When I first started taking photos, it was only done with a wide angle lens. My first cameras had kit zooms and I always had them at the widest setting they could go. When I switched to the rangefinder system, I started to stick to prime lenses and eventually fell on the 50mm. Most medium format cameras are equipped with a 80mm which is around the 50mm full frame field of view, so this became normal to me overtime. My Fuji x pro 2 has a 35mm on it and has been my only lens for that camera the last 6 years, and you guessed it, a 50mm equivalent. This has become so normal that an x100 feels too wide for me. Insert the Leica Q. I have avoided this for years for the sole fact that I wanted it to be a 50mm fixed lens with the full frame sensor. Something Fuji had yet to do or give us a sign of life for.

Now enough chit chat about lens focal lengths and camera companies, let’s see what this lens does and how my view has changed with this. My first adventure with this camera was out to Washington in the San Juan Islands. This is what got my attention for this focal length.

I end up shooting a lot of portrait shots for my landscapes which can be good and bad with a wide angle. I attribute it to me being left eye dominant and wearing eye glasses. A deadly combo for a “rangefinder” viewfinder. I started to really enjoy the amount of the scene you could capture, but also the character you’d get out of this when you’d get close to your subject. Next, I was able to bring this along on a trip out west.

I think it is important to know your gear and specialize in what you do. When I look at a scene, I already know what a 50mm is going to capture even before lifting the camera up. Learning to see at this wide of an angle has really adapted how I view a scene and even how close I can stand to what I am photographing. You do have to get much closer if you don’t want a subject to look like an ant. Like the quote from Robert Capa about not being close enough, he obviously had a 28mm in his bag. I am happy after all this time to be wrong about going wide angle and that’s okay. Better late than never to discover the world of the 28mm.