 and very sharp from F2 on up (German late lens with good coatings helps) but its a totally different lens to my 35 AA and even more different again to the stunning new 35 APO yet all three are 35mm lenses. At the 50mm focal length a photograph taken with an F1 E58 Noctilux could not be more different to a shot form a 50 APO, then somewhere in the middle sits the 50 1.4 pre-asph. 

Personally I would decide what rendering and look catches your fancy, then see which Leica lenses at your preferred focal lengths match up as which lenses character you choose has almost as much to do with your end photograph as which focal length used, at least for me it does. 

[jaeger]

Some say 50mm is an environment portrait lens.  I say whatever.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[a.noctilux]

On 12/18/2021 at 1:56 AM, Artin said:

All I can say is look at the nifty fifty image thread and make your own judgment,  I would say for me the 50. And the 35  are used more then any other 

I do crop into the 50 quite often with my M10R. Making it a very versatile portrait lens. I have a pair now the Summilux Asph and a Summicron v4 , most likely I will add a few more over the years 

You never have enough 50mm lenses.

They are so nice and each one has it's own rendering, even when they share same name/type 😉.