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

eddym · Feb 24, 2008

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 · Feb 24, 2008

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 · Feb 24, 2008

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

Markok765 · Feb 24, 2008

So, how do you like the 50mm?

jgjbowen · Feb 24, 2008

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.

BobbyR · Feb 24, 2008

Markok765 said:
So, how do you like the 50mm?

It came with the cameras.

I bought other lenses to actually use, but may try the fifty just for the hell of it.
Bobby

jgjbowen · Feb 24, 2008

Markok765 said:
I almost always use a tripod.

If I'm gonna use a tripod, I might as well put a LF camera on it. 35mm is for hand held situations

Tom Hoskinson · Feb 24, 2008

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

Markok765 said:
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 · Feb 25, 2008

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!

jasonjoo · Feb 25, 2008

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

Snapshot · Feb 25, 2008

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.

Paul Howell · Feb 25, 2008

50mm 1.4 in 42mm, Sigma 28 to 105 APO for Sigma SA 9.

matti · Feb 25, 2008

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 · Feb 25, 2008

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.

Markok765 · Feb 25, 2008

It was open for a while.

film_guy · Feb 25, 2008

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 · Feb 26, 2008

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.

Thomas Bertilsson · Feb 26, 2008

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 · Feb 26, 2008

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

Doug Smith · Feb 29, 2008

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

wheelygirl · Mar 6, 2008

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 · Mar 12, 2008

"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 · Mar 13, 2008

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 · Mar 13, 2008

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 · Mar 13, 2008

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.

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

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