35mm VS 50mm : Eternal Rivals

We bought a DSLR or CSC (Mirrorless / DSLM), we were very pleased with it, until few weeks, days, or even hours ago when we wanted more from our beloved camera. Almost all of the entry or mid-level DSLR / CSC are shipped with a standard zoom kit lens, and most of the time those are good enough for starters or practice. But as we hone our photography skill, gaining experience, and getting more and more used to our cameras, some of us may feel that the kit lens has its limits, and probably can't do the things we want. The solution for this problem is quite simple probably, you just need to buy a new lens, but with that comes a new array of questions as I've written in my previous post "Picking The Right Lens", you can use that guide to contemplate then decide which lens will suit you the best.

In this post however, I'm gonna write about my past experience when I was going to buy the third lens for my current camera (Olympus OMD E-M10 Mk.1). Here's the situation, I already had the standard zoom lens (14-42mm F3.5-5.6) and the telephoto zoom lens (40-150mm F4-5.6), so I planned to buy a prime (fixed) lens to compensate the small aperture of my previous lenses. Long story short, I was tortured to choose between a standard prime lens or macro lens. I love photographing flowers so a macro lens would probably suit me the best, but then again you can use a telephoto lens to get 'above average' result when it comes to flowers. Plus many experts recommend to get a standard prime lens for an all-rounder, especially when the lighting is not working in your favor. Ultimately, I decided to get a standard prime lens first, before buying a macro lens (hopefully in near future).

When it comes to the 'standard' focus length, there are two most famous focal lengths, 35mm and 50mm, but which is BETTER? Well, you can read many photography books or magazines, read reviews and people's opinions,  but still not getting a satisfying answer, many will say that 35mm is the better choice, while others say 50mm is the 'nifty-fifty' and better than the 35mm. My answer? Again, it depends on your needs and what you like to photograph.

So, why do 35mm and 50mm are called the 'STANDARD' lens? Simply because those focal lengths are the closest to our vision / field of view (what you see through your eyes). For example, imagine that you're looking to your monitor, your eyes are focused on looking at the pictures on the monitor. Sure enough you can still see... let's say a Mac Mini on the left of your monitor, a glass half-filled with two-hours-old instant coffee in front of it, and a pile of comic books on your right, but because your eyes are focused on the monitor, other things seemed blurry / unfocused. 35mm and 50mm lenses will produce image similar to what you see right now, with some differences though.

• 50 mm : only takes the FOCUS part of your vision, so from the example above if your eyes are focused on the monitor, then a camera with 50mm lens will only take a photo of the monitor, with (maybe) a bit of area around it.

• 35 mm : takes almost the same picture as your vision / field of view including the blurry part (in your eyes, not in the camera). From the example above, we can safely assume that the camera will take photos of the monitor, along with the Mac Mini, glass, and also the pile of comic books.

Note : rest assured, the 35mm lens will not take photos that are blurry on the edges (unless you do it on purpose), this is just a depiction to make you easier to understand how broad those focal lengths are.

35mm & 50mm : Both are equally good, trying to say that one's better is like trying to decide which one is first, egg or chicken? It's pointless

In the end, both are good for your everyday all-rounder lens, but each of them still has their own unique use :

• 35mm pluses vs 50mm
• More suitable for all-rounder lens considering its broader range
• More suitable for scenery and landscapes, and for taking photos of larger group of people
• Street photography will also benefit from the 35mm because you can fit more subjects / objects into a photo

35mm for potrait, but the point is to get more of the scenery
behind the subject rather than the subject herself
(Photo courtesy of : www.petapixel.com)

• 50mm pluses vs 35mm
• Can be used as backup potrait lens, because it has less distortion than 35mm
• If your objects are quite far, this lens may help you because of its longer reach
• Can also be used for taking scenery / landscapes, but a more focused one (this might be good in some cases, as the audience might have better understanding about what you try to show)
• The entry-level 50mm lenses are USUALLY cheaper than the 35mm (albeit not by much)

Used my E-M10 & Panasonic Leica 25mm (50mm) for this
shot, coupled with a bit of digital zoom, enabled me to get
reasonably close to the objects

