General uses for different focal lengths

R

raymondluo

Well-known member
I'm interested to know what are the uses of the different focal lengths, especially the 35mm. I own a 25mm and 35mm(f1.4) Contax Zeiss. I'm going to get a 50mm and as I foresee myself using the 25 and the 50 combo more often than the 35, I'm rather stumped as to what would happen to my 35mm and if I should sell it or keep it (And sell it as a collectors set in future) or get a 85mm instead and play with a 25/35/85 combo.

That said, how big a difference is the 50mm and 85mm for practical use?
 
The difference between 50mm and 85mm is big. 50mm is the "normal" length, and thus many photographers consider a 50mm lens to be their workhorse lenses (among primes). 85mm lenses are specifically "portrait" lenses, offering the sort of image compression, FOV, and DOF characteristics that are industry standard for portraiture. So 85mm is not for general use like 50mm is. I've found that 85mm lenses are the most expensive within the standard wide to telephoto range.

But of course, you can use any lenses however you want.
 
Some photographers dislike 50mm and prefer to use 35mm for general purpose. Within still photography terminology, 35mm is wide, while ~25mm is super-wide. So they do have distinct applications. 28mm is hazier, and some photographers choose a single 28mm lens over the combination of 24/25mm and 35mm. And some photographers find uses for all three wide focal lengths.
 
These answers really depend on the sensor size of the camera. Full frame, or APS-C? a 50mm on APS-C is not the standard, but more of a portrait, where 35mm is closer to "standard angle".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top