Usefulness of 35mm (70mm) focal length

A

Arch Stanton

Member
I currently have the following lenses:

Wide: 14mm (28mm)
Normal: 24mm (48mm)
Short Tele: 50mm (100mm)
Med Tele: 85mm (170mm)

I know this is a subjective question, but I'm wondering how useful a 35mm (70mm) lens might be?
 
35mm has been a very useful lens for me, if your talking about its use on a m4/3 camera like the GH3. Previous to using DSLRs, I tended to use much wider focal lengths. A 35mm can be used as a close-up lens, but in certain situations, you can actually use it as a wide master shot. It tends to give things a classy, portraiture quality. I think Hitchcock used a 50mm for much of his work, which in terms of FOV, is similar to a 35mm FOV on a m4/3 sensor.

Signed,
Bill Carson
 
I'm assuming you have the Samyang cine lenses from your lineup. Honestly I didn't like the Samyang 35mm on AF100 - felt just a little too long (I've heard it's more like a 38mm). I did like the Sigma 30mm F1.4 very much. Kind of a personal preference, but you can get very nice shots out of either. I absolutely love the 35mm for Canon crop sensor though.
 
I agree w/ DVDBrother - a 35mm (70mm on m4/3) is a great CU lens. I have the SLR Magic 35mm 1.4 & love it on the GH3.
 
I'm with Nate - I tried out both the 28mm and 35mm f2.0 Canon FDs, but prefer the Sigma 30mm f1.4 to either of those. A factor for me though is that I like the 45mm Lumix .... so I use 30mm Sigma, 45mm Lumix, 58mm Rokkor, 85mm Rokkor.
 
I have the Nikon AI 35mm 1.4 old school journalist lens that is a stunner at 70mm, my most 'filmic" of my Nikon set. Looking forward to the Metabones speedbooster, the lens becomes a 50mm 1.
 
VLance52 said:
I agree w/ DVDBrother - a 35mm (70mm on m4/3) is a great CU lens. I have the SLR Magic 35mm 1.4 & love it on the GH3.
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+1000

I have both the Slr Magic 35mm and new 25mm. I honestly like the 35mm more. You can still get some nice medium shots and have shallow dof at f/2. With the 25mm you need to go down to around 1.2-1.4 for the same dof and it just creates problems in some situations. Personally I think you have a great lens set and your 35mm would replace a lot of your shots, my favorite focal length right now next to 85mm on the GH3.
 
I use a Nikon 35 f2, and love it. Although in certain situations, I find it a bit too close for fast moving subjects close up.
I think this is all circumstantial though. Frankly, it all depends on what you like to film. I film mostly weddings and events as a weekend job, my baby daughter and family as my hobby and lastly, my general travels/experiences.
So a medium telephoto (low profile) fits very nicely in my arsenal.
Besides this, i use the standard GH2 kit lens 14-42, Pana 14mm f2.5, Nikon 24-70 f2.8, Sigma 15mm f2.8 fisheye Nikon mount.
I own various other Nikon lenses, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.4, 70-200, 28 2.8, 18-105 kit.... but i prefer not to use these as they dont fit most of my needs.
Here is an event I used mainly the 35mm, kit, and 14mm.
[video]http://vimeo.com/dailon/varhegy[/video]
 
Arch Stanton said:
I decided to purchase one and give it a try. Thanks for all your help.
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I just read your thread, so maybe a little late (but maybe useful for other readers):

I have a more or less complete set of vintage Minolta MDs plus the Olympus 12-60mm 2,8 - so what I am saying is: I really have sufficent choices, even when I´m lazy: The 35mm prime (2,8) is the most used lens I have. So, enjoy yours!

Edit: I need to update my sig...
 
Arch Stanton said:
I currently have the following lenses:

Wide: 14mm (28mm)
Normal: 24mm (48mm)
Short Tele: 50mm (100mm)
Med Tele: 85mm (170mm)

I know this is a subjective question, but I'm wondering how useful a 35mm (70mm) lens might be?
Click to expand...


Well that really all depends on how many times you have wanted a bit more reach/compression than your 24 but not quite as much as your 50.

I'd say next on your list is a 135.
 
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