most of us own a few lenses...

[back alley]

...but do we mostly use one favourite?

or maybe 2?

i have a small but pretty good (i would say) collection of lenses for my use.
i have settled on the smaller cv lenses along with the small rollei 40.

yet, i seem to mostly use the 40 lately with the occasional 75 thrown into the mix.

do you use your lens kit about equally or do you tend to concentrate on one or 2 lenses that you favour?

curious minds want to know...

[SciAggie]

If you were to grab one of my cameras it's a 50/50 chance there is either a 35 or 50mm lens attached. I have quite a few other lenses that I do use, but those two focal lengths are the workhorses.

[f16sunshine]

50 mostly on full frame. 40 in digital m. And 80 on 66. Boring I know

[paulfish4570]

gotta say i'm starting to see in the 35mm FL because of the cv 35/2.5 color skopar i have for my r2m. i'm starting to like what i see in the images produced by the kit. the cv 50/2.5 has been languishing a couple of weeks because of this, but it will see the light on the iiif to arrive early next week.

[astro8]

I seem to be using my Canon 35/1.8 on my r-d1, not nearly as much as I should be but far more than my 28 and 50's.

Note to self...I gotta get out more and just shoot stuff, change lenses, get the feel of them and get stuck into it instead of waiting for the 'shot'. I'm all thumbs and procrastination at the moment....

[andredossantos]

Over the past year: I shoot a 35mm on my M5, a 55mm on my film SLR, a 50mm on my DSLR, 75mm on my Rolleiflex, and 100mm on my Fujica 6x9.

I don't own any other lenses except for a recently acquired 50mm f2 Nippon Kogaku LTM that is being repaired.

[StillKicking]

Judging from my photo archive, over the last 12 months I seem to use my:
35mm Summaron f3.5 most.. then it's any one of several 50mm lens

[tbarker13]

Depends on what I am doing. Just normal usage - it would be a 35 summicron on my M8.
If I am doing portraits, it would be a 50 - but I cannot say I have a favorite.

[DennisPT]

28-40-50 but who know what happens tomorrow.

[jky]

Just a 35mm for me although I have a 28mm VC sitting in the cabinet. Reason is I jsut prefer the 35 FL.

[Brian Legge]

I've been trying to focus on 50mm as I like older MF cameras and sticking to a single focal length as much as possible seems like a good idea. Its tough though, coming from fixed lens rangefinders with 40mm lenses.

I need to get one of my 35mm LTM lenses in better condition and hopefully I'll be set. The Summaron is dirty and the J12 focus is way off. The former I'll leave to tech but the later I just need to take some time to fix myself. Maybe that will become my go-to focal length eventually.

[Rico]

It's strange that, with 28 Elmarit ASPH and 50 'lux v2 at my disposal, I always choose the Summaron 35/2.8 and classic Elmar 50/2.8.

[sonofdanang]

Joe, you know me to be a bad, bad, man: The only rangefinder I use is on a 4x5 and for most work I use one lens - a 28-300 zoom on a D3. Everybody be falling down when I say it is light, and, with the speed of the D-series sensors and my predilection for depth-of-field and telephoto field-compression, perfect. I don't worry about putting it in my pocket because the thing seems permanently attached to my face.

There is a fast 50 and a 20-30 zoom in the bag that almost never come out. The fifty is a left over from the film days when I needed the speed. But now, with the Nikon's low-light performance....

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I use a 50mm Summicron the most, followed by 28mm Biogon ZM. My others don't get much use, but they're nice to have when needed.

[ricnak]

As a newbie to RF my fav lens was the 35 lux - it is forgiving. I almost sold all my other lenses because I rarely used them.

Then....

I read a thread here once about FL's and someone stated that 35mm was for slobs (not the exact words but you get the general feeling). I did not want to be a slob (even though I am one) so, I now use the 50, 75 and 35mm in equal proportions. The 21 and 90 for special occasions.

