The Advantages of Using a Single Lens - Documentary Photographer Daniel Milnor
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- čas přidán 5. 07. 2024
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Daniel Milnor discusses the benefits that can come from using a single lens and his adventure in Albania using only one 50mm lens.
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That last line is my life. 1 camera. 1 lens. Big memory card and some good walking shoes. That's how I do it.
I did pretty much the same thing on a recent trip to India. Shot Fuji XT-2 and 50mm f/2. One body. One lens. I had major anxiety about this, but decided to trust my nearly 40 years of professional experience. Like Daniel said, I had access to almost anywhere I went and nobody got camera shy. Each night I would edit and each night I was rewarded with great images. And...on top of that, my back never got sore!
As a camera dealer in N. Ireland, some of my customers do not understand why, in their eyes, I would limit myself to one lens & one body. I always explain that it will let you “see” better & as you say, why spend time fumbling. Really enjoyed this clip. 😊
I agree 1000%. I spent 6 years between 2012 and 2018 solely dedicated to the 50mm lens and the body of work I created was the best of my career. You just begin to compose the shot in your mind and see the world as a potential photograph when you're limited to a single focal length.
Excellent. It reminds me of a couple of things...
1) The man that wears a watch always knows what the time is, but the man that wears two watches is never quite sure.
Less is more
2) Printing - do it, do more of it, as it has a profound effect on you, your clients, whoever holds and sees it in the flesh.
If you want to sell more prints, print them, let your clients hold them, but then take them away - more often than not, they will buy them.
Great specs, what model Oakleys are they?
so true. Loved the platitude about the watches
btw, the most precise modern quartz watches have actually 2 different quartz freq generators, for thermocompensation, a single quartz drifts too much in -40 - +50 temp range. oh, actually, a third element is event better, get a watch with that radio freq synchroniser with atomic watch signal... mean, you end up with a quite complex system in fact, not with just a plain single watch... oh, and with that quality watches, they will all show the same time up to a 0.001 sec precision, 2, 5, 20 of 'em
andrei ka nerd. Lol
Good advice Mr Baker
True indeed!
I did just what is suggested yesterday; as I was finding things to photograph, people paid no attention to me at all (just what I wanted). Imagine how smart I feel now that I watched this. Once again, the idea of keeping things very simple is shown to be a very effective technique. Looking forward to more of your suggestions.
Great to hear David!
for me its 35mm. I bought and sold the same lens several times only to buy back again. That's home for me. I'm never selling that lens again.
Is ur cam full frame?
@@amonGustavo07 yes
And that’s exactly why I chose the Fujifilm X100 line.
Totally agree. Rutger. I currently have two X100S bodies, one with the TCL attached and one with the WCL attached.
Seriously great video man. When I bought my camera 5 years ago I bought 1 lens- 50mm 1.4. I used this lens and this lens only for about 2 years straight before I considered buying another lens to have in my arsenal. I truly believe this helped my growth as a photograph so much. I had no choice but to use one lens, and because of this I naturally was able to give 100% of my attention in the moment. Kudos again to your beautiful perspective.
In total agreement. I shoot with a
Leica Q. There is only the one lens. So you have no choice but to learn it inside out. And absolutely no fumbling . Not ALWAYS convenient. But always ready
BOOOM. #facts
My photo journey began 11-12 years ago. The first 6-7 years were wasted time because I spent 95% of my time on "this vs that" and 5% on the field. And goodness those pictures sucked. Sold everything a few years back and has a Leica m-240 and 28 Elmarit and Ricoh GR ii. That is all. Now I'm 98% on the field and 2% drinking beer. Peace
Unfortunately, I am 2% in the field and 98% drinking beer. Keep up the good work, mate.
Roham, my first Leica was an M4P and a 28mm...
Leica Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 is probably the most versatile lens ever.
