[Guest]

lensrental publish long term (I think yearly) report on mechanical soundness of lens. Well they seem to throw up statistics by brand and lens type; and also will comment on optical centering over time and similar. Vaguely I think last year they didn't have enough data on fuji to be non-bias (though they did note that fuji had the worse batteries (or battery chargers) by far with an extermely high rate of failure. Vaguely I think they made some nasty comments about nikon (niikon usa) repair policy/cost and vaguely I think they said some positive things about canon pro line. I'm just quoting from recollection and didn't bother to recheck what they actually did say. I was rather amazed at their positive comments on canon (also I very vaguely think they said something positive about olympus but i don't remember what).

-

They are also a good place to check for trends; they seem to treat their business as a hobby with regards to providing full disclosure on where things are going and how varius brands are doing - at least in usa.

[miro]

I am wondering what you are doing to your lenses that they break down so often. :-)

    :-) It is easy. Buy camera and lenses and use them for 10 years. Can you believe that such man exist and he is PZ forum member :-)


    The  lenses doesnt breaks most of them shows failure and that is normal.


    Ask pros how much $$$/year do they spend for lens service?  or as you2 sugest look at lensrental devide thair result by 10 and you can get an impression about %of lens failures by one enthusiast amateur photographer.

[joachim]

Well, just a comment based on the paper specs - a "50mm f/3.6" is not really meaningful IMHO.

So just the usual well discussed system limitations/kompromisses in mFT. If one accepts those, I think this lens makes sense. About 2.5 stops faster then the similar setting on a kit zoom. Cheaper than the Lumix/Leica lens. Good reviews on the other sites. I am expecting on par or better than the Lumix lens.


Still I typically prefer wider - but then my needs changed dramatically in the past year and I am now looking for different aspects in my kit. I might finally have a real need for a standard lens these days.


So I am looking forward in what you have to write.

[davidmanze]

Looking forward to seeing the results of the Tamron 150-600mm!

[felix]

a "50mm f/3.6" is not really meaningful IMHO.

 

You have to think about it as the classic focal length/aperture combination - after all, the very first interchangeable lens for 35mm cameras was a 5cm f/3.5 Leitz Elmar 

[Brightcolours]

I rather enjoyed the Canon EF 35mm f2 on 1.6x crop, which translates into 56mm f3.2... Not really that different from 50mm f3.6. As long as the lens is small so it gives a size advantage.

[thxbb12]

My kit (Fuji) mostly consists of the following trio: 23 f1.4, 35 f1.4 and 56 f1.2. They translate to 35, 53 and 85 FF equivalent.

I tend to mostly use the 23 as a walkaround because it's reasonably wide angle while still usable as a full body portrait lens. I find this focal length to be extremely versatile.

When I want to do some "serious" portrait work with great DOF control, I use the 56 f1.2.

I tend to not use the 35 so much because it's either to tight as a walkaround focal or too short for portraits...

One could say it's a nice compromise between the other 2 focals, but in practice I just find the 23 much more versatile.

What single prime lens do you guys use if you have to pick only one?

 

This said, I welcome the Oly 25mm f/1.8 despite the fact there is already a Pana f/1.4 version.

What MFT really needs is a faster 35mm equiv, a 17mm f/1.4 would be great.

Also, an UWA prime is long overdue.

[Guest]

My kit (Fuji) mostly consists of the following trio: 23 f1.4, 35 f1.4 and 56 f1.2. They translate to 35, 53 and 85 FF equivalent.

I tend to mostly use the 23 as a walkaround because it's reasonably wide angle while still usable as a full body portrait lens. I find this focal length to be extremely versatile.

When I want to do some "serious" portrait work with great DOF control, I use the 56 f1.2.

I tend to not use the 35 so much because it's either to tight as a walkaround focal or too short for portraits...

One could say it's a nice compromise between the other 2 focals, but in practice I just find the 23 much more versatile.

What single prime lens do you guys use if you have to pick only one?

 

I'm a recent Fuji convert, mainly because of the portability and high quality lenses.

 

My hiking kit is mostly becoming the Voigtlander 15/4.5, Fuji 35/1.4 and Fuji 60/2.4 macro. Paired with the X-A1/M1 the whole kit is less than 1kg and I love the rendering from all three lenses. I started with the Fuji 18/2 and like it, but the Voigtlander is worth the little extra weight IMO. I can also drop the 35mm if I'm doing endurance hikes where the weight matters.

 

I recently took the Fuji to a concert and found the 23/1.4 to be perfect for it. Wide enough, but crazy sharp at wide apertures, and tight enough if you get close to the subject. So if I had to pick just ONE, it would be the 23mm.

[frank]

My kit (Fuji) mostly consists of the following trio: 23 f1.4, 35 f1.4 and 56 f1.2. They translate to 35, 53 and 85 FF equivalent.

I tend to mostly use the 23 as a walkaround because it's reasonably wide angle while still usable as a full body portrait lens. I find this focal length to be extremely versatile.

When I want to do some "serious" portrait work with great DOF control, I use the 56 f1.2.

I tend to not use the 35 so much because it's either to tight as a walkaround focal or too short for portraits...

One could say it's a nice compromise between the other 2 focals, but in practice I just find the 23 much more versatile.

What single prime lens do you guys use if you have to pick only one?


This said, I welcome the Oly 25mm f/1.8 despite the fact there is already a Pana f/1.4 version.

What MFT really needs is a faster 35mm equiv, a 17mm f/1.4 would be great.

Also, an UWA prime is long overdue.

I remember that in another post of yourself you stated that you have 14, 23, 56 for your XT1, which fits 95% of your needs.


Any way, if I have to pick up only one, I would use the 20/1.7 for my MFT.

[thxbb12]

I remember that in another post of yourself you stated that you have 14, 23, 56 for your XT1, which fits 95% of your needs.


Any way, if I have to pick up only one, I would use the 20/1.7 for my MFT.

 

That's right :-)

However, the 35mm was on seal at a local store and I thought I would give it a shot. The rationale was to use it when I want to go out and shoot with a single lens. I thought it could be a good compromise between the 23 and 56. So far, I'm not so sure, but I might need to get used to the focal length.