35mm or 50mm, which is your main lens?

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eddym

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For street shooting with Leicas: 35mm f2 Summicron
For shooting dance performances: 90mm f2 Summicron

For portraits with Nikons: 105mm f1.8 Nikkor
For walking around with Nikons: 28-105mm Nikkor zoom

I won't go into other formats...
 

snegron

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For people shots (quick on the go candid portraits) I use a 50mm. For all around shooting and multiple people shots I use a 35mm. I tend to stay away from using a 35mm when there is only one person in the frame mostly because the slight wide angle distortion is noticeable, especially in head shots.
 

BobbyR

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I have owned cameras for thirty eight years, and did not own a fifty milleter lens until a month or so ago.
Bobby
 

jgjbowen

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I have 4 Nikon bodies. One has a 85mm permanently mounted, another has a 35mm permanently mounted and the third & fourth bodies may have any of 7 other leneses mounted depending on the situation.
 

Tom Hoskinson

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Usual carry-around lenses for my SLR and RF 35mm

I was wondering what APUGers use as their carry around lens?

Also, I opened the back of my SLR accidentally :<

Terrible things seem to happen to my camera, first my lightmeter, now this!

It had a great shot on it too!

Also, I only have 1 roll of film left, and a few rolls of MF for the holga.

Would it be funny to use a $20 camera on a almost $500 tripod?

My usual carry around lens on a 35mm SLR camera is a 20mm.

My usual carry around lens on a 35mm RF camera is a 21mm.

With 35mm Cameras I usually use a tripod only when shooting with long focal length lenses.
 

Shawn Mielke

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I have never seriously used the 35mm focal length, first of all, but am quite intimate with the 50mm, my first love. It's my answer to the "only one lens: which?" question, because it's neither wide nor long (and therefore can be either to certain extents, with technique) and because I know it well. Someone on one of these websites once described it as "cinematic" and I have to agree with that, although I can't articulate why this is so. It's a good main focal length for me because, in addition to it's versatile perspective, it can be bought new cheaply which means I can have a couple of the same on a couple of bodies, plus a back up in the bag, all for the price of many other lenses, used or new. I like it because it's "boring". It doesn't reek of optical effect, which can be used mightily to the photographer's advangage, interestingly enough.

Right now, however, I am getting to know the 20mm, and it's freakin' me out!
 
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jasonjoo

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If I could choose a single lens for 35mm work, I would choose a 35mm lens (Canon 35L to be exact :smile: ).
 

Snapshot

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I love my 50mm lens. It's sharp (even when wide open) and fast. Although shooting with a 35mm lens has advantages, I always come back to the 50mm.
 

matti

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50mm Summicron on my Leica. I have a 35 mm summicron as well. But seldom put it on. The 50 can get closer to people without making them look ugly, for example.
/m
 

Lee Shively

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I didn't fully appreciate a 50mm until I bought a Leica and only had a 50mm Summicron to use on it for several months. My next lens was a 35mm. I now have two Leicas and I keep a 35mm on one and a 50mm on the other almost all the time. I've also added 50mm lenses to fit my other 35mm cameras. I guess I'm a slow learner--it took me nearly 30 years to discover how useful a 50mm lens can be.

As for the film in the camera when you opened it--as someone else said, develop it unless you've already tossed it out. I've done the same thing and was surprised to have only lost a couple of frames.
 

film_guy

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I normally keep my 50mm on my EOS 3 since I like to travel light. It's pretty versatile and fast enough to use indoors without flash. When I need wider and have a flash available, I'll go for my 24-70mm 2.8 lens.
 

benjiboy

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I have both the 50mm and 35mm Canon FD lenses and if I had to choose one for general outdoor shooting of people and places it would be the 50mm.
 
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I do the zoom thing with 35mm. I have a Vivitar Series I that stretches from 35-85mm focal length at f/2.8. It's a really nice lens that's incredibly sharp and handles contrast very well.
Then I get the odd bug and use an 18mm ultrawide for low-to-the-ground stuff; Sigma 2.8), or my Pentax prime lenses where I tend to like the normal to telephoto lenses, my favorites are the 55mm f/2 and the 135mm f/3.5.
It all seems to depend upon the mood and the subject matter, and it's hard to see a trend since I so seldomly use 35mm (but love it when I do).
- Thomas
 

ehparis

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I have both the 35mm f1.4 Nikkor and 50mm f1.4 Nikkor. Of the two I prefer the 85mm f1.4 Nikkor. :smile:
 

Doug Smith

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50mm CV Heliar on the Leica CL but oddly almost always use the 35mm F2 Nikkor on the F3. Go figure.
 

wheelygirl

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Hello, folks!
At this point in my photographic history, I'm using pretty much exclusively my 55mm lens--from what I've read, Minolta gave consumers, back in the 60's, a choice of either a 50 or the 55. I got the 55mm--I'm not the original owner of this Minolta 101.
I hope to "expand" my horizons, by using my new-to-me macro and my new-to-me 135mm, soon.
 

narsuitus

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"35mm or 50mm, which is your main lens?"

I have a 35mm f/1.4 and a 50mm f/1.4. The 35mm is my personal preferece as a main lens.
 

obiwonwd40

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Aug 18, 2007
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35mm
My 'Standard' lens is a 50mm 1.7 Minolta AF but I can use a 28mm as almost as frequently.

The only lens I have a 35mm are all zooms, which are mostly in the 35mm-70mm range.

Jim
 

okto

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Dec 5, 2007
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35mm
35mm is my favorite focal length on 35mm. I think it preserves some of the flat/'normal' look of a 50, but with a wider FoV that I feel better addresses the way we see the world: with two horizontally spaced lenses, not one.
 

jmcd

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Sep 10, 2002
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I have switched

For years I have used only a 50mm lens with 35mm camera system. Recently I have switched to a 35mm lens, and I love it. One big reason is the wider view, and another is increased depth of field.
 
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