28mm for street photography who use 50mm

[George Stoichev]

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Hi,

I have Leica M6 Classic and I have only one lens - Summicron M 50 (V5).

Nifty fifty is my preferable focal length and this particular lens is perfect for me.Despite of this I feel the need to have another wider lens for some particular occasions - when walk in stretch streets and want to catch wider space, buildings, but mainly would give a try it for street phototherapy of people.

Is there somebody else who started with 50mm lens and bought as second lens 28mm? I wrote here, because I’m interested mainly the feedback from analog users.

[Danner]

Yes, I did this.  Started with a 50 Summicron, then got a 35 Summicron as an alternative to the 50mm.  And, finally added a 28 Elmarit to carry together with the 50mm in a two lens kit.  Sometime I carry the 28mm alone.  28mm is my best option when zone focusing, and shooting-from-the-hip, so to speak.

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[TomB_tx]

50 Summicron (v3) was my main lens for 40 years, and during that time my 35 Summicron (v2) was my only wide angle. The 35 adds a lot of "context" to photos, without much wide-FOV-distortion. In the early 1960s 28 was seen as an ultra-wide. I remember an article in Leica Photography where the reviewer tested a 28, wondering if it would really be useful. He liked it for indoors, small rooms.

I've added 21 & 28, but seldom use them. With Digital a 35 (Summarit 2.5) has become my main lens.

[dpitt]

I still think in 50mm mostly. My first Leica lens was the 50mm Summicron collapsible. 35mm is to wide for me on FF. I settled for 40mm eventually. Still love to go longer, but sometimes the 40mm is more practical in confined spaces, tall buildings and such...

28mm on FF is definitely too wide for me. I rather take the 35mm or really wide like 21mm.

If you see what HCB did with his 50mm, I think it does not need to be a handicap. It allows a more discrete approach for street shots. I like it when the subject does not notice me before I take the shot. With 28mm everything will be sharp but you really have to get very close.

Edited November 21, 2023 by dpitt

[jankap]

With my Leica IIIf I started with the Elmar 50mm and the 90mm. My third lens was the Canon LTM 28mm f/2.8. I am a wide angle fan.

[burchyk]

I was primarily a 50mm shooter for a while. That was convenient as I learned the field of view and knew where to stand before even looking through the viewfinder.

Eventually that got boring and I started experimenting with other FLs: 24, 28, 35, 90, 100, 135, 200.

Initially 35mm felt easier than 28mm, but was also not "wide enough".

Through trial and error, I've found that for my own taste:

- 28mm works well when I want a "wide normal" look, street photography, and showing some depth without being shockingly wide.

- 90mm works well for selective framing, portraits, landscapes. At the same time not as limiting as longer FLs.

Rarely shoot 50mm anymore.

[250swb]

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As usual there are no rules, Bresson used a 50mm a lot for street photography but not exclusively, and Winogrand used a 28mm a lot. If you are adding a lens to the 50mm you already use it would be a 28mm because ideally you want a jump between them, a 35mm being to close to the 50mm.

[Jewl]

I started with 35, added a 50mm and eventually will add a 28mm next year! For me, 50mm is sometimes nice especially if you want to focus on specific details. But overall, I believe 28/35 is way more versatile for me!

[jakontil]

I have always take my 50mm, 35mm and the 28mm summaron when travelling, and when out and about only one camera one lens, my faith is decided on which lens turn up on that very day and stick with it 

 

[Mr.Prime]

Yes, you are not alone.

In my case, to supplement my 50mm Lux, I got a Voigtlander 25mm f4 (Colour Skopar) because it was cheaper than a Leica lens and without any compromise in mechanical or optical quality that I'm aware of.

Edited November 22, 2023 by Mr.Prime

[a.noctilux]

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

seen here already

[tuna]

I’ve primarily used a 35mm with zone focusing for many years until I recently bought a Q2M which made me appreciate the wider angle (28mm) for those street shots where composing the frame is inconvenient - it worked so well for me that I bought a 28 Elmarit to use on my M11 in a similar fashion. 
 

Having said all that, I have reverted to solely using the 35mm on the M11 during my recent trips to three major cities - the 28 Elmarit stayed in the bag. I split the shooting time with the Q2M (28mm) which still provided very nice files that do not suffer if cropping is needed. I plan on a trip to Ireland/Scotland soon and look forward to using the 28mm on the M11 for the anticipated scenic and landscapes.

