Damien Demolder
Tharg the Mighty
Reged: 22/08/2001
Posts: 935
Loc: Essex born and badly-bred
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I'm a bit of a wideangle man myself, and although I have plenty of long lenses I find I just don't use them very often. I wouldn't use the word 'style' as that suggests something about my photography that doesn't really exist yet, but I suppose my choice of focal length comes down to the way I like to see the world.
What focal lengths do you like to use most often? Do you see a wide view of the world, or are you always looking into the distance?
Go to the home page to let us all know. To unify the results, vote according to the 35mm equivalent of your focal length, so APS-C sensor users should multiply the marked focal length by 1.5x before voting.
I could have asked you to vote on an angle of view, but...
Thanks
damien
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See my photographs at www.wordsonpictures.com
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Hotblack
Dead Horse Flogger
Reged: 07/03/2006
Posts: 7014
Loc: Upstairs in the spare room.
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You've asked two question really. Your poll question asks
Quote:
If you could only have one fixed focal length lens, for a 35mm/full-frame camera, from which range would you choose it?
In which case I would have to have something in the 35-50mm range for general utility.
Your question here asks
Quote:
WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE FOCAL LENGTH??
In which case I have two answers, very wide and very long. I like to use the extremes of my lens range when possible but my 18-70mm lens is the most versatile.
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Cheers
David
David J White Photography
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BigWill
Cupcake-Babykins- Creampuff
Reged: 08/09/2000
Posts: 33262
Loc: Northern Ireland
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I'm a bit of a 28-70 man myself so I guess I don't really fit into any of the chosen categories but I voted for 35-50 as it seemed nearest to my choice. Of course I do use a tele zoom but this is usually a bit "specialised" and I wouldn't regard it as my "everyday" lens though it's nice to have it as an option when I need it.
BigWill
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I'm sailing like a driftwood on a windy bay.
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TheFatControlleR
L'éminence Grise, Devil's Advocate & AP Fanboy!
Reged: 24/04/2001
Posts: 10329
Loc: In A Glass Darkly
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Quote:
... I would have to have something in the 35-50mm range for general utility.
Put me down for that too.
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TheFatControlleR
And so, my fellow Benchists: ask not what your bench can do for you - ask what you can do for your bench... Ben Chism
Live fat, die young, and leave a self-basting corpse...
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bdr2
member
Reged: 12/03/2007
Posts: 137
Loc: Hampshire
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An interesting question.
I use long lenses most of the time, and about 80% of my pictures are taken in the 300-400mm range so my gut reaction was a 300mm f/2.8 please  . However, on reflection it would probably be better to go for something shorter (135-200mm) on the basis that I can always crop the image afterwards.
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Claire
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OneTen
'Two Breakfasts'
Reged: 23/06/2003
Posts: 2252
Loc: Hartland, Devon
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For me it's a toss up between slighly wide and slightly long i.e. 35mm and 85mm. I think if I had to go with one it would be the 35mm. I've found that on 6x7 I use 65mm more than anything else and that equates (very roughly) to 32mm. So I've chalked up a vote for 35-50mm.
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Richard .......... My Website - My Flickr
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Siuya
Cool Hand Chris
Reged: 21/07/2001
Posts: 9411
Loc: Knackers yard!
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24mm for me...
Always was a bit of a wide boy!  
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Chris
The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it (AA)
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Woolliscroft
veteran
Reged: 23/08/2005
Posts: 1253
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I use a Leica 19mm (actually 19.5) more than anything else, mostly for archaeological trench photos, followed by a near 50mm equivalent (actually a 90mm on 6x7) for aerial work.
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David.
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LargeFormat
old hand
Reged: 24/10/2006
Posts: 979
Loc: Buckinghamshire and Cumbria
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I tend to use wide angles. If I could only have one I would like something about 28mm equivalent as it looks reasonably natural. However, I would prefer to have a wider angle, say 21mm, as well.
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AlexMonro
addict
Reged: 05/06/2006
Posts: 689
Loc: Exeter, Devon (and Somerset so...
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I have a 28mm prime for my Nikon FM2, which gets far more use than the 50mm prime or the 35-105mm. My Fuji S9500 bridge starts at 28mm equivalent (one of the reasons I chose it) and I often find I'm not zooming in at all, though I do occasionally use the 300mm equiv end for wildlife. I often wish my Olympus SP-350 pocket compact went a bit wider than 38mm equiv.