ONE FINAL NOTE, The 50mm and 35mm I talk about are the focal length in FULL-FRAME camera, so if your camera has smaller sensor, make sure to multiply the focal length on the lens by its multiplier to get the 'real' focal length. For example if you have the 35mm Fujinon Lens for Fujifilm X-T10, you'll end up with 52.5mm focal length, because the sensor is APS-C, not Full Frame. Here's the multiplier for each sensor size :

• APS-C : Focal length  x  1.5, except for Canon x 1.6
• Micro Four Thirds  : Focal length  x  2
• 1 inch (Nikon 1 Series) : Focal length  x  2.7
• 1/2.3 inch (Pentax Q Series) : Focal length x 4.7 (Q7 & Q-S1), x 5.6 for others

Picking The Right Lens

One main problem when you have a DSLR or Mirrorless camera is choosing the right lens. With so many choices in the market, consumers are left confused, which is the best lens? Well one thing for sure, there is NO such thing as the best lens. Let's say there is a great quality lens that produces superb photos with body made of feather-weight super-durable carbon fibre (no, carbon fibre lens does not exist, but maybe it will in the future), but almost 100% of the time it has a super expensive price tag as well. So, there is no way to get a 'perfect' lens without paying a high price, but you CAN still get a decent or better lens while having to pay less by of course sacrificing some things in return. In the end, the art of picking lens is made up by your camera (brand, type, etc), what your needs are, and how much budget you have.

1. Camera

• What is your camera? Is it a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex), or DSLM (Digital Single Lens Mirrorless / CSC)?

• What is your camera sensor size? Full-Frame, APS-C, Micro Four Thirds, 1 inch, or even a medium format? You can usually find this information in the product specification page of your camera's user guide, and some brands even print it on the body of the camera. You can USUALLY use bigger sensor lens for smaller one (for example : Full-Frame to APS-C), but NOT vice versa, in one condition that they're meant fot the same brand or adapter.

• What is your camera's brand? You don't really wanna accidentally buy a Sony lens for your Canon DLSR at home. Of course, there is an accessorry called 'adapter' which enables you to mix and match different type of brands, sensor sizes, and lenses (Example : Pair a Micro Four Third Panasonic CSC with a Nikon APS-C DSLR lens), BUT you usually have to sacrifice the camera's Autofocus function and even some image quality, plus matching a lens for a camera with different sensor size means different focal length which you have to count by yourself. Some more expensive adapters still enable you to use the Autofocus though, but those are rare and not available for all brand nor camera.

2. Your Needs

• What do you like to photograph? Human, nature, animals, flowers, or small objects? Different object needs different type of lenses, especially on the focal length. 

• 16 - 28mm : Ultra Wide / Wide lens, suitable for taking photos of the environment because of its wide scope. Also suitable for taking photos of lot of people and fashionscape (fashion and landscape mixed together). Beware of lens distortion though (straight lines become slightly curved, more apparent on the edge of the photos, not so in the center).
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  Sony 16mm (24mm) F2.8 Pancake Lens - APS-C (4 million Rupiah / US$ 305)

• 35 - 50mm : Normal Lens. This category is an all-rounder, usually suitable for any kind of shooting. Called 'normal' focal length because it has almost the same field of view with our eyes. This is usually the first choice for beginners because of its naturally wide aperture and lower price (although some premium or pro series still cost you a fortune). 
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  Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 25mm (50mm) F1.4 - m4/3 (6,8 million Rupiah / US$ 520)

• 75 - 150mm : Mid-Telephoto / Potrait Lens. Like its name, this category is the cream of the crop when it comes to shooting potraits. It comes back to you whether you prefer the shorter focal length (75-90mm) or the longer one (100-150mm), longer focal length usually means greater bokeh, but some prefer the shorter one so they can get more intimate with the model.
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  Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm (150mm) F1.8 - m4/3 (12 million Rupiah / US$ 920)

• > 200mm : Telephoto Lens. This comes with variety of focal lengths and sizes. Some are small like normal zoom lens, and some are very huge with the added benefit of stability and picture quality (and high price). Often used when you can't get too close to the subject (wild animals, birds, distant landscapes, or sports).

