What are the advantages of the 35mm lens?

Introduction: I have heard this saying: the more money you spend, the better the quality of the lenses and cameras you buy, and the better the quality of the photos you get in the end. Until this week, that's what I thought. But now I found a manual focus Nikon 35mm lens. So let’s take a look at what’s good about this lens!

Over the years, I have been trying to use lenses of different focal lengths to explore ways to take perfect photos, from ultra-wide-angle, fisheye lenses to super Telephoto. Even though I've tried a few of these lenses, I've never owned a 35mm lens.

I am convinced that the best focal length for shooting portraits is 85mm, which I use most, and the best lens for shooting landscapes is 16mm-35mm. I had a 50mm lens and seemed to have everything under control, but there was never a situation where I wanted to own a 35mm prime lens. Now that I have it, I am surprised at how confused and changed I am. Because now, in my opinion, a 35mm lens is a must-have for any photographer and videographer.

The following reasons can be used to support my opinion. These are 8 reasons why I trust the 35mm lens so much.

1. Close to the visual focal length of the human eye

In terms of composition, the composition of the 35mm lens is the closest to the focus composition of the human eye. This is why it is widely used in movies? Because it provides the audience with a more realistic perspective.

During the shooting process, using a 35mm fixed-focus lens means that you need to move your body to get the best composition, and you can't be lazy. Compared with other lenses, the 35mm lens can give your works more beauty.

2. Wide range of uses

The 35mm lens can be used to shoot almost everything: landscapes, portraits, travel photos, street photography, macro photography, real estate photography, product photography? Almost covered everything.

Using a 35mm lens, I can get great close-ups, but I can also capture pretty good wide angles. Because the 35mm lens is widely used in indoor and outdoor photography, many photographers define it as a "wedding photography lens."

3. The best lens for shooting videos

For me, shooting videos is the reason why I bought a 35mm lens. Different from the differences in photography themes mentioned above, video production has completely different lens requirements. This is also the reason why I chose this focal length lens.

Originally I purchased the Nikon 35mm lens to use it specifically for video production with my D3S. I read some articles and learned about its advantages. But it was only after I actually installed it that I realized how different it was from other lenses.

Its visual field is wide enough that my hands hardly shake; its visual field is not too wide, and I can still focus on the subject. Get a foot closer and I can get a great close-up. When using a small aperture, the image quality is almost comparable to that of a movie.

In short, I am very satisfied with the video shot with 35mm! When shooting video with a DSLR, the autofocus function is almost useless, and it will only make the picture focus and out of focus. In fact, the 35mm lens I have only offers manual focus, and the lack of autofocus is not a problem for me.

4. Capture the subject and environment appropriately

The biggest advantage of the 35mm lens is that it allows you to clearly capture the subject and the associated environmental conditions. This is another reason why this lens is widely used in film photography? It can help you tell a story through video or photos. I brought this lens to my brother's band performance. I didn't think I would use it, I just brought it with me just in case, because the performance went very fast and I would not be able to capture it in time with a non-zoom lens.

When I got home and sorted out the photos, I was surprised because the best work that night was born with this lens. That photo not only captures the subject, but also records their surroundings to a near-perfect degree.

5. Forcing the photographer to participate in the scene

From other people’s photos, we can understand that the photographer passively or actively plays certain roles in them. The good photos I see are always inseparable from the active participation of the photographer? It's not that the story changes the picture, but the photographer interacts with the scene in some way.

Zooms can make photographers slack off because they can change focus on a subject from far away without much interaction. The 35mm lens requires the photographer to fully interact with the entire shooting environment, which is the beginning of getting good photos.

If you are positioned far away from your subject, the shooting will not go smoothly because the angle of this lens is quite wide and the subject will appear smaller at a distance. The angle of view of a 35mm lens is perfect because it requires you to get involved and lead you to find the perfect picture.

6. Excellent performance in low light with large aperture

I am specifically referring to the 35mm F1.4 lens I have on hand, because it has amazing features among similar 35mm lenses. Speed ??and low light performance. Putting a 35mm lens on my camera and setting the aperture back to 1.4, I was amazed by its fantastic low-light performance. I can take photos in a near-dark room and the photos look like they were taken in well-lit conditions.

In fact, except for very old lenses, most 35mm fixed-focus lenses have larger apertures.

On the other hand, this lens is also good for video recording. I found that the graininess of the video shot with the 35mm lens was greatly reduced.

7. Small size, light weight, easy to carry

With the 35mm lens installed, I feel that the camera has become smaller and lighter. Compared with other heavy and expensive zoom lenses, the 35mm The fixed focus lens really has great advantages! It is very light, small enough to be portable, and has many functions. It is a street sweeping tool when traveling. Whether in street photography or other types of photography, it performs well.

Of course, you may buy a distinctive fisheye or a convenient zoom lens, which seems to make the film without any difficulty. But actually, when I look online, there are movies like this everywhere. Difficulties and troubles can actually turn into unique personalities. The 35mm lens will force you to face these situations and do your best to create the best work. It will always make you shoot more interesting and personalized works.

8. The constraints of wide angle

Once, I was editing photos in post-production. A friend of mine advised me to lower the contrast lower than I thought I would, because he felt I was crossing a certain line. Constraints are very important in photography, they mark the limits of what we can accept.

The 35mm lens is considered the beginning of wide-angle lenses. It's the most subtle wide angle, which is why it always creates great photos. It's neither fisheye nor ultra-wide, but it's wide enough to capture subjects interacting with their surroundings.

I often want to use a wide-angle lens, and using a 35mm lens can always achieve the contrast I want to express, and it also allows me to easily check whether the wide-angle perspective is natural.

The vision of 35mm can give people the feeling of “just right”.