Keep those field/beer ratios in the right direction! I still have my Leica M2 you see it in our logo
Same story here , I bought my first Camera in 2007 , a Nikon D40, I spend all the time buying and selling cameras, trying to get the best , my goal was a 5D with L lenses, when I finally got my 5D , I didn’t use it too much , then I bought a X100F , and I started using it ! , i sold all my equipment and now I own a Leica M10 with 35mm 1.4 and that’s it ! , less is more ! Now I use it everyday, ! (Sold my x100f thinking to upgrade to V or Ricoh GR, )
I am literally in the process of down sizing my gear and this video was what I needed right now, thanks.
Well said Daniel and really appreciate seeing the images matching the words.
Like Daniel, I went and got a photojournalism degree. I have a job that is completely unrelated, but continue to spend several hours a day working on my photography.
I agree that less is more, but will be the in the minority as I disagree with only shooting with one lens. I travel with a Nikon FM3A or Leica body and then medium wide, normal, short tele lenses. Such as 28/50/100.
I don’t change lenses unless I have made a specific decision and the photo requires it.
But from a storytelling perspective, there are times when something as tight as a 50 can’t include all the elements. There are times when you can’t back up or move forward, and you need a wider or narrower field of view.
Less is more. And I buy lightweight gear when I can, but one shouldn’t intentionally handicap themselves to the point where they are missing photos.
Hey Zach, a PJ degree is interesting because being a PJ is so much more than making pictures. Sure, photographs are the backbone but being an observer, in general, is a great skill.
I have an FM3T I forgot about.....such a nice little cam.
That 3 lens combo is my favorite too. Really good for traveling. Mine is joined with an FM2.
Milan Medek I just did a month-long trip through S.E. Asia. I took my Nikon FM3a and a 28 and 58. Worked great and was lightweight.
When I was between cameras I got accustomed to the 28 fov on my iPhone. I'm usually a 50 guy, but beggers and choosers. It really opened me up to being creative with a style, or consistent look. Now I shoot Fujifilm with the 50f2 because it's how my eye sees, and I find it more natural when pulling up the EVF. The 35f1.4 is still there for low light or nostalgia, but really it's that 50f2 that stays on everyday.
I have been shooting DSLR for more than 15 years and also film SLR before that. Now, my most used camera for travel and street photography is my Oly TG4. It is so discreet and capable that no one really bothers me or consider me as a photographer. That's so liberating that I can get more shots that I couldn't do with a DSLR. For the focal length I just shoot at its widest angle which is 25mm equivalent. It is also one camera which I can take everywhere, even underwater.
The best camera is the one which is always with me.
The Sony A7 bodies are nice like that too. Put a small lens on the front and you just look like a tourist with a point and shoot when you're really packing a 42MP full frame.
Most of my time I follow your rule with the one body and one lens philosophy because it's the best way to shoot press pics. My 50/1.5 is almost glued to my M240. Beside of two extra batteries I also will recommend some extra high quality SD cards ;-) - You've got a thumbs up from Denmark!
I’m a committed “single lens” guy. Although I have several cameras, most of my photography over the last two years has been in either a Rollei 35 (40mm lens) or a Voigtlander Perkeo II (80mm lens, which is the 50mm “normal” equivalent for 6x6.) Not only are they single lens, they’re fixed lens.
This was a great video, thank you for it!
I totally agree! A single lens will improve your photography, especially a 50mm or a 35mm lens in full frame terms. Mine is a 17mm 1.8 (35mm Full Frame) on a Olympus Pen-F.
I love the Pentax Takumar 50 1.4.... love it......
Still have no idea what I’m doing but love the lens...
I love Pentax. I'm 51 and never owned a digital camera until last year. I've been shooting all summer on my Pentax qs1 with a single lens. You can see my stuff on my latest CZcams upload.
I used to take a bag with a full frame DSLR, the trinity of lenses, a couple of primes, a flash gun, everything else. Now MOST of the time I shoot with just an APS-C point and shoot and I’m taking better, more original photos than ever.
Simplicity always wins.
4:57 really resonated with me... I’ve been guilty of leaving photos in the digital arena. Thank you.
