Just Beachy

An hour south of the city we live in, are gorgeous beaches and resorts stretching for miles along the coast of El Salvador. It’s a nice break to be able to pop over there for an afternoon and chill out.

Robert,

I can see here the utility of a close zoom lens. You have spacious landscapes and informative close ups of signage.

Could you have managed as well with say a single 35mm (full format) equivalent “street lens?

Or what single focal length lens or camera would you choose as a “best compromise”?

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

Robert,

I can see here the utility of a close zoom lens. You have spacious landscapes and informative close ups of signage.

Could you have managed as well with say a single 35mm (full format) equivalent “street lens?

Or what single focal length lens or camera would you choose as a “best compromise”?

Asher

Click to expand...

I suppose. But I have always been a zoom person. Far more practical for me. I do generally have a 80 or 90mm portrait focal length lens - but don’t use it often other than my professional work. That is the only single focal length lens that I use.

——-

I just looked at the Exif for these, and 3 were taken at roughly the same focal length:

The boat equivalent of 32mm, the posts in sand equivalent of 34mm and the signs at the equivalent of 44mm —- so indeed all could have been taken with a 35mm single focal length and looked the same as these.

The sunset shot was taken at the equivalent of 118mm.


———-

35mm as a versatile “walk around” focal length!

Thanks, Robert, Robert for sharing your experience.

I am pleased to confirm that you could do so much with approximately a focal length of 35mm.

I have just purchased 40mm Canon pancake lens for my Fuji GFX. With a multiplication of approximately factor of 0.85, this get to match ~34mm. The setup is extraordinary lightweight and far more discrete than my impressive and stellar Fuji 32-64mm Fuji zoom.

For years I used just Pentax with one 50mm Super Multi Takamur lens. But your picture here does indeed benefit from having a conveniently available 118mm equivalent reach to frame in one shot.



The fact that the amazingly angled boat is in silhouette, (and best that way), means that zooming with one’s feet, with my previously single 50mm lens photography could have a similar look, despite a difference in perspective.

Right now, with my 50MP Fuji and the 40mm Pancake lens I could approach the view you achieved by simply cropping. But could the eye recognize the difference?

Asher

Robert,

I have a comment overall on your way of working!

With your choice of micro 4/3 and Olympus you have the finest lenses and can frame your subject perfectly most of the time. It’s far more efficient than my way with one lens. I have to either crop to get close ups or stitch to get a wider angle. Overall, with today’s MFT shooting at ~27MP with amongst the finest glass, image stabilization and low weight, these are the very best cameras for most work. I especially like your ability to walk around with the lenses that can reach into trees at 600mm or more with a lens that fits in the pocket!

I admire how you work, framing what you might print, as you take the shot.

I never developed that discipline and make life so difficult for myself by delaying the framing until I examine my snaps on a big screen.

But as a professional wedding photographer, you would have no time to eat or sleep if you didn’t come home with the framing already aced!

That skill and the amazing Olympus MFT allow you to wander around the streets, doing miracles!

I really appreciate you sharing so much here!