This was a funny scene. The girl wanted a snap of the street performer (Don’s his name) and as she tried to take it he kept moving close and she kept walking backwards and everyone was laughing. Very cute.
I shot this with my 50mm f1.4 prime lens (@ f1.4) during my first outing with it. It’s a nice lens but to be honest I don’t think 50mm is my focal length. I think I’d get more use from a 35mm prime, if I were to go that route. Nonetheless, all I have is the 50 so that’s what I brought out.
It was an interesting experiment. At first I was a bit lost because the lens wasn’t wide enough for the stuff I kept pointing at. But soon enough I sort of began to ignore things too wide or too far away and just focused (excuse the pun) on things within the 50mm focal length. When I look through the shots I get from my 24-105mm zoom, a small percentage of those are at 50mm. With the 50mm prime I found that I was getting about the same number of shots at 50mm as I would with my zoom. I didn’t expect that.
Another interesting thing is although it’s an f1.4 aperture, I shot mostly at 2.8 in order to get sharper images. Usually these lenses are designed to be at their sharpest a couple of stops down from their widest aperture. That got me thinking. Instead of primes I could just buy a Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 image stabilized (IS) lens. The IS would help me with lower shutter speeds, especially after dark, and the zoom range would give me way more flexibility.
The purpose for taking this lens out with me Sunday was to see how (or if) I’d enjoy shooting primes, should I end up buying that Fuji X Pro 2 or the new Olympus Pen F.
My thinking is this: If I kept the Canon 5D Mrk III with my 24-105mm zoom lens for times when I wanted the flexibility, then having the X Pro 2 with a couple of primes would make for a nice change from time to time. But that’s a lot of money for only a part-time camera, right?
Back to the 50mm. I did enjoy it and I also could see how using primes from time to time would make someone a better photographer. It forces you out of your comfort zone and makes you see the world in a different way. Oh, another solid option is for me to buy a Fuji X100T, which has a fixed 35mm (full frame equivalent) f2 lens. That’s also one sweet camera and a lot smaller than the X Pro 2.
the lazy photographer 
I love when you talk about the Technical stuff I’ve forgotten .. life get;s in the way. I loved using a dark room with shadowing and more which I suppose in in the light room software you speak of. Hope I get well faster so I have more opportunities to do more things I love or loved! You know perhaps you could provide short books on different aspects? I do more writing nowadays .. Just a thought! =) Nice shot! — really and some interesting conclusions too
Thanks Rick. Lightroom is a photo editing software system designed for the digital age. It’s a 21st century dark room, so to speak. Be well, and ll the best. On Mar 8, 2016 9:03 PM, “the lazy photographer” wrote:
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What’s the idea behind wanting a new camera? What’s the desire? What do you want to achieve? Im not too knowledgeable about cameras but heard good things about the Fuji x100t. I have a 50mm on a cropped sensor which I use a lot. You do get used to what you can shoot and what you can’t. I believe limitations can help your creativity but it’s a tough thing to do to go out with just that one lens. Currently I’m thinking of buying a 35mm, which is like a 50mm for a cropped sensor. But just can’t completely justify why I should buy it. 50 and 30mm are so similar that it is often a question of moving a few steps forward or backward to get the same shot.
Simply a matter of wanting something smaller and more discrete. And I just really love the rangefinder styling. I only tend to bring out my large camera when I’m going out for a day of shooting. A smaller camera I’d likely carry around more. I did enjoy the 50mm but I think a little wider would suit my style more. Maybe even a 28 mm prime. On Mar 11, 2016 12:12 PM, “the lazy photographer” wrote:
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Personally I would feel a little uncomfortable being so near my subject with a 28mm but it seems most street photographers don’t mind. I do miss not having a prime wide angle so I understand the need.