Print is so important, not to mention fun. Print forces you to make decisions and apply critical thinking to your work. And it forces you to hone your editing, sequencing and design skills.
I used to do like you students do in my Canon days. Now I use mainly my Fuji X100 or my X-pro1 with the 35mm f2 on and that's it. It covers 99% of my needs and my mind is free and I have fun and inspiration
First time I went to Hong Kong I walked the streets with a bag full of lenses. Now I just have my Fuji Xpro2 and 23 mm F/2 and I love it.
The XPro2 is special, I have one as well.
Thank you so much, I like your advice. Keep doing that kind of video 😍
On a recent trip to the Czech Republic I shot inside a lot of abandoned buildings.
I could only step back from the subject so much until I hit a wall inside of the buildings, so I was incredibly glad to have the cheapo 16-55mm kit lens with me.
I ended up shooting almost everything at 16mm, even though 50mm is my preference as well.
But while watching this video I realized that, even though I wouldn't have gotten those wide shots with 50mm, I would have gotten different shots.
Maybe better ones, since I would have had to put more thought into it.
You're definitely onto something here!
That's right. Not better or worse, only different.
Love this very straightforward concise educational and most importantly inspirational
I totally agree with this. I have learned over the last several years that zooms are definitely not my thing. This after buying and selling them all. I only shoot with the 35 mm lens 95 percent of the time for any work.
My 50mm f1.4 never once been used (to photograph clients). Time to learn how to use it. Thanks for the inspiration.
You will love it.
My 50mm 1.4 was my favorite lens when I shot Canon. I'm sorely missing it after switching to Sony.
Timely seeing this! I just bought a 35mm 1.8 on my Sony, the last few days I’ve just been using it out and about and it’s so unassuming (like you say here) easy to keep with me and people don’t freak out because it’s not a huge 70-200, 90, 24-70 etc (which I use most the time for video as a day job).
Anyhow, basically it’s been fun just taking photos of the environment and not having to worry about which lens because only having one!
Great clip thank you! Subscribed! 😃 (next up is to do some prints!)
I was taught by a guy called Earni Lattori in Rhode Island, that one lens is all you need. 'Use your legs to zoom in or out' he said. I always remember that lesson. Less is more. Be well, Pette in Blighty.
Wise words! Love a 50mm - shot most of my pro work on one when I did that sort of thing. Went to Vietnam a few years back - took 1 x35mm body , 40mm f2 lens and a 85mm f2. Could easily have done without the 85! If you use a lens a lot you get used to how the world looks through that lens so you can almost see the shot before the camera moves to your eye. KISS
Amazing advice!! Thanks for the video!!
Thank you for posting this! Very thought provoking and eye opening.
glad you loved it!
Still the most important photography content on CZcams. Great stuff for people who care less about the technology and more about the image.
🙏love to hear that Ted!
I began serious shooting in the Sierra Nevada and started with the A7 and 35mm 2.8. It was a wonderful package and very portable. My main concern was the 35mm was not wide enough for the up close shots of lakes with mountains above them. I now have the 16-35 2.8 GM and the A7R3. More weight and bigger package but I can also shoot the photos cropped to give me even more versatility.
One of the best photography videos I've seen on CZcams. 👏👏👏
👍thanks!
you killed it, thanks mate
A straight forward, down to earth advice. Thanks a lot for this video.
Very good point.. I mostly shoot with one camera, one lens and really enjoy that more than a bag with a bunch of stuff in it. My Fujifilm X100F does what I need for what I like to shoot...
Damn, this sure hit my photography nerve. Thank you for the advice. 👍🏽
I saw a couple of my older photos and thought I really love them. all the exif showed that it was the Fujinon 50mm f2 with the x-pro2. I need to get back that lens quickly.
Awesome video and highly informative!
Brother, this is top-notch insight.
Powerful: ‘one prime and publish your work’ 🔥🔥🔥👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 And you told us what Daniel uses for publishing. Thank you!!!
Yes! Thank you!
Awesome advice, TY for sharing
I concur. Thank you, Daniel.
So much truth and good advice.
