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28mm & 35mm: Is owning both redundant?


Guest darkstar2004

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Guest darkstar2004

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I own the 28/2 ASPH lens for my MP and am wondering if many folks here own both it and either a 35/2 'cron or a 35/1.4 Summilux.

 

My question is - are the 28mm & 35mm focal lengths so close that owning both (for general use as well as documentary imagemaking) is redundant?

 

What do you folks think?

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Guest darkstar2004
If you want both, get both.

 

LOL, good advice! I want the 75/2 ASPH 'cron too. So many lenses, so little time & money *sigh*.

 

And some day, a nice, clean "original recipe" Noctilux.

 

Oh, lordy is my wife gonna be pissed! ;)

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I use both but I don't use the 28 that much since I got the 24. My 3 lens kit is 24/35/75 and that seems to cover everything for me at the moment. I'm not getting rid of my 28 though, it's a Hexanon and makes beautiful pix.

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I just dont understand this fascination with numbers and the numbers game. Lenses are different with different applications, if the lens fits your bill then you will use it. The number printed on the barrel is only an identifier. 24 is nothing like 28 is nothing like 35.

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I didn't understand what Rob meant? Of course all lenses are different & everyone has his or her own style. But I think we all generalize about which lenses for which courses.

 

I find that 35mm is my best walk-around companion lens, & I wouldn't often switch back & forth between 28 & 35 in an active situation. I'd generally move my big feet rather than change lenses.

 

But if I'm specifically out to shoot pictures, IMO a 28 & a 50 are an ideal pair to carry (ideally on 2 bodies).

 

In this sense, 28 & 35 are pretty close, though not 'redundant'; & 28 & 50 are to me a better working combination.

 

YMMV.

 

Kirk

 

(PS, for M8 I'd substitute 24 or 28 for walk-around & 21 & 35 for a complementary pair.)

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Guest darkstar2004
Yes.

 

And the 24 is too close to the 28, the 35 is too close to the 50, which is too close to the 75, and that's way too close to the 90............the 135 though is perfect.

 

LOL!

 

I think I'll get rid of my current lens set (28, 50 & 90) and go with a 21 and 135.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JK... :)

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Yes.

 

And the 24 is too close to the 28, the 35 is too close to the 50, which is too close to the 75, and that's way too close to the 90............the 135 though is perfect.

 

I wish you'd told me this before I put together my 35, 50, 90 kit. :rolleyes:

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Darkstar: Keep the 28, the 50 and the 90 - Leica lenses are only getting more expensive and after you have sold them, you will only want them back, and to do that you will pay more for the replacement lenses that you originally paid.

 

JBA: there is nothing wrong with the 35, 50, 90 kit you have. That is all I had for years and it served me well.

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I own the 28/2 ASPH lens for my MP and am wondering if many folks here own both it and either a 35/2 'cron or a 35/1.4 Summilux.

 

My question is - are the 28mm & 35mm focal lengths so close that owning both (for general use as well as documentary imagemaking) is redundant?

 

What do you folks think?

 

If you cannot answer this question yourself then, yes you probably don't need both. I personally favour the 35mm as it virtually does the job of the 28mm and with a few steps forward it suffices well as a 50mm

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LOL!

 

I think I'll get rid of my current lens set (28, 50 & 90) and go with a 21 and 135.

 

JK... :)

 

If THIS is your current lens set (from your first post I supposed you already had a 35...;) ) I'd say that a Leica 35 is just a luxury add-on... but given that you also dream of a Noctilux ... think a little to the CV 35 1,2: Noctilux is better to remain a dream, and the CV 35 1,2 is a lens absolutely not to be regarded as a "poor man's Noctilux".

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If I may add to my earlier comment. I think everyone should own a 50mm, hence it is commonly refereed to as the standard lens, however, with the quality of Leica optics and the ability to use them wide open if needed I cannot see any justification for anything wider than a Summicron. My combination is a 35/50/75 those three lenses do all I need to do, the 75mm being the most infrequently used and rarely carried given the weight of Leica optics

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Re focal lengths being close to each other - it's not quite that simple! At the tele end, a few millimeters makes only a slight difference, but the wider you get the more marked the difference becomes.

 

Thus, a 21mm lens has a field of view of 92 deg; 24 = 84 deg; 28 = 76 deg; 35 = 64 deg; 50 = 45 deg; 75 = 31 deg; 90 = 27 deg; and 135 = 18 deg.

 

There's an interesting mathematical relationship between those field of view numbers: there's an 8 deg difference between the 21, 24, and 35. There's a bigger difference between 35 and 50 (19 deg), between 50 and 75 = 14 deg, 75 and 90 = 4 deg, 90 and 135 = 9 deg.

 

Get a protractor and observe the difference between 76 and 64 deg for the 28mm and 35mm lenses. Does it make a difference in practical terms? yes, I think it does. I have a 35 'cron and 24 ASPH. Previously, I had the 28 - yes, the 24 is usefully wider, but it's also a superb performer.

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Re focal lengths being close to each other - it's not quite that simple! At the tele end, a few millimeters makes only a slight difference, but the wider you get the more marked the difference becomes.

 

Thus, a 21mm lens has a field of view of 92 deg; 24 = 84 deg; 28 = 76 deg; 35 = 64 deg; 50 = 45 deg; 75 = 31 deg; 90 = 27 deg; and 135 = 18 deg.

 

There's an interesting mathematical relationship between those field of view numbers: there's an 8 deg difference between the 21, 24, and 35. There's a bigger difference between 35 and 50 (19 deg), between 50 and 75 = 14 deg, 75 and 90 = 4 deg, 90 and 135 = 9 deg.

 

Get a protractor and observe the difference between 76 and 64 deg for the 28mm and 35mm lenses. Does it make a difference in practical terms? yes, I think it does. I have a 35 'cron and 24 ASPH. Previously, I had the 28 - yes, the 24 is usefully wider, but it's also a superb performer.

 

David Thank you for the above it is really very interesting- Re 24mm lenses, I agree 24mm is a terrific focal length and I used one virtually all the time for mountain photography. However I also very much subscribe to-

 

Xanax comment " However, I preach for a single lens and getting used to it".

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Guest noah_addis

For documentary work I find them a bit redundant. I have a 28 'cron, 35 'cron and 35 'lux asph.

 

I know they're different and can offer a different look, but I tend to only carry one at a time. If I'm doing street work, I'll often carry just the 35. If I want to carry more gear on a particular day, I may opt for a 28/50 combo. So I find having both lenses to be very valuable, though I use them interchangeably to some extent.

 

I find redundancy comforting. I would never travel without backups, but Instead of traveling with duplicate lenses, I'll often bring a setup with tight spacing, like 28/35/50/75. That way, I can modify my kit depending on what I'm shooting on a particular day, and if any one or even two lenses gets lost or damaged, I can still do my work in a professional manner. I never carry all of my lenses with me at once, I like to leave some extra gear somewhere safe as backup.

 

I plan to add a 24 or 21 soon now that I'm working mostly with the M8.

 

If I had to pick one lens to use forever, it would be the 35 'lux for film or the 28 'cron for M8, and I could probably do all of my work that way without too much sacrifice.

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