28mm, 35mm, 50mm Lens Combination?

[a.noctilux]

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I was happy user of MATE (28/35/50) untill my wife uses it, and now I use prime lenses, as happy as before.

Nice to have choices, anyway, even if we use those not so often.

so for me 28 Elmarit-M asph and two Summarit-M 2.5/35/50 'replace' mate 😉

Edited January 6, 2022 by a.noctilux

[Ouroboros]

16 hours ago, erniethemilk said:

I currently have the 35mm & 50mm Summicrons I use frequently - more so the 35mm on my M10P

I’m wondering if anyone uses this same focal length combination along with a 28mm. I’d quite like wider at some point than the 35mm offers. 
 

Unsure if the 28mm is ‘too close’ to the 35mm to really notice much difference or if something such as a 24mm would be a better option. 

Speaking from my own experience of having 28, 35 & 50mm summicrons, if you add a 28mm to your set you may find that your 35mm will see far less use than it  currently does. I find 28mm & 50mm are ideal as a pair and 35mm is mainly superfluous apart from the times when you might want to take just a single lens or expand your options later by adding a 75mm or 90mm.  

Personally, I don't carry a 28mm, 35mm & 50mm together because the times when I'd find a 35mm genuinely useful alongside a 28mm & 50mm as a set are extremely rare. 

Since you already have a 35mm and 50mm, you might find a 24mm or a 21mm to be a more useful addition to your current set than a 28mm.

Ultimately, only you can decide.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Ouroboros

[rtai]

It depends on your photographic style. I prefer to use 21mm to 28mm for street to show the subject as well as the environment. Zone focusing is certainly easier because you do need to get really close as close as 5 feet with the 21mm. For travel I tend to just use a 35mm because it can do it all. 

[Ouroboros]

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Edited January 6, 2022 by Ouroboros
Duplicate post!

[Ko.Fe.]

I have some old, non-Leitz 50ties. Sold all Leitz, Leica made. Just because 50 is not much of my thing. Even if it was the only focal length for many years... 

I have three 35. My most used focal length on M. Zone focusing is the breeze, if you know how to and not too lazy to practice. 

I couldn't get used to 28 on M and LTM. Has some, all kinds, sold, always.

I was waiting few years to get good priced CV CS 21/4 LTM. Got one and it is way better than 28.

Where are some small 35 and 28 lenses in other systems. GRD/GR series are the great for free style 28 FOV.

But I'm not aware of 21mm focal length lenses as small and good as from CV in LTM, M mount. 

[laowai_]

So you got a M10P with 24 MPixels. Depending how large you want to print you can comfortably crop by 2x.

Perspective depends mostly on subject distance (ok, there are differences how a lens ‘draws’, 99% the folks you show your pictures will not see any difference). So within the range you are comfortable to crop, focal length doesn’t matter.

28 mm (equivalent): for casual snapshots, you cannot beat a modern camera phone.

What’s left? Look and feel of the lens? Simply get the lenses that feel right, whatever the focal length may be.

Or maybe you are someone who pursues a vision,  approaches a photo with mindfulness, tries to see the world in a different way and a LEICA is a tool to aid your pursuit. In this case you probably would stick with a lens for a while until you know what is missing. And with this knowledge you would buy the tool that will help you achieve your specific vision.

 

 

[Dennis]

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Starting from 28+35+50 combination.

my kits would be...

one lens: 35

two lenses: 35 + 50 (and not 28 + 50 as expected)

three lenses: 28 + 35 + 50 

Five lenses: 21 + 28 + 35 + 50 + 90

Like a king

 

p.s. Four lenses? so difficult to choose 

[Mute-on]

58 minutes ago, Dennis said:

Starting from 28+35+50 combination.

my kits would be...

one lens: 35

two lenses: 35 + 50 (and not 28 + 50 as expected)

three lenses: 28 + 35 + 50 

Five lenses: 21 + 28 + 35 + 50 + 90

Like a king

 

p.s. Four lenses? so difficult to choose 

Try 28 and 35 if you have two bodies. It will show you the full extent of difference between these focal lengths side by side.  I was quite surprised at how they can be distinguished in use and outcome. 

[caloosajo]

I’m another supporter of 28/35/50, especially if street/documentary is your thing. Don’t take my word for it:
 

-Salgado had 28, 35, 60 as part of his R kit. 
-Mary Ellen Mark was a fan of 28 & 35 (and wider)

-Jim Marshall also with 28/35/50 at the core of his kit

-Alex Webb 28/35 with his M+Kodachrome work.

@Jeff S also 28/35/50 with M kit

 

[rtai]

Sam Abell and William Albert Allard do beautiful work with a 28mm.

[Lelmer]

On 1/5/2022 at 9:11 AM, erniethemilk said:

I currently have the 35mm & 50mm Summicrons I use frequently - more so the 35mm on my M10P

I’m wondering if anyone uses this same focal length combination along with a 28mm. I’d quite like wider at some point than the 35mm offers. 
 

Unsure if the 28mm is ‘too close’ to the 35mm to really notice much difference or if something such as a 24mm would be a better option. 

28 is not too close to 35, but I very rarely use it...question of taste.

