50mm Only

[F.O.V.75 75]

Now and again I get fed up deciding what lens to use for whatever project is upcoming. So it’s a 50mm LUMIX S on the S5. On the CL (APS-C) I’m going with the 35mm Summaron, it’s as near to 50mm as makes no difference. The 50mm discipline is fun…

 

[Dale H. Cook108 2]

My walking-around lens is an smc Pentax-FA 35mm f/2 AL. Because my K-70 is an APSC body, the 35mm lens gives me the same field of view that I got with a 50mm lens on my film SLRs.

 

[RScottie111 25]

I like to keep all my options available but have found that carrying and swapping lenses, especially when with my family on vacations, can be stressful.

Recently in a major animal park near Orlando Florida, I only carried my Pentax K-3 with a Sigma 70-300mm lens. I wanted to be able to get those long shots of the animals that were on the other side of their enclosures.

What I found was that while this lens worked very well for those shots, walking through the closer exhibits made framing shots very difficult.

And, considering I am not made of money, I have decided to use my Canon Rebel T7 with it's 50mm F/1.8 lens as a backup. Using that setup will keep me from having to switch lenses.

I have not had the opportunity to try out this "theory" of mine and whether or not it too is a pain in the rear, but I intend to on a future photo walk.

Here is a shot of our "granddog" taken with the Canon T7 and the infamous "nifty fifty".

His name is Jolteon.

 

[Dale H. Cook108 2]

The nice thing about the smc Pentax-DA 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 ED SDM is that it provides a useful range from wide angle to telephoto. The manager of my local camera shop (where I bought it) has photos taken by a professional photographer who carries a Pentax body with that lens as a backup.

 

[webestang6410 2]

80-90% of my photos are taken with a 50mm (Pentax film cameras). I also like using a 55mm.

 

[cgw114 139]

80-90% of my photos are taken with a 50mm (Pentax film cameras). I also like using a 55mm.

Sentimental favorite is an old Minolta 58/1.4 that caught my kid's early years. Recently, I spend tons of time with a Fuji X-100T and its 35mm equivalent lens. Feet are meant for zooming

 

[petrochemist114 139]

. Feet are meant for zooming

Feet can't zoom. Changing your position changes the perspective, while changing focal length alone doesn't.

Even ignoring perspective I've been in thousands of places where it's impossible (or lethally dangerous) to get near to the right distance for a normal lens to capture the shot.
Cars/bike that are racing, birds/aircraft in flight, or buildings on narrow streets are probably the mot common for me.

 

[cgw114 139]

Feet can't zoom. Changing your position changes the perspective, while changing focal length alone doesn't.

Even ignoring perspective I've been in thousands of places where it's impossible (or lethally dangerous) to get near to the right distance for a normal lens to capture the shot.
Cars/bike that are racing, birds/aircraft in flight, or buildings on narrow streets are probably the mot common for me.

Nothing like a firm grasp of the obvious.

 

[MartinCrabtree105 3]

Nothing like a firm grasp of the obvious.

Sarcasm...the hallmark of a man with nothing to say.

 

[Dale H. Cook108 2]

Even ignoring perspective I've been in thousands of places where it's impossible (or lethally dangerous) to get near to the right distance for a normal lens to capture the shot.

I will strongly second that. It is why I own six lenses, which between them cover 12mm to 1300mm. I have whatever I need for photographing the exteriors and interiors of old, water-powered, mills (my favorite subject). There are places where a very cramped mill interior puts me too close to the subject, and I have to use my 12-24mm wide angle. In other places I have trouble getting the best exterior view of a building, and I have to back off a lot, and sometimes gain elevation as well. That sometimes calls for my 650-1300mm.

 

[cgw114 139]

Yet somehow Cartier-Bresson got by with those piddly 35mm and 50mm Summicrons...
Think most of you missed my point, or rather chose to.

 

[F.O.V.75 75]

Yet somehow Cartier-Bresson got by with those piddly 35mm and 50mm Summicrons...
Think most of you missed my point, or rather chose to.

I don’t think CB visited many national parks or did safaris as many members do, he was a ‘street’ photographer, exemplary at what he did in his specific field. Many here are general, vacation and parade photographers, therefore needing a range of lenses..

 

[cgw114 139]

I don’t think CB visited many national parks or did safaris as many members do, he was a ‘street’ photographer, exemplary at what he did in his specific field. Many here are general, vacation and parade photographers, therefore needing a range of lenses..

Horses for courses, m'dear. YMMV, as always.

 

[Dale H. Cook108 2]

... CB ... was a ‘street’ photographer, exemplary at what he did in his specific field. Many here are general, vacation and parade photographers, therefore needing a range of lenses.

I need a range of lenses for a range of conditions. I doubt that CB had to photograph a stand of millstones from a few feet away, or a small mill building from half a mile away.

 

[Rickbb63 1]

When I was a poor student a nifty 50 was the only lens I had. You do learn your limits.