Seeing At 50

The 35mm Lens for the Fuji X-System is not the Full Frame equivalent of 50mm. It is 53mm. The 1.5 Crop Factor gives me 53mm.

I think subconsciously this put me off and I did not use my XF35mm F1.4 as much as I could have done. When I did use it, I was delighted with the results, however, something bothered me.

Those extra 3mm did not feel right because I compared the field of view with my Nikon Full Frame 50mm 1.4.

3mm is not such a big deal, or is it?

I guess it’s how I felt about it.

I needed to conquer my resistance to it.

For the last week or so, I have been using my X100F with the Fuji TCL Conversion Lens attached.

This combination turns my X100F into a 49.5 mm kit and it is as close to a 50mm field of view as I am likely to get on The Fuji System.

Guess what?

I love it.

The additional 3mm is the start of a Telephoto field of view. 49.5mm is the end of the Wide Angle field of view. 50mm is considered the flat normal field of view of how we see…..normally.

I am astonished by the optical deceptiveness at play here because my brain and feelings felt more comfortable on the end of the Wide Angle spectrum - it’s only a 3mm difference, what’s going on here?

The Conversion Lens on my X100F felt correct to my eyes. I found it easy moving in and stepping back to construct my frame. Some images looked deceptively W.I.D.E.

And, my normal shots looked……normal.

I will keep this set up as my normal 50mm street photography kit because it works and I like it very much.

My XF35mm 1.4 I will use as part of my other set-up for Professional Portraits.

The extra 3mm comes in handy for Portraits because I am 2mm away from 55mm which is perfect for intimate Portraits. Sony make a 55mm for their Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras - my 35mm is my close enough optics for my system.

I can confidently affirm now that I am comfortable with the 50mm Field of View.

However, my favourite field of view is…

To be continued 😀