I was in Kosmin’s Camera Exchange and it was 1968. Herman asked me what the problem was. I told him something was wrong with my eyes. “What the heck are you talking about?”
I explained that no matter what I do I can’t get that 50mm to work for me, it’s always too long. He smiled at the young streetshooter and said…”Take this camera home and try it out. You’ll find your FOV very fast.” The camera was a Nikon F and I had 3 lenses with it, 28mm, 35mm and a 50mm. So I did as he suggested and in no time flat, I realized that 35mm was it for me. I told him I learned a valuable lesson and he smiled and asked what I learned. He of course wanted to hear about my FOV issue being solved. Well, he almost hit the floor when I told him the lesson I learned was that I hated SLR cameras and also that 35mm was my vision.
All thru the years I felt at home with the 35mm FOV. The thing was, that most shooters used a 50 more than anything else. 50 was natural for them and the 35 was considered wide, I was actually upset because I felt I didn’t fit in. ——-> time warp about 35 years ahead………..Then the digital revolution came and hit me on the head and all the cameras I liked or used had 28mm FOV. This was most upsetting. Many even had the dreaded zoomie lens where I could really get lost in Multiple FOV Personality Camera Land. All right enough of the issues, finding resolution.
I fully adapted to 28mm to the point that is is as natural as could be. I even have to 18mm (27mm) for the XP1 and it works great. Enter my neighbor the cop and his Fuji camera and lens fiasco. As it turns out I made a trade for kitchen layout and design work that will save him around $6,500.00 on his new project. He bought the XT1 and sent it back, his XP1 will arrive today and I’ll give him help on use and setup. What did I get? Glad you asked…I got the brand new 23mm (35mm) lens. Nah, I’m not happy….sheeeeeesh!
So yesterday I took Andre’, the Fuji XP1 with his new eye out for a walk. I just wanted to see how I would do with my old friend, the 35mm FOV. I gotta tell ya, it’s gonna be work to get that back but Andre’ and the 35mm is up to the task and they are starting to Shine The Light To Home for me. The above photos are just FOV test for me. I don’t claim to be after the real stuff yet, I just have to get it together. I will say one thing. Andre’ and this lens are just about encroaching on the rather large size movement of cameras that have found their way to ebay. There is some heft to him but not yet a real problem. The use and photos that he is capable of finding is way above anything I could hope for. The good thing is, if anyone ever tried to steal him, well…..beings all metal and having some size and weight….it wouldn’t be a pretty picture of the person that got hit with Andre’. This is a key issue for being a street shooter, defense!
So the adventures will continue and the re-training of the 35mm FOV is underway….With Andre’ and the 23mm, we are off to a real good start.
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Yessireeeeeee, that 23 is big. I always feel out of place with large equipment on the street. Sometimes even the M is too big for some neighborhoods in the outer boroughs. What I like about the GR, I can palm it if necessary. And it’s quiet too.
There was a photographer here in NYC who had some notoriety some years ago, Lou Lanzano. Haven’t heard or seen anything from him for years, though according to his website, he is still around. At the time, he wrapped his M in the palm of his hand, used a 28mm lens, and utilized his thumb to trip the shutter. Never used the viewfinder. He said he could “see through the palm of his hand”.
Yeah, size is a funny thing. I remember working with my 8×10 Deardorff and thinking…”I’ll never complain about camera size again. I loved working large format because the images were great. So, as far as the 23mm goes, it’s big on the XE1 but on the Xp1…perfect fit. I really don’t mind the size even if it’s big.
It’s the perfect FOV and it has a wonderful contrast to it.
Thanks…don
Congratulations on the new toy, I mean tool. It’s always fun to spend time getting used to a new lens. Since I put the 80-400 Nikon (an Ebay find) on the Df I have hardly taken it off (not for streets much). But soon it will come off and I will go back to something wider.
Thanks Dan. I remember back in the early 80′ that the Nikon 200mm f/4 was the lens to have . It was used by more fashion shooters than newsman. The compression on that lens is amazing. I had it mounted on an F2 or 3 and for portraits, couldn’t be beat.
Your doing well with the DF, better than most.