[Anbaric]

On my M6, I have 50mm and 35mm, but on a Nikon AF SLR system (which is both film and digital), I have 50mm and 28mm primes. On the Leica, I sometimes wish I had something wider, but perhaps not as often as I wish I had something in between on the AF Nikon. But then if I had to manage with a single lens on any system, it would probably be a 35mm, so maybe I'm biased. There's no right answer, of course, and plenty of reasons for having a selection of wider lenses. On my manual focus Nikons, I have 35mm and 24mm but skipped 28mm, which is another way covering the wider end (though trickier on a Leica, because of the lack of framelines).

[williamj]

I started as a 50 shooter exclusively for years. My second lens was a 28 because I felt the 35 was too close to a 50. I now also have a 35. I regret none of these purchases.

My only comment to you is you need to stand a whole lot closer to your target with a 28 than a 50 otherwise your pictures will look so disappointing you'll wonder why you bothered getting a 28. Like maybe half your usual distance or even less. You will, however, get good separation of foreground, middle ground, and background if you do this. Cheers.

[RayD28]

On 11/21/2023 at 11:14 AM, George Stoichev said:

Is there somebody else who started with 50mm lens and bought as second lens 28mm? I wrote here, because I’m interested mainly the feedback from analog users.

Sort of.  I bought a 35mm, then a 50mm, and then a 28mm.  The 50mm is used most, followed by the 28mm, and the 35mm mostly sits on the shelf.  For me there are large differences between each step but zooming in/out with your feet reduces the differences.  For most of my photographing life I've found not being able to zoom out/back up to be the biggest constraint.  Think interiors, narrow streets, etc.  

I suggest getting the 28mm now but start saving for the 35mm.  If you get a 35mm now, start saving for something wider.  

[IkarusJohn]

While shifting your feet may achieve the same framing, the image will not be the same. It’s not about distortion so much as the context around the subject.

50mm is, in my view, a sweet spot for the M system, but it’s also great for wides. Depending on what your style of photography may be, 35 mm can appear a bit flat.  I’m finding that I need to work harder to define the subject and get the composition I want with a 35, whereas if I move closer to the subject with a 28 or 21, I’m happier with the result.

Steve Walton ( @Ouroboros ) took a lot of his images in the Outer Hebrides with a 28 Summaron. They’re worth looking at - ask yourself if that is an effect you want, and if you would achieve the same result with a 35.  Conversely, there are some fine images in the 35mm and 35 Summilux pre-asph threads, but the composition is quite different.

[earleygallery]

35mm is a good all rounder for street photography but 28mm will offer more difference to your 50, however you may find that in practice it's too wide unless you get close enough. 28 is probably better if you want to get shots of buildings in cities/towns.

Take a walk and look at the types of subjects you think you want to shoot with a wider lens, then look through the viewfinder and play with the frame lines to see what you'd get with a 28 or 35.

[newtoleica]

A bit of an outlier here but I’d shoot mainly 35, followed by 24 and 50 ‘when needed’. 
24 is different enough from the 35 without being too distorted. 

[hansvons]

I worked in filmmaking for 30 years. Changing lenses from close-up (90mm) to long shots (28mm) is mainstream practice. But with stills photography this is different, as I don’t have time for that because I don’t stage my subjects (except portraits) and rely rather on my ability to move and frame quickly to not lose the shot. That means either a zoom or a prime that does it all.
50mm has an advance here as it has more reach and you’ll be quicker in reaching your desired framing. But you lose the human sight in terms of horizontal reach giving the images a feel of "crop", despite the fact that 50mm renders the objects distance like the human vision throughout the entire frame.

35mm on the other hand comes closer to the human vision in terms of overall impression and the centre of the images is still "right" in distances. Images shot with 35mm don’t have that expressive wide-angle of 28mm and not the crop appearance of 50mm but sits squarely between them with a neutral voice favoring nothing in the frame. You have to move yourself to draw attention to a subject and cannot rely on DOF separation as much as you can with 50mm. This extra effort gives my images my personal touch.

That's why I use 95% of the time a 35mm, don’t own a 28mm (too expressive, too self-directing) and have a 50mm for the occasional portraits.

In filmmaking, BTW, the 35mm is the most-used lens, as most storytelling happens in the medium close-up to medium long-shot range which covers the 35mm nicely.

 

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[edstock]

Like many I started with a 50. Later I graduated to a 35 plus my 50. There were too many times I wanted "more" than the 35 could provide. I added a 28 to my stable of lenses. I like to pair my 28 with my 75 f1.4. The 28 gets more on camera time than the 35.