40mm and a 50mm?

[raid]

I may use lenses on one day because of the type of lens that I want to use on that day.

The CZJ 5cm 1.5 is ia unique vintage lens that I may support with the 40mm Summicron C. This is my only 40mm lens. Both lenses are superb, and each lens gives me a different look.

[GaryLH]

So right now u are 21-40-50 on rd1 equiv to around 33 60 and 75. I noticed u have a slightly different setup on your d200... Do u like the in between spread there? Then 15-24-40-75 may be the closest setup for rd 1.

Gary

[back alley]

except i'm not looking add as much as subtract to my kit.
i like the 21 and love the 40...rarely use the 50.
i had and loved the 15 but it was too wide for easy/simple use.

are you thinking of adding a 75 and getting rid of the 50?
i bet i have bought the cv 75/2.5 at least 3 times and each time sold it again. great lens but i didn't seem to use it much.

[Trius]

Originally Posted by back alley

frank, if i get rid of the 50 then i wont need a new bag!

Can need and bag be used in the same sentence?

Crop factor or not, I use both, plus a 35. More and more I get closer with the 50 because it feels like a portrait lens and I like both the way it draws and how it renders the oof areas when I shoot it wide open or one stop down. The 40 (well, 42 in my case) opens up the space around people or a scene just a bit more, giving some "air" to the image, but not really appearing wide angle-y.

Plus, I have enough bags to accommodate right now

[Rob-F]

Originally Posted by redisburning

I kind of want the 40 rokkor-m because it's a high quality lens and is a good bit cheaper than a used biogon but because my ZM "50" is a bit wider I feel compelled to go down that extra 5mm just to keep the difference greater.

Huh? Your ZM 50 is a bit wider than . . . what?

What extra 5mm? You mean between 35mm and 40mm?

Not really following this.

[back alley]

well, the cold meds were clearly affecting my brain again...getting rid of the 50 would be just plain dumb on my part.
in fact i should add a 25 to the kit as i like it so much more than the 28 i just traded away.

less is not more...

[FrankS]

Originally Posted by back alley

well, the cold meds were clearly affecting my brain again...getting rid of the 50 would be just plain dumb on my part.
in fact i should add a 25 to the kit as i like it so much more than the 28 i just traded away.

less is not more...

Yes !

[helenhill]

Originally Posted by back alley

well, the cold meds were clearly affecting my brain again...getting rid of the 50 would be just plain dumb on my part.
in fact i should add a 25 to the kit as i like it so much more than the 28 i just traded away.

less is not more...

hehehe...
What are we into Austerity Measures
and just Woke up

[redisburning]

Originally Posted by Rob-F

Huh? Your ZM 50 is a bit wider than . . . what?

What extra 5mm? You mean between 35mm and 40mm?

Not really following this.

wider than 50, or at least wider than my OM 50s. slightly, but it is.

yes, the extra 5 between 40 and 35

hth

[paulfish4570]

joe, if you need a safe place to store your 40 or 50, i do have a some room ...

[back alley]

Originally Posted by FrankS

Yes !

but less can be simpler...

[back alley]

Originally Posted by helenhill

hehehe...
What are we into Austerity Measures
and just Woke up

it seems i can go back and forth, in my thinking, so easily...

some days the idea of a couple of lenses seems so pure and other days it seems dumb.

[back alley]

Originally Posted by paulfish4570

joe, if you need a safe place to store your 40 or 50, i do have a some room ...

well sir, i'll keep that in mind...

[helenhill]

Originally Posted by back alley

but less can be simpler...

Agreed...Less can be MORE !

too many lenses for me is a problem, then I can't go out the Door Decisively
21 and 50 is probably my Best Way to work
but that Damn 35 c biogon keeps luring me away from my Discipline

[back alley]

Originally Posted by helenhill

Agreed...Less can be MORE !

too many lenses for me is a problem, then I can't go out the Door Decisively
21 and 50 is probably my Best Way to work
but that Damn 35 c biogon keeps luring me away from my Discipline

i see that you just sold a 28...are the 3 lenses listed in your sig all that remains in your arsenal?

[myM8yogi]

Originally Posted by raid

I may use lenses on one day because of the type of lens that I want to use on that day.

The CZJ 5cm 1.5 is ia unique vintage lens that I may support with the 40mm Summicron C. This is my only 40mm lens. Both lenses are superb, and each lens gives me a different look.