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  Nikon AF-S 300mm F2.8 - Full Frame (81 million Rupiah / US$ 6180)

• Macro Lens : Used to photograph very small objects (insects, flowers, etc) because you can get very close to the subject and the lens will still focus, paired with excellent sharpness in most cases. Comes in wide variety of focal lengths from 30mm, 45mm, 60mm, and even up to 100mm.
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  Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm (90mm) F2.8 - m4/3 (8,8 million Rupiah / US$ 670)

• Fisheye Lens : Even wider than the ultra wide lens, fisheye typically comes in the range of 8 - 14mm. This lens enables you to capture very wide scenery, even up to 180 degree! However, keep in mind that most fisheye lens have high distortion rate, meaning your pictures will look rounded rather than flat.
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  Samsung 10mm (15mm) Fisheye Lens F3.5 - APS-C (4,2 million Rupiah / US$ 320)

• You lens is an amazing stuff and its function is not only limited to one thing. You can use macro lens for potraits or telephoto to take photos of flowers, and the results might be better than you'd expect. Improvise and keep learning, because the only limit in the world of photography is your imagination.

• Fixed or Zoom Lens? Zoom Lens will give you more flexibility because you don't need to walk away or get closer to your subject when you want to recompose your photo, use this when you want to travel light and don't want to carry many lenses. The downside? Zoom lens usually has much smaller aperture than fixed lens, making indoor shots with dim light rather tricky, and makes you harder to get good bokeh (especially in short focal length). Fixed lens usually comes in smaller size, have much wider aperture than zoom lens, but trades you with flexibility where you have to move away or closer when you want to recompose your subjects, and sometimes you have less-space-than-you-desired to do it. Although with its wider aperture, shooting indoor with higher shutter speed and lower ISO is much easier.

3. Budget

• The most infamous problem, budget. You want to buy a dedicated macro lens. but it costs 1.000 bucks, while you only have 500... Still, you have some alternative solutions when budget is the issue.

• Search for third-party lens, most often than not they sell the same type of lens for quite a lot cheaper. Tamron and Sigma are the most well-known third party lens manufacturers, especially for Canon, Nikon, and Sony DSLRs. They produce many great lenses, some even better than the companies', even more they often sell them with affordable price. Some manufacturers like Samyang and Voigtlander also produce high-quality lenses but almost all of them (if not all) only come with manual focus.

• Search for second-hand products. Luck plays an uncomfortably large part in this, because finding one with decent quality and bargain price isn't always easy. Better try searching from well-known merchants, they usually sell used products for higher price than individual sellers, but the quality is more guaranteed. For individual sellers it would be much better if you could meet up and test the product yourself before deciding to buy it.

• Never lazy to browse or search, there are many merchants out there who sell the same product with different price tags. For Indonesian buyer I recommend looking at www.tokocamzone.com for 'normal' price, then search www.tokopedia.com or www.bukalapak.com, and cross your fingers you will find lower price, but make sure the merchant has good reputation and record.

First Look On Monster Hunter Generations Demo : Improvement Over Perfection.

Monster Hunter Generations is the fifth major installment in the series and although the localized version is still about two more weeks before we can get our hands on it, the demo is available to download on June 30, 2016. I downloaded it. I played it. I am now having a light scratch on an itch you so desperately want to scratch only to realize that it just gotten more itchy. You just can't wait for the game to be released.

Capcom have seriously outdone itself. I gotta admit, what they've done to the game is seriously genius. Gigantic franchises often hit the point where players will grow tired of the whole game. Die hard fans will endure and persevere. But mainstream gamers will gradually lose interest. So what will developers do? They change things. The game industry is doomed to undergo perpetual change. A certain game has changes from survival horror into a generic shooting game. A certain angry, god-slaying, demi-god grows a beard and angrily teaches his children how to hunt. Things change. Some accept, others deny. Of course, not every changes is for the better albeit every changes in game franchise development is always for the better. Compare Final Fantasy series prior to the super linear III. But Capcom though...

What Capcom has done is improving an already perfect product. That is theoretically impossible. I can't believe it myself but after about 5 hours into the demo, I can feel it. Of course, given the right team, budget and fresh IP, a team of developers can yield a great game but what is so brilliant from Capcom is the decision to include these features: Hunting Arts and Styles.

One of the three monsters to fight in the demo. This is called Malfestio.