My go to lens is the Lux 50 Asph, and if I need the need for a wider angle, I have got a 35 in the pocket.

[RexGig0]

Allan Schaller is known for mostly using a 24mm lens. I am really liking his work, though that does not necessarily mean that I would like using a 24mm lens.

I rarely used 24mm, when shooting SLR cameras, with 14-24mm, 24-105mm, and 24-70mm zoom lenses, but, that does not mean I would not like 24mm on a Leica. I was not inspired by 50mm, either, until I tried a pre-owned Summilux-M 50mm ASPH, that was available at Houston Camera Exchange, in Texas. I tried it on pre-owned M9 and M Type 240 cameras, with my SD card, and after looking at the images, at home, returned to buy the Summilux, before I had decided upon a Leica M camera body. After the lens was being held, for me, I ran the figures*, and decided to buy a new M10. That was in April 2018, when it was just becoming possible to buy an M10, without having to first be on a wait-list.

So, if 50mm was uninspiring, until I used it on a Leica M camera, the same might be true of 24mm. One may not know, until one tries the lens. 

Zeiss sells a 25mm ZM lens, for those who find 24mm just a bit too wide.

It can be challenging to frame shots, with a lens wider than 28mm, unless one uses Live View, or a shoe-mount viewfinder.  

*I had planned, and budgeted, to buy a quite expensive Nikon telephoto lens, for bird and wildlife photography, but a left rotator cuff injury, the previous September, was still healing, so, I know that I would not be using a long, heavy, fast-aperture telephoto lens, hand-held, anytime soon. So, when I finally found a 50mm lens, that I loved, I was able to add the Leica M system.

[cp995]

vor 8 Stunden schrieb Lelmer:

28 is not too close to 35, but I very rarely use it...question of taste...

For me it is, and so I never take 28mm an 35mm together in my bag.
I prefer 35mm as a standard and use 21mm and 75mm in addition for different situations.

Sometimes I take my 50mm lens and then I prefer a 28mm lens as its companion.

[Lelmer]

23 minutes ago, cp995 said:

For me it is, and so I never take 28mm an 35mm together in my bag.
I prefer 35mm as a standard and use 21mm and 75mm in addition for different situations.

Sometimes I take my 50mm lens and then I prefer a 28mm lens as its companion.

There are multiple combinations for different situations. None is good or bad...as I said...question of taste 🙂

[Dennis]

15 hours ago, Mute-on said:

Try 28 and 35 if you have two bodies.

Just one M body. But I could use the 28 of Q2M .... and... M10 with a 35. It would be Summicron v5 or Nokton 1.4 II MC
Not bad, but I would prefer 100% two M bodies instead. The Q2M is fantastic, but I don't use it with the M10. Only when I don't use my M10, or I want to make it even simple. 
But I'm optimistic I will get another (probably color) M soon. Not sure if M10ish or M11. I can't resist until M12. It has to happen quickly, lol. 

[Lelmer]

3 minutes ago, Dennis said:

Just one M body. But I could use the 28 of Q2M .... and... M10 with a 35. It would be Summicron v5 or Nokton 1.4 II MC
Not bad, but I would prefer 100% two M bodies instead. The Q2M is fantastic, but I don't use it with the M10. Only when I don't use my M10, or I want to make it even simple. 
But I'm optimistic I will get another (probably color) M soon. Not sure if M10ish or M11. I can't resist until M12. It has to happen quickly, lol. 

A few days/months left depending...be patient 😀

[Dennis]

1 hour ago, Lelmer said:

A few days/months left depending...be patient 😀

No buying new bodies yet within the next six months. I want to wait a while, compare models, and, more than anything, understand my perfect fit with Leica M bodies. Which one and how. I can't afford a new camera for personal use. I have already M10 and Q2M, which is more than enough. Grateful for what I have. But I can afford it for work 🙂 Still figuring out if I can use Leica exclusively or not. I still need to try a few stuff. 

Yes, i'm patient, very patient. Just permanently excited about photography. And Leica take a good part of it.

 

[grahamc]

On 1/6/2022 at 1:57 PM, Dennis said:

Starting from 28+35+50 combination.

my kits would be...

one lens: 35

two lenses: 35 + 50 (and not 28 + 50 as expected)

three lenses: 28 + 35 + 50 

Five lenses: 21 + 28 + 35 + 50 + 90

Like a king

 

p.s. Four lenses? so difficult to choose 

Same. With 4 being 28/35/50/90 (as are the only FL’s I own) 

or if using my Minolta CLE the one lens becomes 40mm, 2 becomes 28/40 and 3 becomes 28/40/90. What a great little camera and system the CLE is 

[autograph]

I have 21/28 (q)/35/35/50 and 75mm focal length lenses.

My two favorites are 35/50. I like street and portrait. Actually no need other focals.

With a large aperture (say 12./1.4) and small 35mm, I could not be happier. 

I did not get used to Q and 28mm too.

Edited January 8, 2022 by autograph

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Hallo,

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[cpclee]

Here is a recent interview of William Albert Allard who shot many of National Geopgraphic's best images in their hey day.  You can see that he uses a Leica Q and an M mounted with a 35 'cron.  He also talks about using the 50mm focal length.