[LRflex] Re: Summilux 25 "off list reply to Charlie repeated to the list."
- From: William Abbott <wbabbott3@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 09:21:07 -0700
David, Howard,
Thanks for your colloquy. It made me realize that I was brought up on =20=
newspaper and magazine photos so my "eye" tends to classical "normal" =20=
or slightly WA scenes. I was conditioned by the lenses commonly found =20=
on Speed Graphics, the focal lengths of which I can't remember, or =20
the trinity found on Zeiss, and Leica cameras of the 1930s and 1940s.
A similar aphorism I was taught was, "Get up close, focus, and then =20
move closer!"
If you redefine "normal" as "what lens is on your camera," with an M4 =20=
it was a conventional 50mm, and then, with an R4 or R7, 90% of the =20
time it was a Vario-Elmar 35-70, first the Minolta one and later the =20
f/4.0. Why? To crop the slides I was taking.
With the DMR, the 35-70 and a 19mm are now the all-purpose, bare =20
bones kit for me.
Thanks to all for the Four-Thirds reports and commentary; I am =20
considering one because of the bulk and weight of the R9-DMR while we =20=
wait for the R10.
All the best,
Bill
On May 8, 2007, at 8:41 AM, David Young wrote:
Howard Cummer wrote:
> Funnily - I have been so used to the 50mm end of the 14 - 50 zoom
> that the 25 actually feels wide to me. I know it isn't - that the
> field of view is like a 50-mm in 35 mm ratios - but it feels wide -
> and is a bit disconcerting - as I keep stepping closer to the subject
> that I am photographing.. Isn't that strange?
Hi Howard!
Not strange, at all!
The definition of "normal' .. as in "normal lens"
is one which has a focal length approximately
equal to the diagonal of the film or sensor size
it's being used with. Such a lens yields a
perspective in the photographic image which is
similar to that seen by the human eye (a field of view of =20
approximately 45=B0).
Thus for:
4/3rds format, its approximately 25mm,
for APS-C format, it's approximately 31mm,
for the DMR format, it's approximately 36mm,
for the M8 format, it's approximately 39mm,
35mm format it is approximately 50mm,
6x6cm format it is approximately 90mm,
4x5 format, it is approximately 150mm,
5x7 format, it is approximately 210mm,
and, in 8x10, it is approximately 400mm.
However, I've long viewed "normal", as the lens
which photographs the scene which your eye and
mind envisions. For instance, I see "long" ...
that is to say, when I look around for
photographs, what my mind picks out as likely
images are small portions of the scene in front
of me. Thus, for me, a 90mm or even a 125mm (90
on DMR) or 145 mm (90 on Canon 20D) lens is
ideal. As I use such a lens for most of
my"normal" work, it is my "normal" lens. Others
see the world with a much wider view, and find
that a 35mm lens (on 35mm film) is more "normal" to their way of =20
thinking!
Sounds like you're getting used to the 100mm
(equivalent FOV) of the zoom, at 50mm. Nothing wrong with that!
Remember Bob Cappa's dictum "If your pictures
aren't good enough ... you're not close
enough". The short tele simply helps you frame
your shots as your mind sees them, without wasting shoe leather!
Welcome to my world!
Cheers!
---
David Young,
Logan Lake, CANADA
Wildlife Photographs: http://www.telyt.com/
Personal Web-pages: http://www3.telus.net/~telyt
Stock Photography at: http://tinyurl.com/2amll4
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