I agree 100%.
I have both a Jupiter 3 50/1.5 and an M-rokkor 40/2 CLE.
The 40 is FAR more flare resistane, but the 50 sonnar has perfect bokeh, is better in low light, has greater close focus magnification (I did the close focus mod), and gives greater subject isolation at medium distances. 40mm is pefect for multiple subjects, where as 50mm is perfect for a single person alone.

I do sometimes carry them both because they do complement each other well, but I am more likely to choose one at the start of the day as a one-body-one-lens outfit and leave the other at home. But they are both tiny lenses that will fit in a trouser pocket without me even noticing their presence, so I have taken both on occasion. I use the 40 very much as a 35mm, and the 50mm... well, like a 50! I only seem to swap the lens on the camera with this setup when I move to a new location.

On my M9 the 40mm fits the 35mm frame lines better than my Nokton 35/1.2, which seems to include a little more than I saw in the viewfinder and feels like a genuine wide angle lens. The 40mm feels "right" to me, and the 50 actually feels like a short and stubby telephoto.

If I'm taking more than one lens, combinations could be:
35/1.2 + 50/1.5 for people.
21 + 40 + 90 for travel and landscape.

[Cagliostro73]

I found myself shooting mostly with 25mm P CV and 40mm summicron C on my Rd1.
And again with the 40 summicron C on my M2.
I'm using 50mm summicron very few times these days.

[BlackXList]

If I'm shooting film I usually have a pancake 40 and a 50 with me.

With so many compacts being 35mm, and so many family/holiday snapshots over the years, and so much "snapshot aesthetic" stuff done with 35s I have a slight mental bias against the 35mm length, so I choose to go for the 40 instead because it's just a little tighter, and I feel there's something about the 40mm focal length that gives it it's own identity, it has a different feel from the 35 and the 50, so I don't feel they're too close.

I'll freely admit that most of my reasoning in this case is based on reaction rather than planning, but so far it's working ok for me.

I'm also quite interested in exploring the focal lengths just past 50mm, (57mms etc) as I feel they'd help me get closer without feeling like I'm getting in people's faces quite so much (although it may be that I just need to get over that)

[helenhill]

My Present 3 lenses I'm using
50 Cron, 40 Rokkor, 21 SA

Haven't developed my roll with the (new to me) 40mm yet
But will this weekend

[Contarama]

I prefer 40 over 50...basically I have forsaken 50...especially since the turn to digital. 50mm has disappeared from my bag there is only 40 now.

[back alley]

i have been using the 25 lately and leaving the 21 home...i think, like the 40 is used as a 35 the 25 seems to suit me better than the 21...it allows me better access to the image in my head. (if that makes any sense)
as for my 50 is pretty much used for getting closer as in a portrait shot.
i just got another 75 and i 'plan' on using it as a street lens for when i really want some more distance between me and my subject...we'll see how that goes.
the 21 is the lens that i took my favourite shot with so parting with it seem sorta sacrilegious...

[anjoca76]

I own both--a summicron-c 40/2 and a canon 50/1.8 ltm. The focal lengths are almost redundant, but I keep both because they each have quite different qualities and give me different results. Mainly, though, I picked up the 50 for my Barnack, with the added bonus of being able to use on my M's.

If I had a 35mm I'd likely get rid of my 40, but seeing as how 35 is so similar to 40 anyway, and that summ-c is such a great little lens, I can't part with it. Instead I just think of it as a 35 most of the time.

[Cagliostro73]

Originally Posted by back alley

it allows me better access to the image in my head. (if that makes any sense)

It really makes sense, at least to me.
It reminds me of Ansel Adam's pre-view of the image, before taking the picture.
And it's the same reason I'm feeling more confident with 40mm than 50mm...
The fact is... I see B&W pictures (in my mind).

[haempe]

Originally Posted by back alley

just wondering if anyone else is using both a 40 and 50 mm lens in their kit?

what do you use each one for?
are they not too close to need both?

I'm normally a 50mm guy.
But for low-light I found (after some trying) the 40/1.4 matches my intutive behaviour better than a fast 50 or 35.
So I use the Nokton nearly exclusive for that.
In my daylight kit I have a 25mm, different 50's and a 75 (mainly for portraits).

(valid for film/FF)

[Jaans]

Back Alley: Theres a very good thread in the archives that discusses the 40mm length and its application. Also, the online photographer had an interesting article on the 40mm on his website.