Regularly use a 28mm? (or 50mm)

Just wondering how many of us actually use 28mm lenses on a regular basis?

I've had M/A and currently the FA versions of the 28mm (and taken what I consider to be great shots with it) but it's not a lens I use often...

When out with my camera I'm more likely to use my 35mm or 100mm lenses than my 28 (and unfortunately my fifty)...

It sometimes seem to be either not quite wide enough or is slightly too wide... (The 50mm in comparison is often too narrow or not long enough)

The only other wide lenses I have are the kit (WR-version) and a Vivitar-A 19mm, neither of which can quite match the IQ of the FA28 (although I do like the FoV of the Viv)

Is 28mm (and to a lesser extent 50mm) a focal length that's lost (possibly phrased badly) on digital or am I just looking at it in the wrong way?

I've often wondered exactly the same. I had an FA 28mm f2.8 as part of my old film kit - and would probably have traded it in had it not somehow found its way into a sock drawer, where it lay undiscovered for a few years. I was delighted to remake its acquaintance, but have hardly used it since.

Your post has persuaded me to attach it to the front of a K-5 and I'll give it a whirl while walking to work...

I use a 24mm lens quite often, and also have two zooms starting at 24mm. 28mm is just not quite wide enough. It might be a good length for street photography, though I've not tried it.

I have several manual 28s, and all good ones, but I don't use them that much. They do make decent (if slow) standard lenses when I'm not in a hurry and want to use a manual lens. If I need AF then I have the 35 ltd and the DAL 35 too, so they tend to get more use.

I do often use my 50mm lenses though, as their speed makes them very useful, and the length is great for portraits and capturing small details of scenes, which are the things I like most.

I use the K28/3.5 all the time. It's my "go to" lens because it is just so good. Mind you, it is the widest lens I have at the moment due to my 10-20 being repaired, but I would still use it a lot all the same.

Not so much 50, but I use the K55/1.8 or Super Tak 55/1.8 for mushrooms and the like. The M50/1.7 is also good for flowers.

I use my 28mm regularly - or at least I do if the sky is not grey

My 50mm is used less so but still fairly regularly

A Chinon 28mm f2.8 is my most used lens. I also use a Sigma 24mm f2.8 SuperWide II and a Pentax SMC-M 50mm f/1.7 quite a bit too.


Andrew

I regularly use my 30/1.4. only 2mm off so yes I Like that focal length.

I own several old "independent" manual focus 28s.I very much like the focal length for general stuff including landscapes. Anything longer and I'm constantly stepping backwards anything longer is a wonderful luxury!
In the bad old days of film, I had a 35mm Ricoh compact with a fixed 40mm lens which I used for years so that could explain why I like that focal length so much.

On my film cameras I use 28mm a huge amount, probably because for twenty years it was my standard wide angle lens and I "see" at that length. Mostly on digital I've got into the habit of using something longer, like my 85mm or 100mm lenses. If I need to go wide I use my 12-24mm. A fast 18mm prime would be very nice, however. I have the K15 but that lens makes me nervous for general use due to its bulbous front element. The K18 is not very common and usually costs a packet.

K.

I regularly use my Pentax-M 28mm F3.5 because it's a fantastic landscape lens, very sharp and renders images in a completely different way to my DA 16-45. It also forces me to think about composition a little more. On my next landscape outing it will be the only lens I take with me.

Regards
David

I don't use the 28mm as much as I should, especially as I only got it less than 12 months ago. However, when I DO use it I love it. It is a great street lens, and complements my 21mm and 40mm in this regard. One thing I have done for the first time is to use it in the Studio for full length shots (for some reason the 35mm struggled with the focus, which is a first. but I know why)
So, my resolution is to use it a lot more this year and have it as my primary street/landscape lens.