Well I have just stepped aboard the Fuji train with the XT1 and the 18-55mm. I know what you mean about getting lost in Multiple FOV, this is crazy making. Picked up the 35mm which is what I shot 90% of the time on my M8. But it seem tight didn’t think there would be that much difference between 47 and 54 but there is.
GR covers the 28, so perhaps a 23/35 may be that sweet spot…
XT1 is a nice camera for sure. It’s not my style but I think they did a good job with it. The 23mm seemed somewhat big on the XT1 but fits nicely on the XP1 so I’ll stay where I am. So I am with the 18, 23, 35 = 28, 35, 50 like my Tri-Elmar.
Funny how numbers mean something especially in size….just ask any wife.
Let me know how ya get along with the XT1 and what lens ya end up with.
Don
So far I like the feel of the XT1 and the dials so I don’t have to delve into the menus. Had a thumbs up on the M, so the bump works well. May just end up with the same combo 18, 23, 35. Love the higher ISO capabilities of the X Trans. A friend has the XPro 1 and the felt large to me… we all have different tastes.
Odd thing is I find I am liking color more, where as it was always b&w with the M. I may get over that in time.
Lynn
Funny, I thought the XT1 felt a little small. I’m sure it’s because I use the XP1. The color thing, I find that it doesn’t repulse me anymore and sometimes, I even look for a color shot. Of course that is usually before I take my meds.
I probably need to go to the VA and get checked, I saw in b&W before. Brain is slightly confused.
Well, if ya go I know a few good shrinks there….well I should say a few know me very well. My Doc carries a M9 with a 35 & 50 Cron in his briefcase. The XP1 does color really good….
My new XP1 arrived yesterday. I have the 18-55, 35′ and the 60. Seeing as that I also have the x100s I am debating to get the 23 or the 14 as a wide angle. Those are nice shots you posted.
The 23 is sharp.
Good news Dave. The 23 is a great lens but it’s big, really big. With the XP1 the combo is at the threshold of size and weight for me. I love the camera and the 23 is like my old FOV and feels good.
I like the X100 but the 23 is better.
Good luck with the XP1….gotta name yet?
No name yet. Seeing as how reading your posts influenced me to go for the
Pro…maybe I should name it “Don.” Well, I’ll let you know what I decide after I
give it some deep thought. Have a good day.
Dave, ya don’t get to blame me for getting an XPro. Something tells me there’s a better half watching us as we post to each other, I ain’t talking about Tanya and how your sending me a few lenses for free either.
By the way, Don is a no no for a camera name. I was gonna use it some time ago but the name is already taken by the body I’m traveling in…..
Great camera, just make sure the firmware is updated….and don’t whatever you do, don’t even think about using the 23mm…….
Been shooting with the 23mm a LOT lately Don. The 14 and the 23 are such great lenses that when I was out in the Bay Area a couple of weeks ago they’re about all I used. I had the 18, which is MY most natural field of view, but the 14 and 23 are so damn special (and have that manual focus clutch ring that I dearly love) that I used them about 90% of the time. The 23 is nice enough to almost make me forget the RX1 I sold without fully thinking it through. Too tight for me for street, although I’ve used it some that way. I love the 14 for street work. You have to be pretty close, but that seems to be how I do it anyway. I seem to even get some feet in the frame with that lens…
Fuji has another fast WA prime on their roadmap for later this year (maybe early next). If that’s a high quality 16 or 18 with the clutch ring, I’m officially in Fuji heaven…
I used to be all about the 50mm. The 35mm f/1.8G was wedded to my D90 and that and the 85mm f/1.8d was literally all I ever shot. Then I bought the X-Pro1 with the 18mm and played with that. I fell in love with the 28mm fov! By the time my free 35mm arrived through the post I found that I’d completely washed away my old ability to see at that angle, and trying to use it in street work felt awkward. Man, I wish I could feel comfortable using it more as it is such a sweet lens, but the 18mm has stolen my heart. There’s no going back.
As for the 35mm view, well I’ve got the X100 for that, which filled a nice gap between the D90 and the X-Pro1 while I was saving the pennies. Coming from a nifty-fifty view the 35mm seemed massively wide, now it feels comfy. But yes… that 28mm fov all the way for me now.