What is a 28mm lens good for?

[Markok765]

I'm longing for a 50mm for my nikon, and until then I'll have to use the 28mm full time. I'm wondering what subjects/situations you think this lens is good for?
The main bad subject for this lens is a head and shoulders portrait, I think.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Sightseeing in Europe. You can get a photograph of a building without the tram lines.

Steve

 

[loman]

Everything

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

It depends. Only your imagination is the limit.
- Thomas

 

[bdial]

Architecture, situations where you want to emphasize the distorted perspective, interiors where you want to show as much as the space as you can, psuedo panaramics, though a 28 might be a little long for that.
Try working with near-far relationships, exploit the long depth of field.

But yes, do avoid portraits, there are enough of the huge nose, tiny body shots to last for a few lifetimes.

 

[Markok765]

Are waist and above ok for a 28mm lens?

When I borrowed a friends EOS 1v HS with the 17-40, I shot portraits at 17mm!

 

[Sirius Glass]

But yes, do avoid portraits, there are enough of the huge nose, tiny body shots to last for a few lifetimes.

Probably a good lens to use to talk a portrait of Barbara Streisand! [I am so bad!]

Steve

 

[Markok765]

Probably a good lens to use to talk a portrait of Barbara Streisand! [I am so bad!]

Steve

 

[Sirius Glass]

Thanks Marko I needed that.

Sometimes I think my humor is not understood here.

Steve

 

[JBrunner]

http://www.jasonbrunner.com/gpan.html

Canon AE-1 28mm XP2

 

[Markok765]

Thanks Marko I needed that.

Sometimes I think my humor is not understood here.

Steve

Well, some people here are kind of old and wouldn't understand that type of humor.

 

[gerryyaum]

use it in places that are tight and where you want to get more of the portrait subjects surrounding in a shot. I made this enviromental portrait with a Contax G2 28mm lens and near total darkness.

http://gerryyaum.com/BG8.html

 

[MattKing]

Here is a shot taken using a 45mm lens on a Mamiya 645, which is close to equivalent to a 28mm on 35mm:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/3027112764_f1bc1b4dae_o.jpg

The trick is to choose the perspective that works for the subject, and then choose the lens that works for that subject to camera distance.

A 28mm works when you either:

1) want to accentuate the depth of the subject, or
2) you are far enough away from the subject that it is just the field of view that matters.

Jason's example portrait works because the subject is placed in interesting surroundings, so it doesn't matter so much that the person is relatively small in the frame.

If my photo of the bridge (which, by the way, was actually just taken to test a lens) works, it is because the lens permits a subject to camera distance and resulting perspective that conveys the layers of detail and the depth.

Hope this helps.

Matt

 

[ozphoto]

I love the 28mm lens. If I'm in a bit of a rut, creativity wise, I pop this lens on my camera and shoot just about anything that takes my fancy. (Excluding those people with big noses and tiny bodies! )
I find it forces me to look at the subject a little more abstractly and the results are often much more dramatic than if taken with a 50mm.
In fact I'm kicking myself for selling off my prime Tamron 28mm f2.5 - it was soooo much lighter than the 28-70 I'm currently using and I'm cringing at the prices they are still attracting on E***.

 

[2F/2F]

They're pretty good for takin' pix.

 

[Perry Way]

In my opinion, the 28mm lens on a 35mm film camera is the single most versatile lens there is. Any wider and it would be used only sparingly for two reasons, the distant objects become minimized and the foreground objects become skewed to the point of being rather obvious. Any narrower and it would be used sparingly as well. But then, I'm really mostly interested in landscape photography. True, you wouldn't do portraits with this lens, but if you're in a confined space and you want to do some candid shots showing the full body, it is also very versatile. Try taking a photograph where the camera is close to the ground and there's something in the foreground you want to emphasize, and compose the shot in such a way that you leave plenty of room for the background to be seen as well. Stop the lens down all the way so you can get everything in focus and see how that works. Those kind of shots, when done right, are breathtaking, IMO.

