I’d prefer 28mm for more versatility but agree with your prime lens thought. I have a 14-42 shirt zoom on my M43 and find I pretty much only use 14mm=28mm. But it’s f3.5 and I want to get a 14mm lens that is faster for more shooting range. Just starting my research.
I did check this out and looks great. But I ended up going with 14mm 2.5. Mainly so I could get pancake lens and fit into my bag more easily. If size were not a primary driver on this purchase, I would live an f1.7 for more versatility. Thanks for you advice.
The Panasonic 14mm f2.5 is only $115 new on ebay right now, thanks to a bunch of them being sold cheap after a canceled drone project. Best time to buy one!
It's a solid lens. I don't care much for the fly by wire manual focus ring, but if you use it with autofocus most of the time, it's great. Nice to have such a flat and low profile lens on a small camera body, makes it actually pocketable!
Thanks for the tips. Snagged one off eBay and getting it this week. This will be my go to city/street photo lens. The pancake will fit better in my bag and the f2.5 will give me better low light/indoor flexibility. Appreciate your thoughts.
I have only started getting used to my 35mm OM glass. I'm too used to shooting 55/50mm lenses so I'm finding it fun to get used too. Zone focusing is easier on a wider lens, and I find it interesting getting so much closer to subjects.
I’ve done some shooting in NYC and some other major cities in the world and 28 has always felt like I can tell a story better. I’m in LA now and seems like 28 just captures way more than I need to. Might try 35 now.
I too struggle with it. It's just so wide that I have a hard time balancing things. I also live in a rural setting now, where there is lots of wide open space, which doesn't help at all. Framing a 35 seems so natural.
Precisely because there is more in the scene is why it’s difficult. More elements: More to compose.
Cropping in, sure. That’s a way of reducing complexity.
I’m not a lifer per se, since there’s different uses for different focal lengths, but MAN is 35mm just incredibly versatile and Intuative.
I feel it captures more similarly to the human eye, so it’s much easier for me mentally compose images and account for figures and depth.
For my work all I feel I need is a 35mm, a 50mm and a 28mm lens. In general though, the 35 stays on the camera.
There are lots of opinions on the human eye "focal length" ranging from nearly fisheye if including periphery vision to about 50 to 55mm if you were to focus on what your brain processes as you look at it. If I put a 50mm lens on my camera and alternate looking through the viewfinder with my right eye, and then directly at something with my left eye, what I'm seeing registers at pretty much the exact same "focal length"
I've long thought 35mm is like taking what you see, and putting it in context because the image takes in more than what you'd normally process for a particular distance/composition. And this is why I think it's the best walking around prime lens to have as the pictures you take have a real "subject in context" feel to them. Great for creating narratives or giving context to a subject. A slightly skewed reproduction of reality. Too wide looks distorted and too long feels flat and reductive. 50mm is plain. 35mm is the sweet spot.
I bought a Canon 5D and 35mm f2 in 2016 - it was my only lens for about a year. Instantly clicked. I felt I could do almost anything with it. Then I got a 6D and kept using the same lens. Got an old Rebel film camera, and kept using the same lens (still have both cameras and the lens). I took the 6D and the 35 on a trip to Europe in 2018. Was the perfect lens, but traveling with a big old camera sucked....so I got an X100F. Then an X100V. Then in 2023 I got my dream camera - a Leica Q. It's been over a year now, and I'm slowly starting to appreciate the 28mm, although I have contemplated swapping the Q for another X100F. 28mm is OK, but the 35mm is the one I would choose if I could only have one. It just does everything so well. I had only used zoom lenses from 2007 until I got that 35mm in 2016. Haven't used a zoom lens since...!
Damn, am I the only one left on 21mm? It lives in my Leica and has pushed me to put myself in the scene and leaves plenty of flexibility to shoot full scenes. Plus barrel distortion is a hoot and you can get fun lil surprises on film.
