"Scene-driven" vs "Subject-driven" is the best explanation I have heard for 35 vs 50!

The comparison shot of zoomed vs cropped vs closer (9:44) is the best demonstration of this effect that I have yet seen. Cheers.

Fantastic video. I personally love the 40mm focal length. I always prefer a prime lens and I find that 40mm is a great "all rounder". I've always gravitated to 35mm for travel and general walkaround but 40mm gives just a tiny bit more "subject focus" while still being able to capture what's right in front of you. I find that tighter focal lengths help me "think about photography" more than wider ones. 28mm feels great for travel, being able to capture everything, but I end up with a bunch of photos that show an environment rather than "photography" pieces that I feel proud of. 40mm feels like about as far as I can push it before it becomes impractical as an "everything" lens.

Moving last year from 25+ kg of FF Canon stuff down to less than 5 kg with X-H2S APS-C + 27mm pancake and the Tamron 17-70, I feel free again 🙂

35mm is definitely the most versatile focal length.

WOW THE PIC AT 4:36 IS INCREDIBLY STUNNING!

I really like your videos, they feel very natural and easy to watch

Your description of 35mm/scenes and 50mm/subjects is something that has taken me several years to nail down. Your description is right on point IMO. I also like the suggestion of a normal-ish zoom and a fast prime. This is something that I have also realized over the years. I have just ordered the new Fuji 16-50 WR to pair with the 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR for most of my travel and walkabout with my XT5. I really think this will be a perfect setup for most of my photo-graphy (27 and 70-300 for special circumstances). Thanks for the excellent video.

Great job Roman! Simple, clear, concise and accurate. Plus, you just saved a bunch of money for a lot of people!

Some fabulous images & I love how you make harsh mid-day light work. For some reason its fascinating to view images organised by focal lengths.

Finally, a discussion of lenses that I can understand. Thank you so much! 😊

I really like your videos and enjoy watching them. They are very informative and you have a calm way of explaining things. Thanks a lot for that!

Totally agree with all of Roman's advice! I'm a subject-driven Fuji photographer, my street defaults (all full frame equiv.) are the 50mm f2 in the day or a Sigma 85mm f1.4 at night. I use a 24mm f2 for establishing shots and group photos. I also have the 105-450mm supertelephoto for wildlife and macro. All of these are lightweight, packable, and easy to recommend.

just came back from japan a week ago, and leading up to the trip i was thinking of getting a long range 55-200mm and a 16mm 2.8 for size to add to my bag to swap out some of the bigger lens. i didn't end up buying either of them and just took my 18-55mm, 56mm 1.4 and 80mm 2.8. i found that the 18-55 was just too handy to switch from wide to tight quickly instead of having to switch lens, no real need to buy a wide prime really. the 56mm was perfect for night, wouldn't change that lens at all. the 80mm biggest problem is the weight but i found its just the right range where a 55-200mm would be too long and kind of pointless for what i was shooting. so im kind of glad i stuck to what i had otherwise i'd have spent money on lens that weren't going to be that practical.

By far the best video I’ve seen on this topic. Appreciate you Roman.

For shooting models I'm a big fan of the Fuji 16-55 2.8. Sharp all the way through...but heavy. I want lighter for travel, but I need range. I use a Fuji 18-135-it is light and sharp. I know the 16-55 is sharper, but who notices? It still does a great job. These two do the bulk of my work, I do carry a Zeiss 12mm Touit for when I need it, I just love Zeiss color. If I was cut down to one lens only for ever it would be a Fuji zoom, likely the 16-55. But a zoom for sure.

That's probably the best video covering lens choice topic I've ever seen

Thank you very much for this Video. Your thoughts on cropping vs. walking vs. Zoomibgwas simply amazing. Thx a lot for this. It opened my eyes a little bit more!

