My Favorite Lens – and Why

My favorite lens for walking around photography is my 50/2.8 Elmar. I’ve realized for a long time that I am a 50mm photographer. When I see something I want to take a picture of and raise the camera to my eye I almost always have to walk forward if I have a 35mm lens on the camera or step back if I have an 85mm or longer lens on it. I apparently see most potential subjects with 50mm eyes. 

But why the 50/2.8 Elmar? It’s because of the one skill in which I surpass every other photographer I know – taking pictures of the inside of my lens cap! The Elmar is a retractable lens that rotates when retracted and the lens cap covers the aperture setting mark. I can not look down and see the aperture setting unless the lens is extended and the lens cap is removed. With my other 50mm lenses, even the retractable 50/2 Summicron, I can look down, see the aperture setting, and more often than I like adding to my collection of crystal clear negatives. This simply doesn’t happen with the 50/2.8 Elmar.