 

[Claire Senft]

A 28mm lens is fine for portraiture or people photos if used with care. It is not a lens for tight head and shoulders as an ordinary matter but for profiles use with care and the right situation might work extraordinarily well. The distortion caused by angle of view depends on the location in the field. The center of the field will be quite good and the corners the worst. The wider the angle of view that a lens has the more severe is this type of distortion. So, outside with nothing near the corners that is sensitive to the elongation that happens towards the corners is not a problem one can use a lens that is quite a bit wider than a 28mm for people photos if the face(s) are very close to the center of the field and the rest of the photos was ,for instance, grass and clouds...particularly if the camera is plumb. If used for group shots keep people heads away from the corners if you do not wish them to appear wierd.

Actually with care one can use a 28mm very effectively and pleasingly in a large number of cases and certainly it is capable of being used so that you will hate the photos. It can be used so that someone no familar with the scene photographed may not even be aware that a wide angle was used in looking at the photos.

 

[darinwc]

whats a gpan?

 

[Poohblah]

Like a G-string or G-spot, except... well, it's a pan.

 

[bob100684]

your 28mm lens should be used for........ready?......WHATEVER YOU THINK LOOKS GOOD WITH IT! Photography isn't about a set of rules like 105mm lenses for head and shoulders, it's about creating something.

 

[Chaplain Jeff]

Hello,

What CAN'T you do with the 28mm???

You can shoot the same scenes with your 28mm that you can with your 50mm - and it allows you to get up close and personal if you want to. No close ups of people's noses to get an intimate picture of their facial expressions.

I used to never take the 50mm (or one of its 55mm / 58mm cousins) off my SLR. I found, but only after switching to RF, that 28mm is the perfect format for 35mm shooting. The same scenes look so much more personal and intimate with this lens. It can add an element of the surrounding you don't get with a normal "portrait length" lens.

It's also a good almost-wide lens. It captures a vehicle, building or group without all the clutter around them you would get in a wider lens.
ALSO - with the 28mm you don't have to worry about the distortion you can get with a 24mm and wider. When my Nikkor 24mm was new I shot lots of images of churches on hills with their steeples bent backwards.
That was a painful and expensive lesson, learned while shooting slides on vacation.

I recently acquired the 28mm I've always wanted - the Rokkor 28mm, f/2.0. It's supposed to be great - as I hear the Kiron version is also.

I won't get to use mine until May, but I'm looking forward to permantly locking it onto one of my Minolta bodies - and to reviews from a buddy of mine who is borrowing it until then.

Let us know what happens.

Jeff M

 

[pgomena]

I used a 28mm all the time when I was working as a newspaper photographer. Sometimes you just can't back up in tight spaces, so you need a wider lens. It also helps create more interesting visuals in mundane places or just adds impact to an image. Many times I wished I had a 24mm, which is another great focal length.

Peter Gomena

 

[k_jupiter]

your 28mm lens should be used for........ready?......WHATEVER YOU THINK LOOKS GOOD WITH IT! Photography isn't about a set of rules like 105mm lenses for head and shoulders, it's about creating something.

I agree... except the 105 is stunning for head and shoulders shots.

Go make a new set of images el-marko-rino. Don't give a damn what others have done, you ain't the new HCB, you are the new Marko. Stop asking questions and go shoot.

Wait, wait,.... Shoot or get off the pot!

tim in san jose

 

[fmajor]

OK Chaplain Jeff - you're causing a brother to stumble as i am coveting your Rokkor 28mm f2.0!!!

If i wasn't so thoroughly pleased and temporarily infatuated with my MD W.Rokkor f2.8 35mm focal length, i'd be shooting my MD W.Rokkor-X f2.8 28mm a whole lot more. I really think it is a great balance between 24mm and 50mm, though for now i'm really focused on gaining a greater mastery with the 35mm focal length.

frank

 

[eddym]

Well, you know what they say about opinions, but I'll offer mine anyway...
A 28mm lens has never pleased me. It's too wide for a normal and too long for a wide angle. I like a 35mm for a short normal, and a 24mm for a wide angle. For environmental portraits, I like the 35.
But we each have our own perspective, so shoot what pleases you.