It’s a 50mm thing:
I’ve been a 50mm shooter for just about as long as I’ve been making photos. Very early on I dabbled with zoom lenses on various Canon bodies, but after my Canon 6D body and all my lenses were stolen I took it as an opportunity to commit to a lighter one-camera-one-lens kind of setup. I went with a Fuji X-T10 and their 35/2. 35 on an APS-C sensor being, obviously, a 50mm(ish) equivalent. That setup really clicked for me. The beauty of being able to leave behind a camera bag and tripod and other nonsense aside I really enjoyed the transparency and naturalness of the 50mm’s normal perspective.
Making images with a 50 was a matter of seeing, bringing the camera to my eye, and making a photograph. There wasn’t that jarring experience where you bring the camera up to your eye and find that everything looks wrong through the lens. The 50 just gets it mostly right, most of the time. The framing and compression feels about like what we were already seeing. This also lends a certain transparency/naturalness to the final images as well which I also very much enjoyed. Because the rendering of a 50mm lens looks close to human vision we tend to end up with an image that feels familiar, true to our experience of the world.
After I purchased my M4-2 I did pick up a 35, the much loved Voigtlander 35/2.5 Color Skopar. I shot that a fair bit but I did eventually sell it, picking up a 7artisans 50 and then eventually the Zeiss 50/2 that I’ve had for years now. And likewise, in the last few months I have spent some time shooting an old Jupiter-12 on the Leicas, again flirting with 35 but it never seems to stick. All this to say that over the years, outside of some flirting with 35, 50 has very much been my default focal length, and the focal length that my vision is “tuned” to when it comes to making images.
Adventures in wide(ish) angles:
I don’t actually know how I ended up with a 28mm lens in my possession. Well, technically I bought it. I came across a good deal on a used 28/5.6 on eBay and decided to go for it, but I’d been curious about the focal length before that, for a while. 28 is one of those weird focal lengths, probably too wide to be really versatile, kind of wild and unruly, but beautiful if you’re able to wrangle all the elements of the frame and pull them together in to a rich and cohesive tapestry. It is also wide without being so wide as to begin to introduce unsightly distortions and weird perspective stuff like you get with 24 and wider lenses. It is also one of the first focal lengths outside that “normal” range that begins to feel actually different than the 50/35 realm of “normal” lenses, which undoubtedly influenced my desire to shoot it. It also has a reputation for being somewhat difficult, like any wide prime, and I like a challenge. Whatever the particular confluence of reasons or forces were, I ended up with a 28.
And the first experience I had shooting it was how jarring the mismatch was between my normal-lens-attuned vision and the wider FOV of the 28mm lens. I took the photos below to illustrate just how much more you’re given to wrestle with framing with the 28 compared to the 50.
The frequency with which I saw something on a walk and brought the camera to my eye to photograph only to be reminded that I was standing 10 feet too far back to be able to frame as I had envisioned was a frustrating experience, to put it lightly. And then by the time you walk the 10 feet to reframe, the relations between the objects in the frame have changed, and the compression is different than it would have been on a 50, so everything feels a little off. Or, a lot of off, really. So frustrating were these initial experiences that after the first couple outings with the 28 I just put it on the shelf and didn’t touch it again for a couple weeks, having determined that 28 was maybe biting off more than I could chew.
I think that might have been the end of it if it weren’t for the occasional images that I had been able to make here and there that got it right. And when you get it right with a 28 it’s really nice. One of the terms I’ve heard about 28 that I really liked is that it has “gravity.” A good 28mm image almost pulls the viewer in to the frame. I think this has to do with the compression, or lack thereof. Things in the distance actually appear to be in the distance (sometimes a bit too distant for my liking, but whatever). This capacity to render depth in the image gives you the ability to layer components/distances in the frame. The 28 also has loads of depth of field, making it easy to get everything in focus. And add to all this the relatively wide FOV means you can pack a lot in to the frame. All this put together means you’re able to use the 28 to create very complex images (and I do love a complex frame), with lots of layers and interesting stuff going on, if you do it right.
As you could imagine, these very same qualities are what make the 28 kind of a double edged sword. Big field of view, deep depth of field means you can’t just blow out the background, lack of compression. The characteristics that allow it to make such beautifully rich and complex imagery also make it difficult to really master. It’s a lot to juggle in a single frame and it’s easy to end up with images that feel vague, unfocused, empty in the bad way, etc etc.. I was very much fighting those qualities the first couple outings with the 28, and even after I’d decided to force myself to shoot it exclusively it took some weeks before it really started to click and I was able to start to see on its terms, embracing those qualities that make it such an interesting focal length. But once I was able to do that it really started to come together and I’ve really come to enjoy shooting it. I’d say at this point it’s about a 50/50 split on which lens I grab when I head out the door between the 50 and the 28.
If you’re up for a challenging but rewarding focal length I’d definitely recommend trying to get your hands on a 28 and seeing what you think. I’ve had a great time fighting and figuring it out and when you’re able to pull it off the results have a really unique look. Remember to work with the qualities of the lens. Get closer than you think you have to, utilize the depth of field, layer, be cognizant of the field of view and watch for dead space. Do all of that and I think you’ll find, like I have, that it’s a really rich and rewarding focal length to work with.
Addendum: The two lens conundrum & 40mm
It couldn’t all be rainbows and sunshine!
For nearly the last ten years my shooting setup has been one camera and one lens, usually a light mirrorless or 35mm film camera and small normal lens. A light and simple shooting setup is my preferred gear choice. Gear selection that makes for an unobtrusive setup means the equipment does not intrude in the simple act of walking and experiencing a place, which allows one to stay present, letting the photographs to flow out of that lived space.
Having two lenses kind of throws a wrench in that system. It’s more variables to consider and creates a schism in the visual signature of your work. All of which drives me a little crazy. I want to just have my camera and one lens, I don’t think about it, I grab the camera off the shelf and go shoot it and I always know what I’m using. This is not a problem other people haven’t wrestled with before. It’s why a lot of people shoot a 35, which sits somewhat nicely between 28 and 50. This works for a lot of people, obviously. 35mm is an incredibly popular focal length, especially on the Leica M system. I just don’t like it that much. It’s visually closer to a 28 than it is to a 50, and loving that natural look of a 50 so much makes shooting a 35 a poor compromise, in my opinion.
Enter the much neglected 40mm. This focal length is a gem and I’ve shot it a decent amount over the years and always enjoyed it quite a bit. It sits more centrally in the middle of the 28 to 50 spread, being a couple steps forward or backward from covering 28 and 50, and unlike the 35 it retains some of that normal feeling compression of the 50 but with just a little more breathing room for a touch more versatility. It might be the perfect focal length, and the solution to my two lens conundrum.
I have ordered an LTM 40mm from Voigtlander, the 40/2.8 Heliar. So we will have to see if that little lens can resolve some of my gear annoyances. And this might be something we deal with in another blog post down the road.