50mm vs 35mm... sharpness, bokeh, and versatility on M

My favorite for your type of photography is 28/50/90. 35/75 makes an ideal 2 lens kit, and for me a 1 lens kit would always be just the 50mm.

Personally, I would prefer a 28/50mm rather than a 24/50mm double act if you want this kind of spread, if only because you do not need a separate viewfinder for a 28mm.

Not to sound rude, but with your extensive experience, who are we to know better than you what would be the best solution for your needs ??

Personally, I prefer a 28/50 combination for minimalism, but then my style is likely different...

I used to bring 21/35/90 for travel though I had a 28mm and 50mm as well. My logic was: If I was going to use an ex.VF (which I hate) might as well as go really wide. For normal street shooting I'd just bring the 28/35/90. It is a highly personal decision...

First, be certain to have a 50. Use it all the time. Then, if you find a need for another length, buy it. Don't think about concepts or kits. Make sure the lens doesn't block the viewfinder.

What Robin Smith said. Except that I am happy to trouble myself to have the 25 and viewfinder. I can't see the 28 framelines of my M6 anyway. A 50 is great. You've convinced yourself already. Bill Pierce over on rangefinderforum told a great story of rediscovering the 50mm focal length. He was habitually using a 35, the 'get it all in' PJ's focal length of the time, and he and his friend swapped cameras to take a photograph of each other so that each would have a photograph of themselves on their film. Bill was stunned to see this wonderful view through his friend's remarkable short telephoto lens. It was a 50. Some people have lots of 50s, more than they have copies of other focal lengths. I have two 50s and have had three in all. I never fully appreciated it until I had shorter focal lengths. I am out to 21 so far and each widening of my view gives me increased appreciation of the previously widest focal length.

I usually carried a 21, 35, 50, 90, and 135 with my M4. Probably half of the shots were taken with the 50, and many of the rest with the 35 and 90. I rarely used the 21. Other people have different shooting styles, though. Wide open spaces favor longer lenses; cramped cities often demand something like the 21.

The 35 (street) and 75 (portrait and detail) combination should cover most things. For architectural and landscape work -- but only if you do enough of that to justify the expense -- you might add a 24 or a 21. I have a 35 and a 75 and a 90, and I use those: but the lens that spends the most time on my camera is a 50. If ever I whittle down to two lenses, I'll probably opt for 50-90 rather than 35-75: though that will only be because I know those lengths better. The 35-75 will be the choice if my vision should deteriorate.

Pretty much a 35. used to be a 50 but about 5 years ago i got used to the 35. Never felt i needed any thing else for walk around photography since.

The M6/M7/MP have very undersized 50mm framelines. I seldom bother with a 50 on these models. If I want to use a 50, I'm more likely to have it on my M2 or M3, which have more realistically sized 50mm framelines. I get very frustrated trying to use a 50 on an M6. The frameline only covers, at a distance of say 12 to 15 feet, the same area as the 60mm on an R6.

Even with a more reasonably sized frameline, I still find the 50mm focal length too tight for most shots. You have used 35mm and 43mm lenses extensively, and you don't seem to say they are too wide. I think you might be unhappy with only a 50. I certainly would be! There is just not enough room in the frame!

Take your M6 out for a walk, and try framing scenes with the 50mm framelines, using the frameline selector. See if you think you'll be happy with a 50. I bet not.