Excellent message and advice. Thank you.
🙏
I can’t agree more with your advice. I have being doing exactly the same for many years. Using one lens at the time allows more focalization and better photos. Thanks 🙏
I very much agree with you! .....I think too many of us are entirely became of expert wanna be cameras and half way forgotten the purpose of a camera. Can you imagine if writers have taken much of their creativity, of talking about pen and choice of inks and word-processor software ?
Thanks for sharing the concept
👍
Great advice, it’s about the composition and not the equipment. Thanks for sharing!
its not all about the composition. its also about the perspective.
Good stuff. Thank you for this.
Great advice! I'm actually one of those people who travels with at least three lenses, but for the most part use, at the most, two. I'm be wanting to go out with only one lens which means I'll have to commit to moving closer or farther away to get the footage I want.
Much wisdom in what you say. I find that interchangeable lens cameras are both a blessing and curse to our profession. I consistently get more joy and artful renderings from shooting my fixed lens viewfinder than any combination of camera body and lens in my possession. I’m currently down to four prime lenses (25/35/55/85) and still believe that I have a couple too many.
I 100% AGREE!! I had a big couple of projects last week and I had to make a similar set of choices: I chose to take a single body and TWO lenses. A 17-35 2.8 and an 80-200 2.8. It was the smallest rig I have ever travelled with. My images were seen internationally. And to your point...life was SUPER easy. I chose my biggest inconvenience to be lens swapping but anticipated it would be at a minimum; which it was. I even relied on the built in strobe vs bringing an external speed light. I also took all of my batteries and got on the plane. Easy Peasey! Did I miss any of my other lenses or the speedlight? Not one bit. Bravo!!! Thank you!! Happy Shooting, gang!
You're so right about the lack of attention people with cell phones or smaller cameras get vs. the larger, more professional cameras. I'm still relatively new to photography, so I'm experimenting with different lenses. It's a great idea to stick with one body, one lens for a project, but my (inexperienced) sense tells me I still need to figure out what the one lens is going to be. So, for now anyway, I'm probably a lot like your students. Good video!
Glad to help! back in the day we all learned with one lens (50) before moving along. Its not about how many lenses in your bag, it's about how you use them. Thanks for watching, stay tuned!
This is a really good reminder ! Thank you for the video
You are so welcome!
You also learn to see through the lens, see the world at that focal length/POV/width of the lens. Also it limits you and forces you to get creative and not lazy to just zoom to get the shot. My first ever lens was the canon nifty50/plastic fantastic. Bought a body only and the 50mm, Love my 50mm’s
Agree so much. I got an old film camera at some flea market like 10-15 years ago and just fell in love with its lens, a Pentacon 1.8 50mm. To this day 99% of what I do is with that lens, with an EOS adaptor. Used it in filmmaking as well. It's the smoothest thing ever and almost indestructible. Dropped it once and it broke a tile on the floor. Ofc this means manual focus forever, but I got used to it after so many years. Part of the beauty of using the same gear is that you end up knowing it so well and your muscle memory just syncs with it. I'm considering switching to a Sony mirrorless camera and there's no way I'm giving up on that lens.
One would argue that it's better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it.
Before cameras with interchangeable lenses came along the standard was the 50 mm. Photographers took phenomenal images with the nifty fifty.
I used a 50mm f/1.4 on my EOS 5D FOR landscape photography last week and I'm very pleased with the results.
Excellent advice and video. Thanks.
🙏
I used to make small books of my projects, but have gotten lazy and haven't in awhile. I need to get un-lazy and start doing it again. And the Magcloud digest you mentioned in another video sounds perfect. Sometimes we need to hear what we already know.
Thank you for this video. I’ve been pondering getting a new lens, but have been putting it off because, really, I love my Sigma 60mm ART lens combined with my Sony a6000. This video actually put my mind at rest that I have “enough.” I also have a Sigma 16mm which I love too but for the kind of images I like to shoot, the 60mm is perfect. Thanks!
