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Old 24th October 2010, 11:02 AM
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Default Favourite focal length lens-all formats

Having just read a comment by Alan Clark about the 35mm lens on his OM1 being his favourite lens, got me thinking what is mine?

What is your favourite focal length lens and why?

Mine - 28mm on the 135 format - I like its wide view. Great for grab shots of street scenes and general landscape. Used to use this focal length a lot with IR film.

6x6cm - 50mm - same as for 35mm.

6x9cm - 55mm - similar to a 24mm on 135 format. I like the wider view with this more panoramic format. I can prefocus this lens and grab shots as and when.

110mm on the 4x5 format - this is about equivalent to a 35mm on 135. I used to like shooting wider with 4x5 but more recently have started 'blinkering' myself with some success

150mm on 8x10 - this is about equivalent to a 24mm on 135. At the moment I'm still taking more wide views in this format and this focal length is also good for getting in close because of my limited bellows draw. Although for more general views and full length portraits I use the 240mm a fair bit which is equivalent to about a 35mm on 135.

For the 5x7 format the jury is still out as it's a new format for me.

My style of photography has always been towards the wider view and have never really seen in 'telephoto'.
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Old 24th October 2010, 12:00 PM
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I think most of the replies might be favouring wide-angle lenses.
Years ago, when I was learning 35mm, I really liked my OM10 with a 50mm lens for getting close in crowds, while still enabling a 'truer' perspective. The set up was light, and I was fit and bold enough to 'muscle' my way into the best position.
Nowadays, I'm trying to come to grips with medium format (RB67), and although my subjects have changed from close-in crowd shooting to more landscape study, I still much prefer my new 65mm as opposed to my only other lens, the 127mm. In fact since I received my 65mm, the 127mm hasn't seen the light of day, so to speak. Although this will likely change soon, as I have been asked by a couple of nice girls if I could take some portrait shots of them. I guess the more flattering effects of the 127mm will win me some extra benefits from the girls.

But I guess in the end it's 'horses for courses'.

JP
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Old 24th October 2010, 12:22 PM
paulc paulc is offline
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What is your favourite focal length lens and why?

Don't use 35mm except for digisnaps where a 50mm lens is nearly always mounted.

6x6 tends towards a 150mm lens, although a 50mm gets used a fair percentage of the time.

5x4 is split between a 180mm, 90mm, and more recently, a 127mm.
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Old 24th October 2010, 12:32 PM
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50mm for 6x7. 24mm for 35mm and 45mm on the XPAN. With my 5x4 I haven't decided yet as I need to use it more so I will pass on that one.

Neil.
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Old 24th October 2010, 12:34 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Most of my cameras these days are fixed lens, but I always used to favor a wide angle,for 645 5omm and 35mm 28mm, I must admit to also liking a standard lens, 50 for 35mm and 75 for MF, and those were my regular lenses, and today it is all standard lenses, 75 for my 6/6 folders and TLRs and 45 or 50 for 35mm,Richard
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Old 24th October 2010, 01:02 PM
Alan Clark Alan Clark is offline
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Trevor; this is a complex question!
When I mentioned in another thread that I use a 35mm lens on 35mm for most of my farm pictures it was because this focal length fits the bill for that purpose. Most of my farm pictures show something happening; a horse being shoed, sheep being rounded up or sheared, animals being injected. Because I like to show this in context a slight wide angle helps. Too wide, say 28, would mean getting in too close, and would also distort things. The depth of field of a 35mm helps over that of a 50mm. F8 gives me enough dof and still usually allows a shutter speed of a 125th (HP5+), very helpful when everything is charging around!

As for my landscape photography, this has always taken two forms; views and close-up details. For close-up still life type details I really like the 80mm lens on my 6x6 camera, and a 203mm on my 5 x 4 and half-plate cameras.
For "views" I don't have any clear-cut preferences regarding focal length. When I use my OM1 I have focal lengths of 24, 28, 35 and 50 and often find that whichever one is chosen first when I arrive at a location usually stays on the camera all day. I think that this is a case of getting your eye in for a certain focal length. I have fewer lenses available for my large format cameras but think the same principle would apply if I had a big choice.

As for how many lenses you actually need; that's another question!

Alan
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Old 24th October 2010, 01:24 PM
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Historically, I have always used a normal focal length for each format: 50mm for 35mm, 80mm for 6x6 and 360mm for 8x10.

I can't say the use of a single focal length has limited me in any way. However, this may be one of these things where once tried you ask, "How did I ever get along without it before!"

I will say that for 35mm I am thinking of selling the 50mm lens and moving to a 35mm lens -- I think for this format and the type of shooting I do with it I just need a little more "real estate". Also, for 6x6 I think I would like a something like a 150mm, however, that is just probably g.a.s.
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Old 24th October 2010, 01:34 PM
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Thanks to those who have responded so far to my question. It is an interesting and fascinating read.

I will confess to being a lens 'junky' and have far too many but I just love optics and what they are capable of. They allow us to see what we cannot see with the naked eye - especially extreme wide-angle and telephoto (perhaps good examples of this end of the range are telescopes).

When I had a Pentax 6x7 I purchased a fish eye lens for it. Initially I was besotted with it for it opened up a world that I had never seen before, or indeed could see without scanning the scene. However I soon tired of it mainly because of the distortion, curvature of straight lines close to the edge and curved horizons if not centered within the frame. Whatever the lens I do like it to record the world as true as is possible without artifact.
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Old 24th October 2010, 02:01 PM
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I would say 28 as it gives the most relaxed or should I say satisfying view through my SLR camera, but some of my best and most appealing (to me) photos were shot with the 50.

To overcome this mental barrier of switching lenses, I got myself a 35mm lens. Sadly, it does little to me; there is no "relaxed" factor involved nor have the images that special intimate appeal that I sometimes experience with photos taken with a normal lens.

On the other hand, my favourite MF lens was the 65mm on my C330, unfortunately the shutter broke down a year or so ago, so I'm forced to use the 80mm lens.
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Old 24th October 2010, 04:09 PM
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Default Lens Type

The type of lens is usually determined by the job in question, but I would say that when using a 35mm camera it would definitely be 50mm.
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