M-mount, wide frame lines, and TTL metering?

[AutumnJazz]

How useful is 21mm? I'm not quite sure if I should just go with a 35mm f/1.2 or a 35mm f/1.4 and a 21mm f/4.

[2F/2F]

Originally Posted by AutumnJazz

How useful is 21mm? I'm not quite sure if I should just go with a 35mm f/1.2 or a 35mm f/1.4 and a 21mm f/4.

Re: the earlier question, I think 28mm is noticeably wider than a 35mm. I like 28s or sometimes 24s only when I have to get closer to people than I would normally like. I prefer the distance from the subject I get with a 35, personally.

I would suggest renting an ultra wide zoom for your Nikon for a week and shooting it set at various focal lengths. I think they have a 17-35 f/2.8 if my memory serves me correctly.

How useful any of these lenses will be really is up to you. Another reason to try out a wide zoom rental.

Personally, I love 35mm and 28mm for many things, but for my average shooting, I find even 35mm to be frustratingly wide for many subjects if I have it as my only lens at the time. Wides really make you move closer than normal if you are after a "normal" subject size/magnification/whatever you want to call it. One of my favorite setups is one camera with a 35 and another with an 85, or one with a 50 and another with a 135. If I am using a super wide, I really prefer to have three cameras on me. One super wide (pref. a zoom), one normal, and one mildly long tele, like a 100 or 135. That is my normal wedding setup for the candid stuff...

...but it really does you no good to know all that about ME.

[John Koehrer]

1)angle of view-diagonal
21mm=92
28mm=75
35mm=63
2)I'm not a big fan of 35mm lenses, to me they are too close to a 50 and so, I
prefer a 28. 21mm is a pretty wide lens if it's the only one you've got and it's
possible to get pretty tired of the distortion all the time.
3)Don't ask why 'cus I don't know, but although I don't care for the 35mm fl. I
just really like the 40mm!

[Tom Hoskinson]

Originally Posted by John Koehrer

1)
2)I'm not a big fan of 35mm lenses, to me they are too close to a 50 and so, I
prefer a 28. 21mm is a pretty wide lens if it's the only one you've got and it's
possible to get pretty tired of the distortion all the time.

What distortion, John?

My 21mm lenses (Biogon, Super Angulon and Color Skopar) don't distort.

[Anupam Basu]

Originally Posted by AutumnJazz

How useful is 21mm? I'm not quite sure if I should just go with a 35mm f/1.2 or a 35mm f/1.4 and a 21mm f/4.

Here are some 21mm street shots to give you an idea.

[Uhner]

Originally Posted by Anupam Basu

Here are some 21mm street shots to give you an idea.

You have some really good stuff there.

[AutumnJazz]

Originally Posted by Uhner

You have some really good stuff there.

I second that. Wow.

As of right now, I think I'll go with a 35mm f/1.4 and that 21mm. 1.2 isn't that much faster than 1.4, right?

I use a 35mm on my Nikon right now, and most of the time I'm alright. There are a couple of times where I just wish I had a wider lens, though. I've never really felt the need for a longer lens, although I don't do much portraiture.

[Anupam Basu]

Thanks for the kind words.

I'd give up the half stop advantage for the more compact size of the 35/1.4. You might also check out the 40/1.4 nokton. There's a review on my website. The 40 is great to use with 35mm framelines on most RFs. I'm not sure what body you decided on but the 35 can be a tad tricky to focus on the R4 wide open, although it should just be enough. I switched from a 21/40 combination to a 15/28/50 combo recently and I love it. The 28/1.9 Ultron just blows me away.

[Tom Hoskinson]

Originally Posted by Anupam Basu

Thanks for the kind words.

I'd give up the half stop advantage for the more compact size of the 35/1.4. You might also check out the 40/1.4 nokton. There's a review on my website. The 40 is great to use with 35mm framelines on most RFs. I'm not sure what body you decided on but the 35 can be a tad tricky to focus on the R4 wide open, although it should just be enough. I switched from a 21/40 combination to a 15/28/50 combo recently and I love it. The 28/1.9 Ultron just blows me away.

I have been using My Nokton 35mm F1.2 Aspherical on my Zeiss
Ikon 35mm Rfdr (I'm currently using it as my Normal lens). It is a large lens - - it snaps right into focus in my Ikon's rangefinder and its on-film performance is excellent.

I'm using a 50/35/21/15 combo and love it! I've also been looking with lust at the new 28/2.0 Ultron.

[AutumnJazz]

Why is a fast lens hard to focus? (I haven't really used a RF before, but I understand how they work. Split image, right?)