The non-perfect travel lens combination

[Ko.Fe.]

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10 hours ago, Shu_downunder said:

Thanks. Why 21 is more natural than 24?

 I had 24 and framing with it was bit of the puzzle time.

Got 21 and it just more natural. Basically it is what I see without pereferial vision.

Make ninety degree angle with hands and this is the 21mm FOR.

GW liked 21mm but did not want lens effect, comparing to 28.

[LocalHero1953]

13 hours ago, Shu_downunder said:

That basically means I'm giving up 90% of the themes that a more universal set can handle, not to mention my ability is far from confident enough to tackle the remaining 10%.

Exactly which photographer owns the equipment and has the talent to handle more than 10%?🙂.
Even the most famous photographers are known mainly for a particular style, subject and favourite kit.
It's only amateurs who want to shoot everything and get antsy about "which lens should I take?"
A big lesson I have learned is to look for only those subjects my kit can be used for and just enjoy looking at the rest.

[RexGig0]

Notably, Alan Schaller shoots with a 24mm lens, without using an external viewfinder, or the camera’s LCD, having trained himself to see things with 24mm framing. He explains this in at least one video presentation on you-tube. I do not have time, at the moment, to re-watch the several presentations in which he appears, in order to find the best one, on this matter, but I think it was a presentation in which he was being interviewed. It may well be this one:

I may never be able to justify the cost of buying a Summilux-M 24mm ASPH, which is the lens that Alan Schaller uses. I will have to be content, I believe, to keep using the “slower” Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH, which is amazingly sharp, and has the advantage of its images having significantly less geometric distortion than the Summilux. (The trade-off, I reckon, for less distortion, is images with somewhat less “character” than Summilux-M 24mm ASPH images.)

[Huss]

You already are taking a 28mm lens with your iphone, so you have that covered.  Not sure why you'd want a 24 that you would need an external VF for in addition to that.  I'd care more about complementing, not duplicating so I'd take the 50.

A slight digression, the awesome thing about many of these M mount lenses is they are tiny, so you can slip a back up in a pocket with little concern.  As an example, this is how small the 28mm Summaron or TTA 28 5.6 is.  How difficult can it be to bring that along even if you are primarily using a 50 for example? The thing is tiny!  RF lenses rule! 

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[Robert Blanko]

Also depends on the iPhone you have. My iPhone that I bought back in 2019(?) has a camera module with three lenses, including wide angle.

[pgk]

The M rangefinder is an interchangeable lens camera. What is this obsession with not wanting to use one of its most imortant attributes?

[Steve Ricoh]

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‘Non perfect’

Well that’s easy, anything.

[Shu_downunder]

9 hours ago, RexGig0 said:

Notably, Alan Schaller shoots with a 24mm lens, without using an external viewfinder, or the camera’s LCD, having trained himself to see things with 24mm framing. He explains this in at least one video presentation on you-tube. I do not have time, at the moment, to re-watch the several presentations in which he appears, in order to find the best one, on this matter, but I think it was a presentation in which he was being interviewed. It may well be this one:

I may never be able to justify the cost of buying a Summilux-M 24mm ASPH, which is the lens that Alan Schaller uses. I will have to be content, I believe, to keep using the “slower” Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH, which is amazingly sharp, and has the advantage of its images having significantly less geometric distortion than the Summilux. (The trade-off, I reckon, for less distortion, is images with somewhat less “character” than Summilux-M 24mm ASPH images.)

Thanks for mentioning this. I actually started to look at 24mm after seeing Alan Schaller's works and interviews. I think he tried all version of 24's, before sticking on the Summilux.

As I do a bit of architectural, I went for the Elmar, for it's super sharp images and better price tag.

As a bonus, I find it is not bad at all for family 'snap shots' as well.

 

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[Shu_downunder]

9 hours ago, Huss said:

You already are taking a 28mm lens with your iphone, so you have that covered.  Not sure why you'd want a 24 that you would need an external VF for in addition to that.  I'd care more about complementing, not duplicating so I'd take the 50.

A slight digression, the awesome thing about many of these M mount lenses is they are tiny, so you can slip a back up in a pocket with little concern.  As an example, this is how small the 28mm Summaron or TTA 28 5.6 is.  How difficult can it be to bring that along even if you are primarily using a 50 for example? The thing is tiny!  RF lenses rule! 

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As I mentioned earlier, 28 is not wide enough for me, not for me only. 

And iPhone is not a completment as it does different things to my M246, that's just for me as well.

