Street photography 35mm or 50mm?

[juergenf]

What do you guys consider the best focal length for street

photography in 35mm? I've had this discussion with other

photographers before and we didn't agree, it was about 50/50 for both

focal lengths. I use a 50mm for my street photography but sometimes I

find the angle just a tiny bit to narrow and wish I had a 35mm. At

other times my 50mm brings things just a tiny bit closer than a 35mm

would have done. Opinions please.

[vdp]

It depends on the situation as to which focal length is better. I prefer the 35 in most cases. It takes in more and if necessary later I can crop. I've even done street portraits with the 35 and I like the results very much. I find when I'm at a street event like a festival or parade (I'm talking about the side streets not the parade itself) the 35 is prefered when you can't get back far enough to take in as much as you want to. On occasion I've even used my 85mm for head shots, especially if I feel that the background will be too busy. The 50 I use for low light situations since this is my fastest lens. But over all I prefer the 35.

[EricM]

my desert island lens would be a 35 i guess. i use it 75% of the time. well, on a dslr, i use the 24 which gives me 36mm.

[jim_a]

A 35mm lens on my film camera is my first choice, but it's nice to switch over to a 50 to mix

things up and keep it fresh.

[rick_waldroup3]

I had been shooting mostly with a 35mm lens but I just recently aquired a Voigtlander 40mm lens and I have been shooting a lot with it. It is a really nice lens and is just a tad longer than the 35. Having said all that, I still would like to get a 50mm lens, maybe a Konica Hexar?

[andrew_lee2]

Generally, for me- 35mm for shooting 6' to 12' away, 28mm for shooting 3' to 8' away, and (rarest of all) 15-24mm (I don't own anything in this range anymore) for extremely tight quarters or crowded situations. 35mm is the sweet spot for me, whereas a 28mm is a bona fide wide angle (and needs to be used with this in mind). 50mm is a short telephoto. YMMV.<p> Of course, rules are meant to be broken, and if you can make an extreme wide angle work for you as a general purpose lens and vice versa, that's just as fine.

[cenelsonfoto]

24mm.

[low light]

I prefer the 35mm over the 50mm.

[rich815]

It's realy going to come down to different personal choice. I personally find the "normal" lenses better for my style as I prefer to get in a bit closer to my subjects, sometimes even using a 75mm or 90mm. I've been very happy with my 45mm Planar when using my Contax G2 and for my Leica my 50mm Elmar. Lately though I've been using a 40mm Nokton as I can use some room occasionally and it's a great place between the 50 and 35 and if you only carry one lens. Otherwise a kit I'd take with me if traveling would be a 35/50/75 set.

[flaviosganzerla]

28mm for me.

[nemeng]

I mostly use a 50mm, portrait format. Sometimes I alternatively use a 35mm in landscape format, to break the monotony.

 

Lately I've been doing a bit of medium-format candid work with a (Hasselblad) Planar 2.8/80 or, again for a change, a Biogon 4/50.

 

I like the 6x6 80mm mainly because it lets you simultaneously shoot landscape and portrait in one go, and yet keep the 50mm angle-of-view. In effect it becomes a kind of "wide 50".

 

Of course Rolleiflex users have known this for decades :?)

[over exposure]

24.

[cenelsonfoto]

http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/2365010-lg.jpg

 

Great image, Gabriele.

 

Glad to see others prefer the knife in the gut that is 24mm. Much more fun to shoot street with.

[jeremy freeland]

20mm or 28mm. Occasionally an 85mm for street portrait. All at 1.0x (i.e., film). Anyone using zooms? I find it easier to get a composition with primes.

[rich815]

Wow, lots of people using 24, 28 and wider lenses for street work. Yet, seems like most images in the W/NW threads are shot with 35 and 50.

[sknowles]

Interesting question. I use a 45mm f2 lens. It's a wysiwyg lens. Many 40-45mm lens were designed to replicate the non-perpheral vision. After that it's usually a 85mm lens for portraits and a 28mm or 35mm lens for wide angles shots.

[andrew_lee2]

<i>Wow, lots of people using 24, 28 and wider lenses for street work</i> <p>

I think the trick is to use these <i>well</i>. The 50mm is, for me, a challenging lens to use (since it isolates), but so is anything wider than 35mm (since the wider you go, there are that many more elements in the frame that you need to be on top of). Fail to account for these elements (i.e., there's crap in the frame), and the pic fails.

[35mmdelux]

this is a great question and a classic one as well. It really depends on your shooting needs and style. For 20 years I shot w/ the 50mm, then for the last 10+ years I've shot with a 35mm. I like them both and find that they are quite different. These days I try to isolate the subject more. <35mm and 50mm summicrons< I carry them both. On the street its 50mm, but inside bldgs its 35mm:-)

[cenelsonfoto]

Good point, Andrew - the 24mm can be as pointless a tool as any if not used well. I prefer it for... I dont know, it's good to grab what wont fit in narrower fields, but for street portraits, man... I mean, my Cosina 24mm macro lets me get really damned close to folks, and there's something visceral about it. I love certain longer lenses, but the shorter I get the more human the work feels.<div></div>

[cenelsonfoto]

Here's another one... I was a bit too close on this one, according to the cops. I love these sorts of shots.<div></div>

[shoebox]

This must have been said for a million time... but it really depends on your shooting style.

 

I prefer 50mm for street works, just that I enjoy a tighter composition and also I'm not

good at getting close (35mm's close) to strangers on the street.

 

I found that 50mm is perfect for street works for me, while 35mm is good for taking pics

of friends, especially when we're sitting close in a bar or a restaurant.

 

If you can't decide, get a 50 and use it for a while. If you don't like it, you can always sell it

and get a 35.

[dagata]

Juergen,you know I've pondered this a lot myself. When I have a 35 with me, I wish I had a 50 because I regret not being able to get closer; when I have a 50 with me, I get annoyed because it's too tight and the dynamism of a 35 is lost. Finally, I took someone's advice (who happens to be a very good street shooter): if you shoot anonymously, the photo--whether it's with a 35 or a 50--will have little impact. If you're willing to risk a rapport with your subject, then you can use even the 24 (great shots here) because you're willing to relate a little and the shot will reflect this. So for me at least, the problem doesn't come down to focal length, but to how I'm willing to work. Many times, I've grabbed a shot with the 50 and thought, wow, glad I didn't have a wide angle, it would've been too far... But then, when I get home and develop it, the shot fails because there was no dynamism and it was emotionally distant, because it was clear that I wasn't engaged with the subject.

[john falkenstine]

I'm a 50mm fan but recently have "fallen" to 28mm for a bit more composition variety. Trouble is: for those who like these short lenses, a good one can be very, very pricy, even used. I have given up trying to get one for my Canon EOS 630.

[cenelsonfoto]

Buy yourself an old M42 body and hit the streets. You oughta find plenty of shorties for those, including decent Vivitar 28mm I've seen going for less than $40. Hell, I just bought a fine 55:1,8 Super Tak for $15 and a handshake. Affordable screwmounts all over the place.

[cenelsonfoto]

Speaking of that 55mm...<div></div>