Some bridge cameras do that already. Does it help? Does it confuse people who wonder how a lens can have two focal lengths? Should we expect people to be willing to learn a bit about their cameras so it isn't necessary?

Questions, questions.....I don't know the answer, although I do think it's necessary to put a bit of effort into our photography. Without that how can we hope to understand how to fully exploit the medium?

The design of digital lenses is telecentric, or at least more so than film lenses were, but not in every case. It's less of an issue with telephoto lenses. With wide angles it's important, but basically to ensure there isn't too much colour fringing and darkening at the edges of the field.

However, this is a different issue to the focal length and field of view. A 50mm lens is still a 50mm lens.

Now you say a 35mm lens behaves differently as a standard lens, and that's right in some ways. There's more depth of field, for example, being a 35mm lens. On film it would be a wide standard or moderate wide-angle, depending on your point of view. The distortion would not necessarily be greater or less, that would depend on the design parameters of that particular lens. There's no reason why a 35mm lens can't be built to have very low distortion, apart from design choices and cost.

The call for angles of view to be shown on lenses has been around for decades, but unfortunately such figures mean less to people than the marked focal length does. If some cameras showed the correct focal length and some the 35mm-equivalent, total chaos would ensue.

What we have may be imperfect, but it's easily understood with a bit of explanation and practice.

Sometimes it's better to let it go, move on and post something about photography.

Nobody wants anybody to shut up, but opening this subject again isn't helping at all. It's all been said, you can see that for yourselves if you have a look.

So read it all if you want to, but let's not have yet another thread on the subject?

It's already sorted out, it doesn't really help very much to bring it up again.

Let's get back to the photography, which, in fact, we have already been doing.

Photography takes a lifetime and more to explore and tastes and styles wax and wane....

I too used black and white for most of my images, spending days in the darkroom and finally reaching a competent level of skill. I have seen people who are much better printers than me, and it is a real art form in itself producing a fine black and white print.

I suppose the method is the same though as regards viewing in black and white. We shoot in colour, take the scene away and then convert it to black and white. previously we just did the conversion in camera by using black and white film. The seeing bit should be the same, but our thought processes may be more attuned to colour these days.

Everything now is in colour, including newspapers, magazines, TV, whereas at first colour was too expensive to use universally. But it does make black and white even more powerful, when we get it right.

Larger Sizes:
58mm: Linear PL, Soligor yellow, Generic pinch lens cap, Sigma-EX MC UV.

62mm: Sun PL, Hoya 80B, Hoya HMC 1B, Hoya 1B, Jessop 1A

72mm: Hoya 1B, Hoya Skylight, Regent 1A, Hoya Skylight

86mm: Hoya UV.

All £5 each, including shipping.

More sizes:
52mm: Generis pinch lens cap, Jessop UV, Hoya yellow, PSL-Aico YG, Cokin 85B, Jessop Red, Pinch lens cap.

55mm: Hoya Softener (B) New, Jessop PL, Hoya UV, Cokin Linear PL, Hoya FL-Day.

As before, £3 each, UK only, free shipping.

Here goes:
49mm: Canon Sklight, Astron 1A, Hoya FL-Day, Hoya CU +4, Hoya UV, Hoya 1B New, Hoya 81B, Cross Screen, Hoya CU +3, Jessops 1A, Hoya 1B, Hoya 1B, Hoya 1B, Soft Spot, Star6, Hoya 80B, Hoya HMC CU +3, Hoya 81C, B+W KR12, Hoya Diffuser, Petri Yellow, Vivitar 82A, Sun UV, Miranda Skylight, Hoya Soft Spot, Light Blue, B+W KR 1.5, Hoya Soft Spot, Hoya PL.

Where repeated, more than one available. £3 each, UK only, including shipping.

Are we talking about Park Cameras here? No need to be so coy if we are.

Lens prices do seem to vary quite a bit from dealer to dealer, but I always look to SRS and Park first, then others who may do one-off bargains but don't have the service level.

This raises the interesting point that for this week's competition "Wider than 50" this telephoto zoom would qualify!