[HuubL]

35 (v4) and 50 (latest) summicrons about equal on an M6 and M7. The 21 SA never leaves the M4. I have other lenses (DR50, 35 v1, 2.8 summarons) but hardly use them. They're just sitting pretty on the other M4, M3 and M2. I know it's a waste, but I'm too much of a collector to sell them.

[Doug]

My lenses have formed a union and negotiated a "fair use" doctrine. Egalitarianism has been compromised though by a mid-pack voting cabal in the 35-50 range...

[Damaso]

50mm on my M6 and 35 cv on my M8. The 90mm summarit comes into play about 15% of the time....

[noimmunity]

My usage breaks down into the following pairs:

21 plus a normal and/or a tele when hiking.
35 and 75 for candid portraits in town/low light.
28 and 50 for ultimate ease and portability.

With the M8 crop factor, I can do all of the above with just three lenses, heh-heh. (The M8 actually messed me up and I can no longer tell if I'm a 35/75, a 28/50 or what).

But I'd rather have FF on both digital and film. I'm thinking about selling some lenses and getting an M9, or maybe just saving the dough for a rainy day.

[peterm1]

My choices change over time. In general I am much more a longer rather than a wider lens lover. At the moment I am experimenting with and loving the Voigtlander 50mm f1.1 Nokton having aslo recently readed in a few older camera and lenses for a 75mm f1.8 of the same marque. But I have a full complement of modern(ish) Leica glass - Summicron 50 and 35, TeleElmarit 90 all from the 1980s era plus some classic lenses from the 50s and 60s - Summitar 50, Elmar 50, Summaron 35mm f3.5 and Tele Elmar 90. Some how I find that I struggle with wide lenses but have more success with the longer variety. So that is my one constant. Long works for me.

[sepiareverb]

I too tend toward one main lens, though it shifts over time. I shot with a 50 by far the most for years, then was using the 28 almost exclusively for quite a while. Just seem to be done with the 35/1.4 pre-ASPH as my main lens and am moving back to the 50, but I've been shooting with a 21 a fair bit of late as well.

[mfogiel]

It comes down to several factors. I try to learn the strong points of each FL, and of each lens in the group. Then, I tend to chose the lenses best suited for the particular type of shots I want to do. However, as walk around lenses, I use most often compact lenses with strong universal qualities. In 50mm I would take the Summilux 2 out most of the time, but I will swap it for the DR Summicron if I am thinking of landscape or architecture, and with the C Sonnar or Canon 50/1.2 for portraits. In 35mm I have fallen lately for the Summicron V3 for its out of focus and great grayscale rendering. I will swap it for the 35/2.8 Summaron for landscape or architecture and with 35/1.2 Nokton for the low light. Both the Summicron and the Nokton are also gret for portraits, but the rendering is distinctly different. In 28mm the Summicron is my universal lens, but I will swap it with the 1.9 ultron for landscape. In 21mm I like the rendering of Super Angulon 3.4, but I will often swap it wih the C Zeiss because of AE compatibility and more compact dimensions. The Zeiss ZM line, C Sonnar apart, is great for a more biting, higher contrast look, and generally for colour. I seldom use 90mm lenses, and in this FL I use the V1 and the last Elmarit together with the ZF Planar 85 and Makro Planar 100, according to circumstances.

[Brian Sweeney]

Sometimes it's really hard to decide if I need a 50, 53, 55, 57, 58, or 60. But I eventually settle on a choice.

[umcelinho]

I think it all comes down to your personal preference or the moment. I have a few lenses, but most of them are either 35mm or 50mm. There are a few that I will pick up to shoot much more often due to their characteristics: if I want a classic look, I'll take X, if I need speed I'll take Y, and so on...

[helenhill]

For the longest Time
It was the 50 (probably always will be)
with around 10% to the 21SA

Now I am Dedicating my Time w/ the 35
Need to Grow & 'see 'differently
Have Fallen hard for the 35 Asph Cron
And am Experimenting With
trying to PUSH Shadow/Light Play with the asph glass

Am Amazed at how WIDE 35 is
Regards-H