The new default is 24mm

[setuporg]

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Almost to my embarrassment, by accident I pushed on the 1x on the iPhone camera where we have 0.5 1 2 5 (on the iPhone 15 Pro Max) and it revealed a focal distance toggle, 24/28/35mm.

The default is 24mm!  So the world is now mostly shot in 24mm.  Which makes the discontinued 24mm Lux even more poignant.  As the general culture gets used to the 24mm look, hold on to your Lux if you have it!

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[mike3996]

I've been an Android user for decades now. It was only lately that I received an iPhone 12 for work functions. Of course I tried the camera and it's obvious to a trained eye that it is noticeably wider than what I've had on my Android phones (close to 28mmeqv I'm sure.)

[250swb]

Finally the main problem with photography has been addressed, accidentally cutting Grandma off the end of the family photo.

[jaeger]

24mm is the widest wide angle without much distortions.

I can confirm that because I also have Nikon z 14-24 f2.8s. 

The 24mm on iPhone is actually 6.86mm x whatever crop factor.  Even you shoot raw, it's not sharp when you zoom in.

Edited August 14, 2024 by jaeger

[odoomi]

... my default is set to 1.2x - don't know what you are talking about 🙂 🙂 🙂 

[Ecar]

9 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

It is very hard to generalize about certain focal length distortion based on one lens you own. And we have to agree what your definition of distortion is in the first place. Because there are several distortions.

Not to mention in-camera (or in-phone) corrections that happen under the hood, unbeknownst to the user...

[mdarnton]

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I never even thought about my phone camera, just used it, until a few years ago. My favorite lens for quite a while has been 24mm, and 15mm for a wide. One day I checked my second team Samsung A52 and whadayaknow, the 1x camera is 24 mm, the .5X is 13mm, and the 2X , which works quite well, is thus effectively 48mm, my normal normal lens beyond which I rarely go. No wonder I was so comfortable. Then I started directly comparing the results from my real cameras. and the comparison was. . . uncomfortable. The phone camera is pretty darned good, especially compared with 35mm Tri-X.

I am waiting, however, for the phone camera that works synchs with my studio strobes. Then I will have some hard decisions to make.

Don't know what you're talking about, Al--virtually all photography is a distortion from what we see through our eyes, except for maybe some specialized fisheye lenses.

Edited August 14, 2024 by mdarnton

[lct]

I have no clue about smartphones but i seem to recall some people considering 24mm the new default at the time of APS digital cameras as it equates more or less to 35mm on them. But since then 24mm is of less justification between 21 and 28, which could explain the discontinuation of the otherwise excellent Leica 24/1.4 and 24/3.8 M lenses. Also the fact that 24mm framelines have not been continued since the M8 & M8.2 (pic).

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Edited August 15, 2024 by lct

[Viv]

I don't use a phone to make pictures, nor a camera to make calls.

I have several cameras.

[costa43]

I use 24mm. I think it pairs nicely with a 35mm for a walkaround option when you want to go wider but not ultra wide. If you set it to f11 and infinity or just before then it is literally a point and shoot. If Leica can implement selectable framelines in the future and/or bigger evf, lower magnification viewfinder, we may see a renaissance. 

[Viv]

30 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

I would TOTALLY use my Leicas to make calls.
So Leica made a "best of both worlds" solution and it is - according to them - supposed to click all the boxes. The main camera is not 24mm equivalent, Leica does not even want their smartphones to have this focal length, it is rather 19mm... Leica offers users compensation using a specially developed software engine to simulate the look of Noctilux-M 50/1.2, Summilux-M 28/1.4 and Summilux-M 35/1.4.

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I did not say I would not use my Leica to make calls.

Read my post again.

[swatch]

1 hour ago, lct said:

I have no clue about smartphones but i seem to recall some people considering 24mm the new default at the time of APS digital cameras as it equates more or less to 35mm on them. But since then 24mm is of less justification between 21 and 28, which could explain the discontinuation of the otherwise excellent Leica 24/1.4 and 24/3.8 M lenses. Also the fact that 24mm framelines have not been continued since the M8 & M8.2 (pic).

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refer to different frame lines in the photo, I see quite a difference between 50mm and 35mm … in terms of “ coverage “ 

[RexGig0]

I do not have a Summilux-M 24, but, will be holding onto both of my Elmar-M 24 ASPH. Yes, I liked the first one so much, I quickly bought a spare, as a hedge against loss or damage. I had not really liked shooting at 24mm with SLRs/DSLRs, but, had seen some compelling 24mm images, posted on-line, shot with the Elmar-M ASPH, and decided that an Elmar might well be a good “modern” companion/complement for my Mandler-era Elmarit-M 28mm Version III.

As for mobile phones, I will use a phone for non-creative still images, much of which is glorified note-taking, to snap the occasional sunrise or sunset, and for short video clips. When I am shooting with intention, however, whether in the “citizen scientist” role, or in my ongoing feeble attempts to be creative, I prefer using dedicated cameras.