The thinking I'm doing is actually giving myself LESS options, instead of MORE. As I'm far from strong or skilled enough to pick up the right lens at the right moment, without thinking of the other lens in the bag.

PS. the 5.6 is on my shopping list

[Huss]

15 minutes ago, Shu_downunder said:

As I mentioned earlier, 28 is not wide enough for me, not for me only. 

And iPhone is not a completment as it does different things to my M246, that's just for me as well.

The thinking I'm doing is actually giving myself LESS options, instead of MORE. As I'm far from strong or skilled enough to pick up the right lens at the right moment, without thinking of the other lens in the bag.

PS. the 5.6 is on my shopping list

Ok, look how tiny the CV 25 f4 is!  not even half a thumb long!  Same thing for the CV 21 f4!  

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Edited May 7, 2023 by Huss

[Shu_downunder]

9 hours ago, pgk said:

The M rangefinder is an interchangeable lens camera. What is this obsession with not wanting to use one of its most imortant attributes?

Well I guess it is designed for changing lens before next trip, if it is for a different purpose, instead of during the same trip

[Chris W]

One camera one lens is a decent formula, a good restriction to have.

I find 24mm too distorting for portraits and in a wider view more things in the picture have to count, so it's a much harder lens to successfully use IMO.

[fil-m]

6 hours ago, Shu_downunder said:

Thanks for mentioning this. I actually started to look at 24mm after seeing Alan Schaller's works and interviews. I think he tried all version of 24's, before sticking on the Summilux.

As I do a bit of architectural, I went for the Elmar, for it's super sharp images and better price tag.

As a bonus, I find it is not bad at all for family 'snap shots' as well.

I've recently started experimenting with 24mm on the street. It is quite challenging (technically) but when it works the outcome is rewarding. It forces you to be much closer to the subject and always think about both the subject and its environment, and how they both relate. 

Technically it means "better holding the camera" as a tilt in any direction has more impact on the image - so if the "effect" is not wanted, more post processing is required to fix distortion and tilt.  

For candids it also requires you to be better at estimating distances and adjusting if you want to shoot at 1.4-2. Indeed being close to the subject does not give you enough time to adjust the distance in the rangefinder. In my case, I preset the distance at 2m or 3m depending on the context and how close to people I am. Then I slightly adjust "on the fly" by a mm clockwise or counterclockwise without looking at the rangefinder, while making the picture. So you have to "guess and adjust" the distance while also imagining the 24mm frame. 

Interesting when you are in crowded areas. Interesting to put the subject in the context of its (wider) environment. 

With the Lux 24mm, slightly out of focus due to small misses between 2m-4m is not a problem, the picture remains beautiful because OOF is quite gradual and the lens is indeed not overly sharp at wide aperture

24mm and 50mm is a good combination for me. 35mm if I must stick to one lens.

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[pgk]

6 hours ago, Shu_downunder said:

Well I guess it is designed for changing lens before next trip, if it is for a different purpose, instead of during the same trip

Since 1931 when Leica standardised the original screw mount, Leica lenses have been quickly interchangeable. And via an adapter you can use any standardised Leica screw mount lens on an M as well as any M lens. So it seems a bit odd that nearly a century of the use of interchangeability is being ignored to be quite honest🙄.

[Chris W]

Lots of well known Leica professionals have concentrated on one focal length.

Also, I just think it's a good discipline worth exploring. How to really learn one camera and one lens. It doesn't preclude never using another lens.

[lct]

24 minutes ago, Chris W said:

I just think it's a good discipline worth exploring

Does it remain a discipline when cropping? Just kidding but i suspect many mono-lens photographers prefer composing in their armchairs than with their camera

[Lelmer]

3 minutes ago, lct said:

Does it remain a discipline when cropping? Just kidding but i suspect many mono-lens photographers prefer composing in their armchairs than with their camera

Depends on the focal length 😊

[lct]

1 minute ago, Lelmer said:

Depends on the focal length 😊

My feeling is croppers prefer WA or UWA lenses but i may be totally wrong

[LocalHero1953]

I keep just one lens on my film cameras when I take them out, and I rarely crop film (digital is a different matter). As I wrote on the Perfect Travel Kit thread, I recently took a MP and Leica Standard to France each with one lens (both 35, one for colour, one B&W)

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[lct]

2 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I keep just one lens on my film cameras when I take them out, and I rarely crop film (digital is a different matter). As I wrote on the Perfect Travel Kit thread, I recently took a MP and Leica Standard to France each with one lens (both 35, one for colour, one B&W)

Kind of HCB with a 35 instead of a 50 then; If you went to France you are forgiven anyway