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[OM] wide angles

Subject: [OM] wide angles
From: Joseph <joseph@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 21:08:44 -0800 (PST)
=============
I take your point, however I always have thought about my lenses in terms 
of angle of view.  The difference between 35mm and 21mm is 29 deg.  
Between 50mm and 85mm it is 18 deg.  Would one not consider a short tele 
between a 50mm and a 135mm, that is a 29 deg spread also?
=============

Giles,

again it is ratio of angle of view that matters, not actual degrees.
when a lens has an angle of view of 100 degrees, an extra 29 either
way is nowhere near as significant as a lens with a 50 degree angle
of view.

35mm shooters get bogged down on having as dense a sequence of focal
lengths as possible.  In medium format, the weight, and for amateur
shooters, the cost prevent carrying as many lenses and you quickly
find that you don't need so many.  Once upon a time, 35mm camera
makers published in their owner's manuals that you should
acquire lenses in a 2x increasing sequence of focal lengths.  Over time,
as they designed a wider selection of lenses, they dropped this
number to 1.6x to sell more lenses.  with today's zooms, there
is the occasional perception that you have to have every focal
length covered, but that really isn't true.

24mm and 35mm are a bit crowded in focal length anyway.  the rationale
is that some people don't want a wider lens than 24mm so they
find this a useful pairing.  But if you start carrying a 21mm and 35mm
lens as a wide angle solution, I doubt you would find you were missing
shots from lacking something in between.  35mm and 28mm are pretty
close.  Whether to pair a 21mm or 24mm lens with a 35mm lens is
largely a decision of whether you would use a 21mm or 24mm lens more
often, but in terms of ideal sequence of focal lengths, the 21mm lens
is an ideal pair to a 24mm lens.

I think if you sell your 35/2 and buy a 35-80, the day will come that
you will regret the decision.

Joseph


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