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Stuck on a prime lens for railway photography

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EveningStar

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In olden days we grew up with prime. Now we all have zoom, yet if for some reason your zoom got stuck at one focal length (and this did happen to me many years ago ... clumsy camera drop moment) and you had no backup, out of interest which prime equivalent focal length could you live with? And why?
 
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John Webb

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When I first got serious about photography in the early 1960s and could buy my own camera rather than rely on hand-me downs from my father, there was much debate about either choosing a 45mm or a 50mm focal length for a fixed lens camera. The difference seemed to be between those who could get close up or were indoors compared to those who were after distant views - the former preferred the 45mm and the latter the 50mm.

I must admit I was grateful when I could move up to an SLR camera with interchangeable lenses and zoom ability!
 

Islineclear3_1

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Much of my photography is railway related and it would be a 85 or 100mm telephoto out in the field. This puts enough safe distance between me and the train, especially if it's moving and is pleasing to the eye (for me). Anything longer compresses the background too much and anything wider just fills the frame with unnecessary distractions.

Of course, it depends on "the job" and how much working space I have. Also, I am more likely to stand out on a railway platform with a large(r) lens than a smaller one.

I have recently acquired a 300mm prime and been trying it out shooting the squirrels in my garden. Very different beast!

Fortunately, I have never had a zoom lens get stuck
 

EveningStar

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Was expecting lots people saying 300mm, so interesting that my preferred choice of 50 and 85mm get a mention. As a teenager also had the hand me down experience, and my father's old 200mm lens gave a hitherto unexpected perspective and took a long time to get away from that until discovered there was a more expressive way of life. Do like how the 85mm, or rather 50mm on my DX sensor Nikon, fractionally compresses the image without losing the essential view and 50mm equivalent is perfect for platform version of street photography.
 

Islineclear3_1

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You'd need a tripod for a 300mm or a much higher (than desirable) ISO and shutter speed if the purpose is to freeze motion.

After shooting the squirrels (in bad light) I took the lens to photograph railway signals in good light. Unfortunately, due to the specific location, a tripod would have been unusable and I struggled to get sharp pictures handheld unless I racked up the ISO/shutter speed.

But as previously mentioned, a (white) 300mm would certainly get you noticed on the platform - even before Covid!

I use either a 70 - 105mm zoom or a 100mm prime for much of my railway photography. I used to use a 70-200 a lot but found it got rather heavy to carry as the day wore on.
 

Lucan

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there was much debate about either choosing a 45mm or a 50mm focal length for a fixed lens camera. The difference seemed to be between those who could get close up or were indoors compared to those who were after distant views
The practical difference between a 45mm and a 50mm lens is negligible. You need to get down to 35mm for a significant difference from 50mm. There are some who argue that 43mm matches the perception of the human eye because it is also the diagonal measurement of a 35mm film frame - not convinced myself, but just saying. In the 1960s 55mm was often regarded as the standard lens.
Much of my photography is railway related and it would be a 85 or 100mm telephoto out in the field.
85mm lenses are nice but can be expensive, not least because they often have large maximum apertures which makes them primarily intended as a portrait lens. Nothing wrong with using them for other than portraits, but 100mm lenses are usually better value. Of course many telephoto zoom lenses cover that range anyway, and more cheaply. I've never heard of a zoom getting stuck at one setting, but no doubt it can happen if they are really past it or damaged.

I assume we are talking about 35mm film format or Full Frame digital here, or the APS-C digital equivalents in which case multiply all those figures by 2/3 unless it is Canon who are a bit different.
 

ac6000cw

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40mm or 50mm (full frame/35mm film equivalent) as a general use lens, and a 500mm telephoto for wildlife.

(I normally use a 28-84, 24-120 or 28-280 (equivalent) general purpose zoom on the camera, plus a 150-600 telephoto zoom for wildlife)
 
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