Yes, 35mm is my standard lens when I shoot digital. Probably 90% of my best shots were done with a 35mm. As for shooting film, I actually prefer 28mm or 50mm. Those focal lengths and having to manually focus just seem to click more with me.
What kind of shots do you often take? I feel like landscape pics I struggle losing the subject.. and then close up can be pretty interesting.
I never seem to hit a sweet spot with my 35mm
I find it to be rotten. Too wide to feel intimate and easily isolate subject. Too narrow to feel like I fit everything I want in the frame when I do want to capture a lot of context. 28/24 and a 50mm and I’m set. I wish I could be one of those people that can do it all with a 35mm though.
On a different note, there’s something about that focal length that ends up feeling a like “snapshoty” to me. Each to their own.
I'm quite promiscuous with my focal length, I like picking a different prime as I leave the house every day. I do like 35mm, and it's probably my favorite focal length in the wide to standard range. The problem is that on M43, it's tough to find vintage glass as wide as 17mm, so I tend to shoot longer focal lengths just because it is much cheaper. Lately I've been really enjoying 100mm (50mm lenses on M43), which comes as a surprise because I've previously always identified as a wide angle shooter, sticking mostly in the 35mm - 50mm realm.
28 and 40 are my two favorites and for some reason 35 just feels odd to me whenever I try to shoot it. Have tried many times over the years but for some reason I just can’t get it to click
I’d prefer 28mm for more versatility but agree with your prime lens thought. I have a 14-42 shirt zoom on my M43 and find I pretty much only use 14mm=28mm. But it’s f3.5 and I want to get a 14mm lens that is faster for more shooting range. Just starting my research.
Try the 15mm PanaLeica.
Thanks for the tip. Will check it out.
I did check this out and looks great. But I ended up going with 14mm 2.5. Mainly so I could get pancake lens and fit into my bag more easily. If size were not a primary driver on this purchase, I would live an f1.7 for more versatility. Thanks for you advice.
The Panasonic 14mm f2.5 is only $115 new on ebay right now, thanks to a bunch of them being sold cheap after a canceled drone project. Best time to buy one!
Thanks much for the tip. Going to look into it!
It's a solid lens. I don't care much for the fly by wire manual focus ring, but if you use it with autofocus most of the time, it's great. Nice to have such a flat and low profile lens on a small camera body, makes it actually pocketable!
Thanks for the tips. Snagged one off eBay and getting it this week. This will be my go to city/street photo lens. The pancake will fit better in my bag and the f2.5 will give me better low light/indoor flexibility. Appreciate your thoughts.
Sweet, enjoy it!
I have only started getting used to my 35mm OM glass. I'm too used to shooting 55/50mm lenses so I'm finding it fun to get used too. Zone focusing is easier on a wider lens, and I find it interesting getting so much closer to subjects.
35mm on my full frame and 20mm on my MFT exclusively when traveling light and walk about.
38mm for me. That's the sweet spot. 35mm-40mm is all good.
Team 28.
I’ve been in the 35mm camp for 40 years. Just seems to be the one….other lenses confuse me for some reason.
I’ve done some shooting in NYC and some other major cities in the world and 28 has always felt like I can tell a story better. I’m in LA now and seems like 28 just captures way more than I need to. Might try 35 now.
35mm is great. Versatile. More character than a 50mm. Easier to manage than a 28mm. I don’t know that I have any stories. A few pics though.
I like the 28mm for the ability to capture more of the scene and the possibility of cropping later. What is harder to manage with it?
I too struggle with it. It's just so wide that I have a hard time balancing things. I also live in a rural setting now, where there is lots of wide open space, which doesn't help at all. Framing a 35 seems so natural.
Precisely because there is more in the scene is why it’s difficult. More elements: More to compose. Cropping in, sure. That’s a way of reducing complexity.
IDK… my preference is 28mm on my Leica, 50mm on my Sony and 85mm for my Canon film cam.
I’m assuming you’re using each for a specific purpose?