24-70 checks a lot of boxes but for prime, it’s hard to beat a 50

Great video, Roman! Love your work. 🙌

Thank you for your video. Clearly explained. It is exactly what I needed. I have an XT30II with this lens XF18-55MMF 2.8-4 and am learning to take pictures with it.

Great overview of what to lens to buy as a beginner. I would add a beginner shouldn't buy another lens until they have better understanding of the shots they are struggling with and what lens will help them get those shots if it is something a different lens will solve.

Thanks Roman, another great video. After my Fuji camera purchase , i bought a used 35 mm f2 lens. Works very well , but only occasional use. Camera came with the 18-55 "kit" lens, works great. Bought a 18-135 Fiji for my travels last year & it's turned out to be my "out the door lens" most days.

Try the kit 18-55 again, maybe the best kitzoom ever made 😀 Two fast primes. WA and tele and be done (with lenses). Now time to take pictures 😎

My go to vacation lenses are 10-24 35 f2. I think my next vacation coming up I’ll try just s 23mm

great video! love the comments about the end that resonated with me. I have a bag full of f1.2 prime lens and one of the latest canon mirrorless cameras, but i didn't find them fun to use for my daily life and family photos. I got a smaller crop camera and some f2 lens and i really enjoying shooting again. size matters to me, thanks for this video! great examples at the different focal lengths

Another great video Roman, thank you! As someone who's been bitten by the vintage lens bug and now owns two Helios 44-2 KMZs - can you tell us more about the Minolta 40?

Thank you so much Roman. As always a very useful video. My current street photography combo is FujiFilm X-T5 with 33mm F1.4 + Leica Q2 Monochrom (28mm F1.7). I find the 50mm and 28mm are very useful focal lengths for street photography. However as you said, If I want to grab a one camera one lens combo then it could be the 35mm.

Great simple and to do the point video

Started off with the fuji kit lense (18-55mm) and bought the voitlander 27mm lens as an alternative for it being both a prime and manual focus. I then used Lightroom to determine what focal lengths most of my images were and found that when using the zoom i often was taking images at the 55mm and in some cases was cropping in to get "closer" to the subject. That led me to purchase the 70-300mm. its great for most of what i do which involves wildlife, nature and the occasional friend group photography. Also, don't limit yourself to the standard and typical typle lenses, for instance i purchases the Kek Oreo, a recycled disposable camera lens packaged into an Orea shape for the fuji x mount, great fun for a casual point and shoot with character (cheap too).

As always very helpfull. Thanks.

Great video!!

I got the 18-50 f2.8 zoom as my first lens and while it is on paper very good and definitely the best general purpose zoom for Fuji considering a mix of size, price and performance, I still don't 100% vibe with the "general purpose zoom" lens. First, the zoom distracts me from anything else. Whenever I see something, my mind has to think about which focal length, which is a big task for a beginner. Everything else, even aperture, gets pushed to the side and is often forgotten. And the second flaw is a psychological one, our brains love extremes. So I find myself shooting mostly at 18mm and 50mm because whenever I want the tele look, the 50 looks more dramatic than the 35, and whenever I want to catch a scene, the 18 looks more dramatic than the 23, and so on. You could just decide "ok now I shoot 23" but in practice it rarely wins over the extreme looks at first sight. You also just don't move because the zoom does it for you, so the compositions can feel flat and uninspiring, you snapshot things until the zoom makes them fit the frame, rather than thinking about compositions. I now got the 23 f1.4 and will pair it with a 56 1.4, that does most of what the zoom did previously. When it comes to the 18-50, I will probably sell it and rather get a 10-18 f2.8, which gives me a more versatile wide angle look, while the primes do the job for normal focal lengths.

loved it!

"what lens should I get ?" daft question ! easy answer, "all of them !" 😁

Excellent analysis and presentation Roman. I have a question about your personal preference of focal lengths. You spoke about changing your favorite lens from 50 to now the 35, but you made no mention of a 40mm until much later in the video when you were commenting on old vs new. I see on your website you show the 27mm f2.8 WR as your everyday carry lens with the XT5. What are your thoughts on this midway length between scene and subject considerations? Thanks and keep up the great work.