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4245
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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Quote:
You've asked two question really.
I'm with Hotblack on this one.
If I have to have only one prime lens, it's got to be 40mm (+/- 5mm). Can I have an f/1.4 please, with a multi-curved blade "circular" aperture stop for nice bokeh when stopped down?
But my favourite focal length for general photography is a lot harder to answer. I use focal lengths around 24mm and 85mm quite a lot. Both do things that are inconvenient or impossible with a "standard" lens. I'd feel deprived without either of these focal lengths, but not as deprived as I would be if I didn't have a "standard" focal length available.
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CircleOfConfusion
addict
Reged: 22/01/2006
Posts: 420
Loc: Bedfordshire
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If I had to live with just one lens it would probably be a 50mm prime, however my favourite focal length is probably 70-200mm. I suppose I love to pick out detail and isolate subjects, and its also probably because my 70mm+ lenses are much better than my wide angle zoom 
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Steve
My Photography Blog Updated 27/01/08
My Flickr page
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MickLL
Two Grand Man
Reged: 01/08/2004
Posts: 2452
Loc: SE England
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I'll stick with my 200mm macro. I use it for 90% of my 'serious' photography anyway. For family 'snaps' it's an old 28-85mm. One of the very old Minolta lenses.
MickLL
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john_g
Pooh-bah Hoo-ha
Reged: 09/05/2007
Posts: 2204
Loc: Surrey
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...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...law of averages... better vote for a standard lens.
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John
The best things in life are not things.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_gass
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Carrie
journeywoman
Reged: 31/01/2006
Posts: 575
Loc: England
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Hmm. Hate to be difficult, but isn't the question on the homepage just a little silly?
One of the reasons that I invested in an SLR and various lenses was so that I wouldn't ever have to chose just one lens. Even when I'm travelling light I carry two.
As for my favourite, it depends on what sort of photography I'm planning on doing.
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Carrie
Proud to be FRIPN
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. (George Bernard Shaw)
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zx9
old hand
Reged: 22/06/2007
Posts: 830
Loc: London
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Quote:
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...wide angle?
...telephoto?
...law of averages... better vote for a standard lens.
Yes  time to vote
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Regards
ZX9 (Keith)  
My Flickr Pictures
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Rhys
Sasquatch
Reged: 15/01/2004
Posts: 2733
Loc: York (home of the speedbump)
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I prefer the wide end of focal lengths, usually around 28mm (can't afford anything wider) so its the wide end of the DX 18-70 AFS G ED on the digi and the 28-105 AF-D on the film (same focal lengths really). I have a few Carl Zeiss lenses on my old screw thread Pentax Spottie - my favourite being a 35mm f2.4 Flektogon which also had pretty good close focussing. I have a couple of lenses for the Blad, my favourite being a C T* 50mm f4 Distagon (I guess around the 28mm equivalent).
I've never had the opportunity to use anything wider so don't know if I'd get more use out of a wider lens, though I did get to use a 38mm Biogon SWC Blad while at college and quite liked it. Flicking through the latest issue of AP I think I'd have one if I won the lottery (along with a digi back and a D3)
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NRIPN (Officially Nuts..)
RGMP.co.uk (My Website.. well early stages anyway)
Benchinistas.org.uk The home of Benchism
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Garry McNamara
Snr Tutor/Bongo Banjo
Reged: 16/08/2006
Posts: 2063
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It's a really good question and while you might have a wide range of lenses or even a zoom we do tend, I think, to have a way of looking at the world.
Some of us even have a focal length shift like the artist Giacometti, who saw objects seemingly at a distance even when they were up close - hence his diminutive figures.
I also think we have favoured distances and viewpoints - some liking to see the world from far off in grand vista and others liking to lie on the grass and see the world close up.
I love my 210mm on my 5x4 - doesn't really have a 35mm equivalent but it's like a long standard lens and it matches my eye it seems.
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John_K
addict
Reged: 03/09/2006
Posts: 546
Loc: North Yorks
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28mm downwards in 35mm or 50mm downwards in Med Format
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Footloose
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 11/08/2005
Posts: 3157
Loc: Berkshire based.
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Looking through the EXIF data, it looks as if the the focal length I use the most, ranges between 24mm and 70mm, (a 10% variance between these) However the lens range I enjoy using because of the effects, is the 14 to 24mm range.
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Trainee reprobate with a pronounced limp (spelt L .. I .. M .. P.)
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