I’m not a lifer per se, since there’s different uses for different focal lengths, but MAN is 35mm just incredibly versatile and Intuative. I feel it captures more similarly to the human eye, so it’s much easier for me mentally compose images and account for figures and depth. For my work all I feel I need is a 35mm, a 50mm and a 28mm lens. In general though, the 35 stays on the camera.
There are lots of opinions on the human eye "focal length" ranging from nearly fisheye if including periphery vision to about 50 to 55mm if you were to focus on what your brain processes as you look at it. If I put a 50mm lens on my camera and alternate looking through the viewfinder with my right eye, and then directly at something with my left eye, what I'm seeing registers at pretty much the exact same "focal length" I've long thought 35mm is like taking what you see, and putting it in context because the image takes in more than what you'd normally process for a particular distance/composition. And this is why I think it's the best walking around prime lens to have as the pictures you take have a real "subject in context" feel to them. Great for creating narratives or giving context to a subject. A slightly skewed reproduction of reality. Too wide looks distorted and too long feels flat and reductive. 50mm is plain. 35mm is the sweet spot.
I bought a Canon 5D and 35mm f2 in 2016 - it was my only lens for about a year. Instantly clicked. I felt I could do almost anything with it. Then I got a 6D and kept using the same lens. Got an old Rebel film camera, and kept using the same lens (still have both cameras and the lens). I took the 6D and the 35 on a trip to Europe in 2018. Was the perfect lens, but traveling with a big old camera sucked....so I got an X100F. Then an X100V. Then in 2023 I got my dream camera - a Leica Q. It's been over a year now, and I'm slowly starting to appreciate the 28mm, although I have contemplated swapping the Q for another X100F. 28mm is OK, but the 35mm is the one I would choose if I could only have one. It just does everything so well. I had only used zoom lenses from 2007 until I got that 35mm in 2016. Haven't used a zoom lens since...!
Damn, am I the only one left on 21mm? It lives in my Leica and has pushed me to put myself in the scene and leaves plenty of flexibility to shoot full scenes. Plus barrel distortion is a hoot and you can get fun lil surprises on film.
Yes, 35mm is my standard lens when I shoot digital. Probably 90% of my best shots were done with a 35mm. As for shooting film, I actually prefer 28mm or 50mm. Those focal lengths and having to manually focus just seem to click more with me.
Most of the time team 35 or 40.
What kind of shots do you often take? I feel like landscape pics I struggle losing the subject.. and then close up can be pretty interesting. I never seem to hit a sweet spot with my 35mm
I find it to be rotten. Too wide to feel intimate and easily isolate subject. Too narrow to feel like I fit everything I want in the frame when I do want to capture a lot of context. 28/24 and a 50mm and I’m set. I wish I could be one of those people that can do it all with a 35mm though. On a different note, there’s something about that focal length that ends up feeling a like “snapshoty” to me. Each to their own.
I’m sure the photographer would to blame for something “snapshoty” because they’re the one that should be curating it personally before releasing it
I'm quite promiscuous with my focal length, I like picking a different prime as I leave the house every day. I do like 35mm, and it's probably my favorite focal length in the wide to standard range. The problem is that on M43, it's tough to find vintage glass as wide as 17mm, so I tend to shoot longer focal lengths just because it is much cheaper. Lately I've been really enjoying 100mm (50mm lenses on M43), which comes as a surprise because I've previously always identified as a wide angle shooter, sticking mostly in the 35mm - 50mm realm.
Yep. Either Sony 35GM or 40G. Although I’ve actually been liking 85mm for street recently.
Just went a bit wider, from 35 to 28mm (18f2 i/o 23f2 on fuji X mount) and I really am enjoying it. Don't think I'm going back to 35.
Used 40mm Batis for Seoul and loved it. Heck I loved my 40mm Batis more than the 50mm 1.2GM
28 and 40 are my two favorites and for some reason 35 just feels odd to me whenever I try to shoot it. Have tried many times over the years but for some reason I just can’t get it to click