What's your favorite focal length and why?

[SquarePeg]

I just can't get into the wider lenses lately. Even 35mm is usually too short for me! Give me at least 50mm every time. In fact every time I put the 18-55 lens on, I end up quickly swapping it out for the 60 or the 50-230. I can't remember the last time I liked anything I shot at less than 50mm! I just love the way the longer focal lengths isolate a subject.

What's your current favorite focal length? Why?

 

[jcdeboever]

I just can't get into the wider lenses lately. Even 35mm is usually too short for me! Give me at least 50mm every time. In fact every time I put the 18-55 lens on, I end up quickly swapping it out for the 60 or the 50-230. I can't remember the last time I liked anything I shot at less than 50mm! I just love the way the longer focal lengths isolate a subject.

What's your current favorite focal length? Why?

On film, it's 50mm. Focal length on the full frame is just enough reach and allows me to foot zoom in tight while maintaining focus. Plus it's light. So I guess reach, close focus distance, weight, and micro contrast of a prime. 28mm where I want more in the frame is my second choice.

On digital crop sensor, it has recently become the xf50-140 for image isolation at f/2.8 and image render, amazing piece of glass. Xf 16mm 1.4 when I want more in the frame is my second choice, excellent isolation and micro contrast.

All the other focal lengths are specific grabs or take alongs for me.

 

[Trever1t]

Depends on what I'm shooting eh? Portraiture I'll try to go 85-135 as room allows but some awesome effect can be had with wider lenses.

Knowing what focal length (and aperture) do and how they interplay and effect the outcome is very powerful knowledge.

 

[smoke665]

What's your current favorite focal length? Why?

Depends on the scene. I love my Pentax 35, 50 & 70 primes, also like my 50-200 zoom, though it's a little slow for some things. My Sigma 100-300 apparently has problems, it's just not sharp enough, so I see it being replaced before long.

 

[tirediron]

All of them. At one time or another.

 

[Gary A.]

Generally, anything but normal, (50mm on FF), the better for me.

To generalize, I tend to see photography as storytelling. I try to use focal lengths as adjectives, to highlight subject(s) as I see and to emphasise how I tell the story. Adjectives heighten the detail and drama in a written story. So too for focal lengths, the further away from normal/50mm the greater the optical drama.

 

[webestang64]

(All 35mm film cameras)......Pentax I like 50mm and 135mm. Canon EOS I like 20-35 wide zoom (no distortion curve).

 

[480sparky]

'Favorite' focal length is a metric I do not care to track. Any more than my 'favorite' ISO, 'favorite' white balance, 'favorite' focus distance, 'favorite' filter, 'favorite' pre-set, 'favorite' exposure method etc etc etc.

 

[SCraig]

Don't know. Somewhere between 50mm and 500mm, very seldom less than that.

 

[SquarePeg]

'Favorite' focal length is a metric I do not care to track. Any more than my 'favorite' ISO, 'favorite' white balance, 'favorite' focus distance, 'favorite' filter, 'favorite' pre-set, 'favorite' exposure method etc etc etc.

So why respond?

 

[480sparky]

'Favorite' focal length is a metric I do not care to track. Any more than my 'favorite' ISO, 'favorite' white balance, 'favorite' focus distance, 'favorite' filter, 'favorite' pre-set, 'favorite' exposure method etc etc etc.

So why respond?

The question was posed. I'm not responsible if you don't like, care for, or even understand my response.

 

[benhasajeep]

Favorite was 300mm. But now I have longer lenses and I suspect it will move to one of them. Personally I like wildlife the best. So, the bigger lenses get all the love. The shorter ones are for "work" or seems that way. They don't get the love. hahahaha

 

[JPI]

At the moment a 105 mac, good for shooting critters in the tide pools, good for some landscape and just a fun lens. Working toward a 200-500 for the offshore wildlife.

 

[ronlane]

At the moment it is probably the 85mm, but in 2 weeks it will be a 300mm as football is about to start back up. YEAH!!!!!!

 

[table1349]

For me, while not necessarily my favorite, my most used is in the 300-400mm range followed by the 70-200mm range. Perhaps that is because I love shooting sports as much as I do. The only thing that makes a range a favorite for me is if it works for what I am shooting. It's just these days I love shooting sports more than anything else.