Kiwimac Posted July 22 Share #21 Posted July 22 Advertisement (gone after registration) On an M camera (full frame) I find 35 has the advantage of being more forgiving than 50 and 28. Especially where you wish to carry only a single lens. 40mm lenses aren’t common today and 35 allows you to crop, especially on an M11. I might say that it makes for lazy framing when you know you can crop but cameras and lenses are tools which enable us to record memories. So what if you crop? Most people don’t really want to carry half a dozen lenses and keep changing them all day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 22 Posted July 22 Hi Kiwimac, Take a look here 35mm ramblings. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lct Posted July 22 Share #22 Posted July 22 3 hours ago, Kiwimac said: So what if you crop? Thanks no thanks if it is a way of composing. Armchair composing so to speak. Not my cup of tea but YMMV. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwimac Posted July 23 Share #23 Posted July 23 14 hours ago, lct said: Thanks no thanks if it is a way of composing. Armchair composing so to speak. Not my cup of tea but YMMV. That’s like preferring a horse over a car as daily transport. Cropping is a perfectly acceptable practice used since the beginning of photography. Sometimes it’s a question of getting the shot as best you can in the circumstances - which may well prevent the best composition due to environmental factors, for example - and realising your creative vision in the darkroom or on the computer. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted July 23 Share #24 Posted July 23 Matter of tastes. Composition is what i prefer in photography and i prefer doing it with the camera than with the computer. Again YMMV 😎 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 23 Share #25 Posted July 23 There’s so much written about this elsewhere. The choice of lens affects way more than cropping. With your 35mm, are you framing to put the subject close to the camera, so that you introduce the surrounding environment in a way which results in drama? More so with a 28 or 21? Or are you using a telecentric lens to foreshorten the background and use the depth of field to isolate your subject? The lens selection influences so much more than just cropping. Somewhere back in the pages I think it was Paul (@LocalHero1953) took two images, framed exactly the same, but one taken with a 35mm and the other a 50mm; the difference betweent he images is exactly why I carry more than one lens if I can. Now, you could take either of those images with an M11 and 35mm and crop, but the effect would not be the same, simply because you’ve moved your feet and changed perspective. The point? I start with the lens, and frame accordingly. You’re not doing that cropping, or riding a horse … 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocalHero1953 Posted July 23 Share #26 Posted July 23 3 hours ago, IkarusJohn said: Somewhere back in the pages I think it was Paul (@LocalHero1953) took two images, framed exactly the same, but one taken with a 35mm and the other a 50mm; the difference betweent he images is exactly why I carry more than one lens if I can. I don't think that was me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 23 Share #27 Posted July 23 Advertisement (gone after registration) 44 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said: I don't think that was me. Hmm, my bad. Aging memory … Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocalHero1953 Posted July 23 Share #28 Posted July 23 7 minutes ago, IkarusJohn said: Hmm, my bad. Aging memory … Well, it could be my ageing memory...... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwimac Posted July 23 Share #29 Posted July 23 7 hours ago, IkarusJohn said: There’s so much written about this elsewhere. The choice of lens affects way more than cropping. With your 35mm, are you framing to put the subject close to the camera, so that you introduce the surrounding environment in a way which results in drama? More so with a 28 or 21? Or are you using a telecentric lens to foreshorten the background and use the depth of field to isolate your subject? The lens selection influences so much more than just cropping. Somewhere back in the pages I think it was Paul (@LocalHero1953) took two images, framed exactly the same, but one taken with a 35mm and the other a 50mm; the difference betweent he images is exactly why I carry more than one lens if I can. Now, you could take either of those images with an M11 and 35mm and crop, but the effect would not be the same, simply because you’ve moved your feet and changed perspective. The point? I start with the lens, and frame accordingly. You’re not doing that cropping, or riding a horse … That’s generally correct. However. We don’t live in a perfect world. There are all manner of restraints that affect the choices we make. Is a person willing - or indeed able - to carry numerous lenses around? Are they able to afford to buy numerous lenses? Are they shooting in an environment clean enough to make lens changes without getting dust and grit in the camera? It’s it an environment safe enough to change without increasing the risk of theft or assault? Is the environment secure in the physical sense - trying to change lenses in a zodiac might not be a good idea. And so on. Yes if it’s reasonable, you should consider each shot and each lens choice. But often it’s simply not. Then you get the shot and fettle it in the darkroom/computer. Or you miss it because you didn’t have the best focal length with you that day. There’s always a choice !