Hunting Arts comes as special attacks or maneuvers that you can perform in a battle. The demo version comes with the arts pre-selected on each weapons we choose but I have a hunch we will be able to customize which arts you want yourself.

Styles is the main meat of the game. Styles affect your available moves for attacks and evasions. Some style are offensive, some are defensive and evasive. The styles available in the demo are:

• Guild Style

Basic, versatile and balanced. This is the old and essentially the same moveset from the previous MH series. This style allows you to equip two Hunting Arts. Honestly, I don't play this style, simply because I know most of them will be identical with the previous titles. Some weapons undergo changes in their moveset, however. Very balanced and friendly style.

• Striker Style
  

Super offensive style as it lets you perform three Hunting Arts at the expense of some original moveset of weapons omitted. This style may seem powerful but in the real fight against monsters, you gotta consider the timing of using the arts. Most arts takes a while to actually deal damage, some takes forever, even. On top of that, most of the power moves, like the full spirit combo from Long Swords and the overhand-swing charge attacks from Great Swords are missing. It kinda limits your damage output and I totally understand it for the sake of balanced gameplay. I have to say, though. Striker seems to be more oriented for Blademasters than Gunners. Blademasters will enjoy a sudden spike in their damage output given the arts manage to hit the monsters full on. Gunners, on the other hand, often has long animation and straight, narrow hitzone. I'd rather use the time to either dodge, heal or reload.

Striker Style is a shock trooper in a team. You will be whittling monster's health as you build your arts gauge. Once the gauge is full, however, Strikers will be the nuke of the team. Good thing this style lets you build the gauge faster than other styles. Try this when you use Switch Axe: *fill the phial gauge* -> use Demon Riot -> use Trance.

• Aerial Style
  

Aerial style is... tricky. I spent some time fiddling with the aerial style on Blademasters and I genuinely had a hard time. It's even worse on Gunners. Malfestio killed my archer twice. Anyway, Aerials WILL work wonders on flat, open terrain, which practically present in all MH maps. One argument, though. The monsters seem to have either increased tolerance on falling down from jumping attacks or they possess a sweet spot that needs to be hit for the attack to be counted as jumping attack. I'm not sure myself. I used Aerial in a Long Sword run and the Malfestio only falls ONCE in the span of ten minutes clearing the quest, and I did A LOT of jump attacks. This kinda bugs me over the actual effectiveness of the style. I'd personally prefer utilizing Insect Glaive for the built in vault attack OR jumping off ledges.

This style really shines in a team hunt far better than solo. Aerials are the utility guy with the task of technically dropping and mounting monsters to leave openings for the rest of the buddies for a gangbang. Now, I know I contradict myself by saying that this style is bad on Gunners, but that's just me playing it. A good gunner can actually benefit from the increased maneuverability and options from this bouncy, awkward style.

• Adept Style

Adept is the most technical of all style, and in my humble opinion, the most fun. The style suffers the same missing moveset from weapons, this limits your offense but if you're good, you can practically clear a Deviljho quest naked. You will perform the art, Absolute Evasion everytime you press the roll button a split second before a monster hits you. This takes clever memorizing of monsters' attack pattern. I ended up trying all weapons with this style. Gunners will rejoice. The paper-thin armor will benefit from the invincibility as you perform the corkscrew dodge. If my hunch is correct that you can choose your own art, then a team of three Gunners and one Hammer user with Provoke and Adept style will be virtually invincible.

Need more? Adept style lets you perform a counter attack distinct to each weapon after successfully dodging. Sword and Shield's counter move is the best. Try it.

Now, where's the genius in Capcom, you ask? Most games's new installments either suffer from missing identity and/or stale, overused concept where they used their source material too often that the game becomes boring. Recent Final Fantasy series are struggling ever since they left their classic turn-based system and end up being ambiguous in their gameplay. It feels too linear to act like western-RPG but too fast paced and action-oriented as J-RPG. Another example will be Resident Evil (Biohazard) series, which is ironically comes from Capcom itself. But in Monster Hunter Generation they add new gameplay concept. Risky. They still maintain the old gameplay (Guild style). Safe. That there, is genius.

Did I mention that you can play as your Felyne, too?