Prime lens for a year

[Gary A.]

It is all about harmonizing with your equipment. The 35mm hasn't any more special magic than a 50mm or a 28mm, et al. By sticking to one focal length and one camera you will, (hopefully), harmonize with the lens and camera. The lens will become an extension of your eyes and the camera an extension of your hands. After a fashion you'll intimately know how that focal length captures an image. You'll see that 35mm image or that 50mm image even before to look through the viewfinder. Your fingers will semi-automatically adjust the shutter speed or aperture or ISO to reflect the image you see in your mind's eye. This intimate knowledge of the camera, knowing where your adjustments are by feel ... semi-automatically making your adjustments, allows more brain power to focus on your subject. Using only one focal length forces you to be creative. Every time you shoot, you should look for and attempt to capture the exceptional image. Using only one focal length not only teaches you the limitations of a particular lens but also allows you to see how high you can fly within those limitations.

Much of photography is a craft. You have a learning curve. The more you shoot, the quicker you'll travel up that learning curve and the better you will become. Starting out with multiple focal lengths and multiple lenses extends the learning curve and dilutes your ability to harmonize. Add lenses and new equipment over time. Concentrate using your new equipment until you have reached a level of intimacy where you can precisely see an image at a certain focal length with certain settings.

Good Luck and Good Shooting,
Gary

PS- GAS is a lot more fun than harmonization.
G

 

[robbins.photo]

It is all about harmonizing with your equipment.

Ok, so do I need to get one of those barbershop quartet shirts?

 

[Gary A.]

It is all about harmonizing with your equipment.

Ok, so do I need to get one of those barbershop quartet shirts?

If that is what it takes ... then yeah. It it helps, then I'll even purchase one for you and one for myself.

Gary

 

[robbins.photo]

It is all about harmonizing with your equipment.

Ok, so do I need to get one of those barbershop quartet shirts?

If that is what it takes ... then yeah. It it helps, then I'll even purchase one for you and one for myself.

Gary

Lol.. sounds like a plan. We'll most likely get mistaken for a couple but I can cope.

 

[Gary A.]

It is all about harmonizing with your equipment.

Ok, so do I need to get one of those barbershop quartet shirts?

If that is what it takes ... then yeah. It it helps, then I'll even purchase one for you and one for myself.

Gary

Lol.. sounds like a plan. We'll most likely get mistaken for a couple but I can cope.

LOL ... Considering your avatar ... I don't think anybody will say a word.

 

[Waterbug]

It is all about harmonizing with your equipment. The 35mm hasn't any more special magic than a 50mm or a 28mm, et al. By sticking to one focal length and one camera you will, (hopefully), harmonize with the lens and camera. The lens will become an extension of your eyes and the camera an extension of your hands. After a fashion you'll intimately know how that focal length captures an image. You'll see that 35mm image or that 50mm image even before to look through the viewfinder. Your fingers will semi-automatically adjust the shutter speed or aperture or ISO to reflect the image you see in your mind's eye. This intimate knowledge of the camera, knowing where your adjustments are by feel ... semi-automatically making your adjustments, allows more brain power to focus on your subject. Using only one focal length forces you to be creative. Every time you shoot, you should look for and attempt to capture the exceptional image. Using only one focal length not only teaches you the limitations of a particular lens but also allows you to see how high you can fly within those limitations.

Much of photography is a craft. You have a learning curve. The more you shoot, the quicker you'll travel up that learning curve and the better you will become. Starting out with multiple focal lengths and multiple lenses extends the learning curve and dilutes your ability to harmonize. Add lenses and new equipment over time. Concentrate using your new equipment until you have reached a level of intimacy where you can precisely see an image at a certain focal length with certain settings.

Good Luck and Good Shooting,
Gary

PS- GAS is a lot more fun than harmonization.
G

Thanks. I can see your point

 

[Nubster]

I love prime lenses. I own a total of 9 nine lenses between two camera systems and only one is a zoom and I just got it literally, this week.

 

[Solarflare]

First, this is a stupid tipp. Much too extremist. Kind of like people who tell you you should use film cameras to learn photography. B.s., you will learn photography a LOT slower with film cameras simply because you cannot see what you've done until you get the film developed.

You certainly can do it for a day. Or a full week. And you certainly can consciously choose to use nothing but a single prime, thats a valid choice if you know what you're doing. Meaning you know you love primes, their small size, their brightness, and shallow depth of field, and prefer them over these dark and heavy zooms.

But dont expect to turn into an uber photographer just because of using a single focal length. And dont do it for a full year just because somebody told you to.

I especially wouldnt bother with it if you only shoot a couple times per year. Then maybe read good books about composition to give you an idea how a good picture is done in principle, and otherwise use AUTO mode on your camera.



Second, when people talk about "35mm lens" they usually mean "35mm full frame equivalent". Which refers to 36x24mm, the class small format, as it was the commonly used format for film cameras, nowadays often called "full frame".

And 35mm, for small format, is indeed considered the most universal of all focal lengths, as its useable for most kinds of photography.

But now in the digital age, very likely you own an APS-C 24x16mm camera, the half format. So the focal length you would actually be looking for would be (about) 24mm, which will give you the equivalent of the field of view a full frame gives you with a 35mm lens.

Well for Canon its more like 22mm, for their APS-C sensors are even a bit smaller, which gives a 1.6x crop instead a 1.5x crop for everybody else.

For the Canon EOS-M, which yes is again APS-C, theres even a 22mm Pancake. Thats currently the only prime lens for that system. Thats because the 35mm equivalent is considered the most universal of all focal lengths, if you're using a prime.

A 35mm lens on an APS-C camera will give you the equivalent of a 53mm lens on full frame.



Finally, yes you can leave the home with nothing but a prime lens.

Macro photographers can certainly easily limit themselves to just one (macro) lens, and almost all macro lenses are primes.

A portrait photographer might work with nothing but a single 85mm, 105mm or 135mm prime, especially because primes can give you more shallow depth of field, which is very popular for portrait photography, in which only the eyes are supposed to be in focus.

A street photographer, aka social photographer, might use a 50mm because of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Leica and stuff. Though 35mm or 28mm are popular alternative choices.

If you want to do general journalist work, the classic 35mm might actually suffice. But most journalists probably wont agree with that one. Wedding photographers are basically a lot like that.

And if you want to shoot pictures of rooms, a 21mm might be the ideal choice. Just at the frontier of what still looks natural.

Or a wildlife photographer might use nothing but a huge 400mm f2.8, though as a rule they also will own a 1.4 converter.

And just for the record, a papparazzi will most typically also use a 400mm f2.8.

 

[Waterbug]

I love prime lenses. I own a total of 9 nine lenses between two camera systems and only one is a zoom and I just got it literally, this week.

What primes are in your collection and what do you use each for primarily?

 

[shaylou]

This reminds me of those articles that say "10 ways to become a great photographer". Oh hell,,, So the article I just read that only had 8 ways most of been bogus! And anyone that says using a zoom is lazy is not using it correctly....