[lct]

11 minutes ago, swatch said:

refer to different frame lines in the photo, I see quite a difference between 50mm and 35mm … in terms of “ coverage “ 

Same on the mask here:

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[patrickcolpron]

On 8/14/2024 at 4:47 PM, setuporg said:

 

One could think that without a reality check.  But it can't be, for two reasons, one people who use cameras tend to use a variety of focal length because they use cameras in both landscape and portrait orientation and two, people who use smartphone mainly and almost exclusively use they smartphone cameras in portrait orientation. 

Shooting in this manner a 24mm focal length seems closer to a 50 mil lens to me than a 24mm lens. 
 

This said, I left for a two month vacation with four M cameras and didn't bring my 24 Lux and ... I'll never make that mistake again, I find the 24 mil focal length to be perfect for family photos and everyday use.

I decided to bring two lenses I seldom use instead,  a 21 and 28 Lux and they just aren't the same. I just don't make as many photos with them as I would with a 24, so maybe 24 is one of my "standard" when it comes to photography but I also use a 35 and a 50 more than the 21 or 28, I use the 50 mostly to photograph my wife and kids.

Strangely the 50 is closer in landscape mode to what my iPhone is in portrait mode in how these devices capture the world. Again, 24 can't be the new standard, it never was.

50 has always been the "golden standard" and a smartphone was meant to be used in portrait mode when making photos, not in landscape orientation. That 26 and now 24 mil smartphone focal length was never meant to be user on the wide side, more in portrait orientation, more like a 50 than a 24.

Anywho, rambling of an old man, while drinking his coffee in the south the France. Hope this makes some sort of sense.

P.S.: This said, had I brought my 24 Lux on this trip, my 50s would have been left unused. 

Edited August 16, 2024 by patrickcolpron

[Viv]

9 minutes ago, patrickcolpron said:

One could think that without a reality check.  But it can't be, for two reasons, one people who use cameras tend to use a variety of focal length because they use cameras in both landscape and portrait orientation and two, people who use smartphone mainly and almost exclusively use they smartphone cameras in portrait orientation. 

Shooting in this manner a 24mm focal length seems closer to a 50 mil lens to me than a 24mm lens. 
 

This said, I left for a two month vacation with four M cameras and didn't bring my 24 Lux and ... I'll never make that mistake again, I find the 24 mil focal length to be perfect for family photos and everyday use.

I decided to bring two lenses I seldom use instead,  a 21 and 28 Lux and they just aren't the same. I just don't make as many photos with them as I would with a 24, so maybe 24 is one of my "standard" when it comes to photography but I also use a 35 and a 50 more than the 21 or 28, I use the 50 mostly to photograph my wife and kids.

Strangely the 50 is closer in landscape mode to what my iPhone is in portrait mode in how these devices capture the world. Again, 24 can't be the new standard, it never was.

50 has always been the "golden standard" and a smartphone was meant to be used in portrait mode when making photos, not in landscape orientation. That 26 and now 24 mil smartphone focal length was never meant to be user on the wide side, more in portrait orientation, more like a 50 than a 24.

Anywho, rambling of an old man, while drinking his coffee in the south the France. Hope this makes some sort of sense.

Rambling to a coffee place in the South of France seems like a perfect activity to me ... especially if a camera is brung along.

[pippy]

It took me 35 years to realise that 35mm was "the new default". That was, perhaps, five years ago? At this rate of knots it will take me 30 years to realise that 28mm is "the new default" and then a further 35 years to realise that 24mm is "the new default". So; only 65 years to go before I get there.

Here's hoping 24mm will still be "the new default" in 2089!

😸

Philip.

Edited August 16, 2024 by pippy

[lct]

Looks like a default for 007 at least.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[patrickcolpron]

38 minutes ago, pippy said:

It took me 35 years to realise that 35mm was "the new default". That was, perhaps, five years ago?

I only realized how perfect for everything a 35mm truly was, just a couple of years ago. I am late to that party.

For street it is perfect, as a one camera one lens solution, a 35 is perfect for the M specially when using older pre-ASPH or Steel Rim lenses (Reissue or preferably original) 

The 28 doesn't gel with me, as much as the rendering of the 28 Lux is great, it just doesn't stick with me as a focal lenght.

The 24 Lux is to me the most versatile of all M lenses yet looks too big and handles awkwardly on an M body, but it is so versatile I do accept live with its larger size.

I used a 50 mil lens exclusively for over 20 years and could never live with only a 50 mil lens ever again, but I could live with either just a 35 mil lens or just a 24 mil lens without any issue.

What I love about photography is there is more than one way to see the world - and always something new to learn. 
 

The vastness of my ignorance is everything about photography is infinite. 

Edited August 16, 2024 by patrickcolpron
Pressed submit by accident before finishing my runaway train of thoughts ...

[jaeger]

On 8/14/2024 at 11:34 AM, Al Brown said:

It is very hard to generalize about certain focal length distortion based on one lens you own. And we have to agree what your definition of distortion is in the first place. Because there are several distortions.

Right I don't have 1 but I have 3 lenses that are 24mm in either prime or zoom.