Alex SP
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Regular Member
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Posts: 180
23mm vs 35mm - can only pick one, should I pull the trigger or stick to 18-55 before I'm sure?
11 months ago
1
Hey everyone, once again I'm here asking for some advice regarding focal lengths and lenses. I own an X-E3 and a 18-55 lens and want to build a small but versatile kit. In addition to my zoom I want to add an UWA lens, a tele zoom lens and a fast prime.
Before Fuji I mostly used a Canon kit 18-55 lens. It was a long time ago and my use cases were very different.
I already tried sticking to just one focal length with my Fuji 18-55. I tried using only 23mm and only 35mm too. I even picked a 23mm f2 because thought it will be enough, only to hastily sell it a few months later when I realised it didn't fit some of my use cases. Still, as a bit of time has passed I started to miss this little lens, and this focal length is still in use (among others) on my 18-55.
My use cases are mostly landscapes, a little bit of street photography (not sure how else to call city shots without people, because there are almost no pedestrians where I live) and rare environmental portraits. Also some travel photos.
23mm is a fantastic focal length, I love the look one may achieve with it and I consider it to be the most universal focal length fit for most of amateur use cases. However, it is not very good at isolating the subject and compressing the image. For street photography where I live I prefer to pick some interesting details and concentrate on them without too much of a context. There are also a lot of flowers where I live, so getting close to them and separating them from the background is something I enjoy, and for these cases 35mm seems to be a better fit.
35mm feels more natural to me, however, if I stick with 23mm long enough maybe I can get used to it? Or maybe there is no point in forcing myself using a focal length I don't see very fitting for some of my use cases?
I recently had another walk around the town where I live and 23mm was convenient, although I kept thinking "how can I choose between these focal lengths?" while using both focal lengths. Sometimes one of them can't replace the other. I won't be able to zoom out in the narrow street with 35mm, and I won't be able to separate the subject with 23mm as well as with 35mm.
I thought maybe I should stick with my zoom for now, but having both focal lengths available will never help me decide which one is better.
I love the idea of using mostly one focal length in the future, and getting to know 23mm better may be worth it, especially with x100 series being absolutely fantastic cameras. But I'm not sure.
Feels like my post is turning into rambling, and I think I listed all of my concerns. Since I'm not a fast responder, thank you all in advance for your messages, I always read all of them and really appreciate your help!