I think it’s interesting looking back at my photography past, I basically started into it with the decision of just limiting myself to prime lenses and only a carefully selected few. The first lense I bought was the canon 50mm 1.4 and it changed my photography life. I still have it today and and it is still in perfect condition. Today, I have two other primes (one 35 and one 85). And I still mainly use the 50mm. Depending on the shooting location or my intention, I usually choose one and use it for the whole shoot.
Others often wondered how I manage to shoot events and other stuff with just a single lense especially prime lenses but in the end they are often very surprised with the result. So far, I have never found myself in a situation where I wished I had a different lens.
And I think this may be because by choosing a single lense, I am always and at every time fully aware of my composition and equipment. If something is about to happen at an event, I am usually already there at the right position an time, as I always know where I have to be in my mind.
I think if I would have chooses a zoom lense it taken x amount of lenses with me, I would be less careful about what’s actually going on at the specific events, less „selective“ and I am sure that just because of that alone, esch photo would be of less quality and situational as it could have been. In the near future, I am going to exchange my 50mm 1.4 for a better one, but it will again be a 50mm prime again even if I was thinking about a 28-70 zoom. On paper it sounds amazing, but thinking about what I was blue to achieve with my prime (at the obvious benefits of a prime of course) I will stay on my path
i mostly use an Nikon F4 or F2 with a f2/35 Nikkor-H. It covers all my fotography on Street.
The best photography channel on YT. This is experience personified.
Wow, thank you!
Thanks for the great advice Dan, and the stories of your trip! Do you have a combination of lens in camera that you like to work with? I'd love to hear about it.
Nikon D3400 18-55mm
For documentary photohraphy I love the 28mm because, in my opinion, it has the perfect range to do portraits, landscapes and architecture
Advancing Your Photography - for my limited photography due to my disability confining me to bed a lot, what I do use for street and every day, Fujifilm XT2 with a 23mm (35mm FF) f2 lens. I love 35mm equivalent. For any studio portrait work, I use a Fujifilm GFX 50R with a 63mm (50mm FF) f2.8. That’s it, that’s all the gear I need and use, and I only use prime lenses.
I started from buying a few lenses in order to “have it when I’ll need”. With time, I sold them and now I love the M10 35-50 and that’s it. Mostly with the 35.
My favorite camera/lens combo is my Fuji X70 with its fixed 27mm (equivalent) lens. It also does a decent job at in-camera cropping, so with this simple setup I can choose from a 27, 35 or 50 mm f/2.8 lens. It’s also very small and pocketable and includes some great film simulations. It is my go to camera.
Thank you!!! Everything you said I gave thought too months ago. Now it's time to step out💜
Great!
Woah! This was incredibly timely for me. Thank you very much.
Welcome. Good luck.
You have a good point, but allot depends on what kind of photography you are doing, there are shots i did, i consider good, or at least i love them, that i just couldn't make them without a zoom, and i talk about shots that i phisicaly couln't get closer, no possibility to zoom with my legs. Shots done from a rooftop for example.
Seba K. Paul Of course it depends on the type of shooting and such a set of choices does assume a lot of field experience. I brought two lenses based on my knowledge of what I would need. Otherwise I would have taken a single lens! 👍
Wise words, thank you.
This exact reason is why I don't like focal length overlap. Each lens I have is for a certain purpose. When I had overlap, I never knew which lens I wanted to use and would cause a lot of stress. But now that I seperated all of them, I feel better and less stressful. Some have every lens and multiples of overlap and if that works than great but doesn't for me. I like to keep it simple.
Good advice Daniel. Thanks!!. Greetings from Argentina!.
👍
Simplicity is perfection!
I started taking pictures in 1980 with a manual Pentax MX SLR and a single 50mm lens, and used that exclusively for 10 years before buying my first zoom. So, even though I have come to use other focal lengths more, each time I go back to a 50mm it feels like coming home.
I've used almost every Fuji X lens. The 35mm f2 is my favorite hands down.
Such wise advice. Daniel just stopped me in my tracks and made me really think about the how and why. Simplify in order to see and be present.
so true!