Great Video 😊. Most of the time the sigma 18-50 is glued on my x-h2s. as the zoom is so small i can take 2 Primes with me in my slingbag. First is the Viltrox 13mm F1.4 for video and second the Viltrox 27mm F1.2 for photo especially in low light. (I sold my 23+33mm LM lenses to keep the viltrox.) have a nice evening.

Good overview of some general focal lengths, and how you utilise them! In addition to the 35mm being a solid starter lens, as it has versatility, I would also say that a 40mm is a nice option - personally one I ended up preferring over 35mm in the long run - as I it can somewhat cover the strengths of both the 35mm and the 50mm (although not necessarily excel in either), making it a good every-day lens. There are far less 40mm options than 35mm options out there though, as the popularity of the 40mm has waned in favour of the 35mm, but it could be a solid alternative if available. Which focal length one ends up preferring is ultimately a very personal thing, but I would agree that a 35mm or 50mm is a solid starter.

Roman, mate… go the way of Faizal and get a 28 mm attached to a Leica.

ALL :D

very well made and informative video ! I have just one small observation : I have the Leica version of your Minolta 40mm f2.0 (the same lens actually) and I find it very sharp even at 2.0 - especially on film , and with a decent lenshood you will be spared of lots of faults (that are now considered "character" :). Cheers !

i do travel and portraits sometimes for fun, what should i get?

nice images!

Where do you feel 40mm stands in all this? I've never tried 35 but 40 to me feels like the easiest focal length for focussing on a subject and their wider environment. It never feels too restrictive like 50mm can be and I feel like i virtually never have to crop the photos i capture with it.

Hi Roman! As a beginner travel photographer/videographer, was it wise to buy the XT50 w/ 16-50mm kit or save USD700 for the XT30ii w/ 18-55mm kit?

Great video. My name is Keith and I have a problem !! I am addicted to stupidly wide angle lenses. I always fall foul of distortion but persist in my addiction . Thanks for this post and hope it will aid my recovery . I often use 24mm ( equiv) on a variety of cameras and a variety of lens and will plumb the depths of 14mm equiv. Thanks ! :-)

Would’ve been nice of you to refer to the Fuji lenses somewhere in between. Just to let you know that we support you for being our favourite Fuji photographer 😅

A Helios 44-2 58mm f2 with an adapter

50mm for FF and 35 for APSC

Just get a zoom lens like Sigma 18-50 f2.8 and then let's say after 6 months of shooting, filter out which focal lenght was used the most. Where are only so many Fuji/Sigma lenses that you can buy.

Xf16mm f2.8

50mm to 75mm is more natural for me. I mostly take street photography with them and finding a subject is my use case.

Are all the lens mentioned in full frame terms?

Best lenses for portrait on Fuji?

I would go with a wider lens, especially with high megapixel cameras. You can always crop later.

So as a Fuji X system user, do I need to convert everything you're talking about to a focal length other than what you're saying? When you say "35mm" are you not actually talking about a 35mm Fuji lens? This conversion business is so confusing. Why can't we just say "this is a Fuji X lens and it's a 35mm"?

Are we talking full frame or crop please?

No, really. What actual lens should I get? I need the name and the serial number please. 😆I would like to know why you chose the Fuji film system over other camera systems though? I started off with a Fujifilm x100f and changed to a Sony a6600. I like both but every time I watch one of your videos I want to go back to Fuji.

As a long time Nikon full frame user who also shoots Fuji for street I find it odd that you would choose to use the full frame lens equivalent when there are vast technical and stylistic differences and challenges when shooting Full Frame vs a cropped lens.

Correction: cropped and zooming gets you the exact same look, meaning the exact same perspective (different resolution though)