35mm or 50mm?

[fuwen]

Am thinking of getting one of these, but not both. So would like to know which lens is being used more for range finder photography.

The good thing about 50mm is can get close, but there is a limit for range finder and I still feel that a SLR 50mm at f1.4 has greater advantages in terms of off centre close focusing speed and accuracy and also better judgement of bokeh.

As for 35 at f2 I feel that the depth of field should be good enough for range finder to produce sharp picture at close distance even for shift focusing.

Just like to know the range finder experts out there which focal lenth do you use most often, 35 or 50.

Thanks in advance.

 

[fuwen]

Hi! No response? Just let me know 35/50 which do you use most often and if possible reasons.

 

[glchua]

Hi! No response? Just let me know 35/50 which do you use most often and if possible reasons.

Very tough question, everyone has their preference. Between 35 and 50, I will choose 35 if I know I'll be taking a lot of shots indoor, 50 when I'm not in confined space.

 

[shutterspeed]

I'm not a landscape or building person. I concentrate more on a subject, people, a situation, a moment .....

The 50mm helps me isolate a subject better compared to the 35mm. I have tried both. A good compromise would be a 40mm. Understand the choice is rather limited for that frameline.

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

this type of question is very personal one. I always advocate only the user knows best. Its akin to where to stand to take photographs?

 

[Red Dawn]

Am thinking of getting one of these, but not both. So would like to know which lens is being used more for range finder photography.

The good thing about 50mm is can get close, but there is a limit for range finder and I still feel that a SLR 50mm at f1.4 has greater advantages in terms of off centre close focusing speed and accuracy and also better judgement of bokeh.

As for 35 at f2 I feel that the depth of field should be good enough for range finder to produce sharp picture at close distance even for shift focusing.

Just like to know the range finder experts out there which focal lenth do you use most often, 35 or 50.

Thanks in advance.

I think the 35mm is more versatile and easier to use, and is my most used focal length.
The 50 is to me like a short tele ;p , is more difficult to use and hard to master. (I know of pple who shoot only 50s though...). I'm much more comfortable with a 35 anytime than a 50.

Having said that, when i look through my pics, a surprising number of my favourite pictures are from the 50mm focal length - those shots that somehow work. So I would say the 50 is harder to "see", but the results are better, because the 50 can look "wide" and "tele" depending on how u use it.

 

[fuwen]

Thanks for sharing guys. I posted the same question in HK Contax forum forum.contax-club.org and get quite a number of feedbacks. Apparently they favour 35mm more.

 

[student]

Remember "they" favor 35 mm.

What about you?

At the end, you alone will have to decide for yourself how you see. Cartier-Bresson and Ralph Ribson, just to name two rangefinder experts, favor a 50 mm lens, because the 50 mm lens gives less distortion.

For me, if I have to chose, it is 50 mm. To me, more versatile.

 

[fuwen]

Remember "they" favor 35 mm.

What about you?

At the end, you alone will have to decide for yourself how you see. Cartier-Bresson and Ralph Ribson, just to name two rangefinder experts, favor a 50 mm lens, because the 50 mm lens gives less distortion.

For me, if I have to chose, it is 50 mm. To me, more versatile.

I am new to range finders so just would like to hear from people who like them how they best use them for reference. I am actually looking at ZM 35/2 and 50/2 and for that matter ZM35/2 has almost zero distortion which is very tempting.

Student, would u care to elaborate more on 50mm on your type of photography? Thanks in advance.

 

[stougard]

Thanks for sharing guys. I posted the same question in HK Contax forum forum.contax-club.org and get quite a number of feedbacks. Apparently they favour 35mm more.

I'll prefere as well the 35mm on my Bessa as well, don't know why. However, I've no 50mm on any of my range finder.

 

[mportrait]

Depending on application, but 50mm is more of a standard lens. 35mm is more for photojournalism.

 

[Terence]

My personal preference is for a 35mm. Why don't you loan one of each and try out for yourself? Nothing like hands on experience to help you make that decision.

 

[forcefilm]

Bear with me if you think this is a silly question.

Does a fixed lens perform better than a zoom lens? Are they faster and so perform better in low light conditions?

 

[Terence]

Bear with me if you think this is a silly question.

Does a fixed lens perform better than a zoom lens? Are they faster and so perform better in low light conditions?

I'm not sure if there are zoom lenses available for use on a rangefinder unfortunately. Leica and Konica lenses with adjustable focal lengths but they step from length to length. Somehow using a zoom on a RF just doesn't seem right. Your question is rather broad as the quality and range of prime lenses vary a great deal.

 

[trixd7604]

Hi

Uses 50mm more for the wider f number. Like to isolate.
Maybe if i can afford a 35mm f1.4 or f1.2, then i will switch.

 

[student]

I am new to range finders so just would like to hear from people who like them how they best use them for reference. I am actually looking at ZM 35/2 and 50/2 and for that matter ZM35/2 has almost zero distortion which is very tempting.

Student, would u care to elaborate more on 50mm on your type of photography? Thanks in advance.

Sorry I missed this one.

Basically I seem to "see" better with a normal or short tele lens. So my preferred lens on my rangefinder is 75 mm. But this is a rather heavy lens, and in travelling, I use a 50 mm because I tend to take fairly closed images of people. And 50 mm has less perspective distortion than 35 mm for this purpose. However if one takes images of people with a lot of "environment" , then 35 mm is fine. I am not much into putting a person into a small space in the image, although I am now beginning to try to do more of these types of images. So my 35 mm may come out of its closet soon!

 

[student]

Bear with me if you think this is a silly question.

Does a fixed lens perform better than a zoom lens? Are they faster and so perform better in low light conditions?

As what Terence said.

But just talking about fixed lens and zooms.

1 I think for most of us, the quality of zooms is quite acceptable. There will always be differences such as color rendition, contrast etc. But personal esthetics may actually makes one to preer the "inferior" lens! I personally prefer cheaper wines than expensive ones!

2 The best zooms (to my knowledge anyway!) have a widest aperture of 2.8. (But I think a few rare ones have aperture of 2.3).

The widest aperture in fixed lenses for the 35 mm and 50 mm goes to f1,(for 50 mm -currently availaable) f1.2 and f1.4. This advantage is significant, and can mean that they may allow hand-holdability thich might otherwise be not possible, unless you want to experiment with a lot of motion bk=lur!

 

[trixd7604]

Miss that point,

Yep, i do not use flash with my rangefinders, so f1.8 and below is necessary for me.

 

[Onigiri]

35mm should be enough for everything.

50mm for its wide opening and good portrait.

 

[haagen_dazs]

my personal favourite is the 35mm lens.
i just like the perspective.
i can go close, shoot wide .covers all grounds for me