Picked the 28mm f/1.8 over the 50mm for street shots and it backfired hard

I was at a camera swap meet in Portland last month and had to choose between a used 28mm prime and a beat-up 50mm. Figured the wider angle would let me grab more context in crowded spots. Went out Sunday morning and every photo has this weird distortion on the edges, people look stretched out and fake. Anyone else regret a lens choice because of weird geometry?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan5615d agoRising Star

Stick with it a few more weeks. That 28mm distortion is actually a style thing, you just gotta learn to use it. I shot with a 24mm for a year and hated it until I figured out you point the camera straight ahead, not tilted. Keep the horizon in the middle and it fixes the stretched people issue. Give it another month before you swap.

the_wendy5d ago

Oh man, that's exactly what happened to my friend Sara with her 35mm. She was so ready to return it after two weeks because everyone's legs looked like tree trunks. Then her photography teacher told her to stop tilting the camera down at people's feet. She started keeping the camera level and suddenly the distortion just disappeared. Now she loves that lens more than any other she owns. It's wild how such a small thing changes everything.

murray.cora5d ago

800 bucks for that 24mm and yeah, @logan561 is totally right. Took me forever to figure out you just gotta keep that thing level.