I agree wholeheartedly about the suspicion that comes with using a "professional" camera these days. I find using a Fuji set-up actually makes many people more comfortable because the assume it is an old film camera. That said, if I show up to a public event with a Canon body like a 5d and a zoom lens people let me go where I please because I look "professional."
I really liked your comments and photos. Just super. Thank you!!!
🙏
Thank you so much. Totally agree and have taken your advice on board. Have been sitting on the fence for a long time. Mind is now made up. Thank you.
that's what we love to hear! Tell us how it goes as you're off the fence.
Touché :) thank you very much for opening my eyes !!!
Daniel, thanks for a heartfelt and pragmatic view on photography. I am not a working photographer, an aspiring amateur, but I have been through the gear cycle and now I find myself with a x-pro2 and the 23mm (35mm equiv) welded on the front. I will buy another body at some stage (x-pro3 maybe) and weld the 35mm (50mm equiv) onto it. Not sure what to do with all my Canon gear.
so true. Great Video Sir.
This is very wise! While you are fumbling, you could be positioning your body, which you do intuitively, ANTICIPATING, as the man says, where/when the shot will be. And positioning is more important for composition than zooming around and fumbling with your settings. Now I have to have enough faith to leave all the gear home and tell my client, "It's ok, all I need is this one camera and this one fixed lens..." Scary!
this video inspired me a lot, i decide to simplified my gear a month ago and now i found this channel, perfect.!!
instantly subscribe +1
Glad to hear!
Love this videos with Daniel :)
Thanks Luis. Appreciate that.
This was awesome and exactly what I needed to hear. Just sub’d
Good video and good subject. I also started with a single lens, a 50mm f/1.8 Olympus OM for my OM-10 that I got in 1980 (or so). I still have that camera and lens. I got wrapped up in the DSLR hype in the early 2000’s and built up a small stable of lenses. I am not a pro, but I have shot weddings and did event shooting for my kids activities (band, sports, etc). I wound up selling off all my Canon gear about 5 or 6 years ago and picking up a Fuji X100F as a means to simplify my gear. It worked very well at first, but then I found myself not shooting as much. I went back to film for a bit, then picked up a “bridge camera” for our spring, summer, and fall vacations where I needed the extra reach. I just jumped into micro43 this year with an Olympus E-M5 mk2 and have been using it on the weekends for our hikes. I’m only using a few lenses, one of which is my original Olympus OM 50mm F/1.8 on an adapter. I definitely get the theory of a single lens, in practice, however, while I know I can do it, I don’t think I can mentally stick to it.
Some people have all the gear but no idea... still a beginner, but happy my funds are not endless so i have to use what i got, forcing me to think about what i do. Great video!
Thanks that’s the very best way to learn.
Great knowledge, thanks!
Excellent advice...
I find that 80% of photos on my Fuji x bodies are with the 35f1.4. Agree with all of your points, in particular that you get comfortable with the focal length and just know how to use it. Why mess with that? Interestingly on my gfx my favorite is the 45mm which is wider than the 35 on the x. It’s just a great lens. Question for you: what tools and publishing service do you use for the magazine like publications ? They look amazing. Thanks
Best ever advice
Thank you I have found a combo I love the look of and running with it
Sony a7rii and a bronicia 150 mm
So much to learn.
I just bought a 70-200 f2.8. Amazing stabilisation especially for video. My 50mm 1.8G is my favourite lens though. So good.
first vid of yours i have seen. wonderful insights. i have been using my ricoh gr2 with its 18mm (28mmfov) as my walkabout camera BUT i also did 2nd camera at a friend's wedding with the same ricoh gr2 and i felt so present as events evolved. thanks for the effort and the sharing. thumbs up.
I'm new to filmmaking. Have been far too busy with work over the last decade, believe it or not, to really have the time to make films. I might still be but time will tell.
And that is exactly why I love this channel!
🙏
great video - i had been thinking about the single lens and body also
Absoutely true! Thanks for sharing this
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