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I use 40-85mm. 28mm and 35mm are the most popular these days. 21mm is like kissing your subject!This is 21mm:
My point and it was a light one, is that you are generally going to be very close to your subject when using a 21mm. If not, it’s likely not going to be effective most of the time. Kissing was simply me saying you are in an intimate space. Im well aware of how to photograph on the streets.It's cool, but it's only "like kissing your subject"....if you choose to be in their face, like Cohen does. When i'm taking urban photos, i'm just photographing, but not engaging the people who end up in the frame.
John I was in no way at all, commenting on your ability to shoot in the streets, but on Cohen's personal style. When you say " If not, it’s likely not going to be effective most of the time," that's your view of how to use the particular tool, others may find a different way to use the sweet spot of the 21. It's not my favourite lens, but i do like its versatility in the urban parts of Europe.My point and it was a light one, is that you are generally going to be very close to your subject when using a 21mm. If not, it’s likely not going to be effective most of the time. Kissing was simply me saying you are in an intimate space. Im well aware of how to photograph on the streets.
Oh I know. And yeah since my wide is a 40mm, you are right it is my personal view. However, I do know a good deal about the history of photography and I cannot think of many examples of 21mm being used successfully on the streets. Just a few really. And most are very up close and personal. People say that they want context, but 21mm will will be very distorted off axis. Context can be had with a lot of focal lengths as long as you have space to back up.John I was in no way at all, commenting on your ability to shoot in the streets, but on Cohen's personal style. When you say " If not, it’s likely not going to be effective most of the time," that's your view of how to use the particular tool, others may find a different way to use the sweet spot of the 21. It's not my favourite lens, but i do like its versatility in the urban parts of Europe.
The Rollei is a cool choice for all the reasons you outlined. Wish i could get my hands on a Rolleiwide. The only place in a city, anyone ever stopped to talk to me about a camera was in Paris of all places....& they asked about the Rolleiflex.I own 35 and 28mm lenses but where I live and where I photograph is not a large, crowded city so I am not typically faced with situations where a wide field of view is needed. So my lens choices are almost certainly a reflection of that environment combined with my desire to have a bit of the surroundings to provide context. As a result I typically use a more normal focal length. Over the last year my primary lens choice for 35mm has been a 40mm, and I find that even that focal length is a bit wide occasionally. I have been known to walk around for a couple of weeks with an 85/2 on an SLR and never give it a second thought.
If I went back and looked at all of the photos I have taken since the mid-70s I know without any doubt that my simple, little, Pentax SMC-M 50/2 would be the lens I have used most frequently on 35mm by a very large margin. I know it seems a bit pedestrian to some but I still own two of them and use them regularly. In fact, when I used a Leica, I used a Summicron 50/2, and my favorite lens on my Zeiss Ikon is undoubtedly my ZM Planar 50/2 (a great lens btw.) It is just how I see the world when I'm looking at it through a viewfinder.
I actually do not shoot "street" very often but if that is what I plan to do that day I usually grab for my Rolleiflex with a 75mm lens. For one, people are often interested in the camera itself so they aren't trying to avoid me. Second I feel that when I am looking down into the viewfinder I am personally less threatening to others. Third, it is such a simple camera to use; everything I need is directly in my view when I am looking down. Fourth, I am not an "in your face" photographer so the lens gives me a little distance to work with. And though it is not usually what people think about, that wonderful Tessar lens matches perfectly with the square format allowing me to quickly draw attention to my subject. The only downside is that moving the camera to track people is backwards, so counter-intuitive when you first pick it up, but it does become second nature for me very quickly so it rarely intrudes.
The Rollei Wide is not very wide, by the way. It is not worth its high cost. It is a rare Rollei camera.The Rollei is a cooll choice for all the reasons you outlined. Wish i could get my hands on a Rolleiwide. The only place in a city, anyone ever stopped to talk to me about a camera was in Paris of all places....& they asked about the Rolleiflex.
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Rare and expensive. I loved the 50mm on my Mamiya 6MF...... I could happily live with the 55mm on the Rolleiwide (but not $4500 USD worth).The Rollei Wide is not very wide, by the way. It is not worth its high cost. It is a rare Rollei camera.
This is what I´ve read too. Basically a 35mm user for decades with a little bit of 28mm. Then the move to the Hasselblad wide camera and most recently a Voigtlander Bessa with 25mm F4 I believe (recent gallery opening in NYC).For instance, Lee Freidlander reportedly used a 35 and a 28, mostly.
Not many people can claim to see like him...Do you see like him?
Winogrand was known for his 28mm photos mostly. He did use other lenses early in his career, but later was pretty much 28mm.Or are his pictures suggestive of what you want your pictures to look like? Gary Winogrand used mostly a 35, I hear.
Yes, a known 50mm user but supposedly used others... however, not in any way that I can tell. I see a lot of 50mm when looking at his photos.Henri Cartier-Bresson is famous for using mostly a 50, although I think he used a 35 too when he was feeling it.
B, I agree with you completely. We're lucky in that there is currently such a wide range of lenses, for essentially all budgets and projects. A carpenter for example wouldn't say "I want to build this X, but I only want to use a chisel." The idea comes first & then you select the equipment to do it.It’s not a ‘gear first’ question. What are you trying to shoot? How do you want it to look? Then, pick the tool.
I needed a hip shooting lens for NYC (fairly tight scenes). 28 is working out well. 21 would be too wide for that. Decide what you’re trying to capture and work backwards.
I got nice comments on the Rolleiflex in NYC, Miami, Brussels... (In Brussels this was a VERY cute Canadian girl with her VERY TALL boyfriendThe Rollei is a cool choice for all the reasons you outlined. Wish i could get my hands on a Rolleiwide. The only place in a city, anyone ever stopped to talk to me about a camera was in Paris of all places....& they asked about the Rolleiflex.
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