🤣 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 23 Share #30 Posted July 23 All valid to varying degrees, but it’s not a zero sum issue. Just because there are situations where I don’t want to carry every lens I have or to change lenses in the most inconvenient situation doesn’t mean that the only one alternative is to use a 35mm lens and crop. To be honest, the latter isn’t my idea of photography. Buying an $18,000 camera and $10,000 lens to then just randomnly point the thing at a subject and crop. Might as well switch the thing to continuous exposure. If I go out with just my 35mm lens (not an uncommon occurrence), I don’t frame in the expectation of cropping. And before anyone raises the point, yes, I do crop; but only to correct framing (straighten horizons etc). Each to their own. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf_ZG Posted July 23 Author Share #31 Posted July 23 As I am the OP, let me put clear that cropping (except for straighten and minor corrections) won’t be done. My M is a 9(m), so 18mp which will not give too much room for cropping. So, the discussion of cropping (as well as perspective) we don’t have to do in this thread… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf_ZG Posted July 23 Author Share #32 Posted July 23 On 7/21/2025 at 7:59 AM, costa43 said: Save time and order that 35mm pronto!😁 And this will be a problem, cause if, and only if, I decide to buy a 35, the question would be which one? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
costa43 Posted July 23 Share #33 Posted July 23 36 minutes ago, Olaf_ZG said: And this will be a problem, cause if, and only if, I decide to buy a 35, the question would be which one? That’s easy, the soon to be released Noctilux of course. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted July 23 Share #34 Posted July 23 3 hours ago, Olaf_ZG said: So, the discussion of cropping (as well as perspective) we don’t have to do in this thread… Well, if you choose not to crop, and instead change where you stand to optimally frame and compose pics, that’s exactly when perspective does come into play. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 24 Share #35 Posted July 24 3 hours ago, Olaf_ZG said: And this will be a problem, cause if, and only if, I decide to buy a 35, the question would be which one? Easy - 35 APO Summicron-M 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSko Posted July 24 Share #36 Posted July 24 (edited) M9+35 Cron 8E with Goggles. Wide open. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited July 24 by JaSko 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/423180-35mm-ramblings/?do=findComment&comment=5838067'>More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted July 24 Share #37 Posted July 24 Elliott Erwit has a lot to answer for … 🙂 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgh Posted July 24 Share #38 Posted July 24 (edited) Just my opinion, but a 28mm is rarely well utilized and is ultimately a pretty dispensable focal length. It's not very common to see a 28mm photographer and feel like the framing is really an extension of them. Much more common is seeing composition after composition of needless distortion and some wasted space. A 35mm is much more versatile. But then, I've gone close to two decades of M use with pretty much only 35 and 50. Only time I owned a 28 was with the M8, and I sold them both as a lot. Not sure if I could pick between a 35 or a 50, but they're the two most crucial focal lengths to an M system - at least for me. If I had the skills of Lee Friedlander I may relax this take a bit, but I don't. Edited July 24 by pgh 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
J S H Posted July 25 Share #39 Posted July 25 On 7/23/2025 at 2:28 PM, Olaf_ZG said: And this will be a problem, cause if, and only if, I decide to buy a 35, the question would be which one? I'll play devil's advocate in contrast to the $9K+ lens recommendations. I have been very happy with the Voigtlander 35 1.5 Nokton on the M11. I don't miss my FLE and I love the noticeably smaller size of the Voigtlander. It should really sing on the M8. The lens is quite affordable, so you can only go so wrong. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf_ZG Posted July 25 Author Share #40 Posted July 25 1 hour ago, J S H said: I'll play devil's advocate in contrast to the $9K+ lens recommendations. I have been very happy with the Voigtlander 35 1.5 Nokton on the M11. I don't miss my FLE and I love the noticeably smaller size of the Voigtlander. It should really sing on the M8. The lens is quite affordable, so you can only go so wrong. Thanks for that one. This lens has indeed my interest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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