Wide Open Lenses - IGNORE OR ADORE?

[@tadwolujewicz3923]

Once the temptation to shoot everything at 1.4 wanes and the focus changes to composition and depth of field to tell a particular story, the real benefits of a quality 35mm 1.4 lens emerge, as you have found yourself, Justin. For me, as a photographer of people in remote parts of the world, there is a magical look in the eyes of my subjects when I use the Canon L series 11 35mm 1.4. It helps my storytelling and is my go to lens. 35mm is always going to divide photographers, with some seeing the world through a 50mm lens, while others view life through a 24mm. Shooting at the widest aperture available temptation, also applies to lenses such as the 85mm 1.2. Lenses which are beasts of beauty, need to be handled and managed carefully, in order to get the best out of them. Always appreciated your candour and storytelling, Justin, as you have learned your craft the hard way and freely offer advice to those who aspire to become professional photographers.

[@mikedesimone1783]

Thank you, Justin! Indeed, lens choice plays a crucial role in shaping our creative vision. Experimenting with different apertures allows us to craft unique narratives through our photography. Cheers, and happy shooting!

[@AskMOTT]

Well said Mike :).

[@thedarkslide]

Justin, take a look at the work of the late Andreas Herzau who recently passed away, he worked for Laif in Germany. His street photography work (New York, Moscow, India…) has a visual language with lots of shallow depth of field. He worked with a long lens for some of that.

[@ccoppola82]

I still shoot film for darkroom printing and 1.4 is almost a necessity. What’s interesting is, Karbe said something to the effect of people SHOULD shoot at 1.4 in lenses like the FLE (I do wonder if he really meant COULD). This is counter to the old Leica literature that suggested shooting at mid apertures as much as possible, but 1.4 was there in case you have bad light and NEED 1.4. I generally agree with the old literature. I never understood a certain Leica “pro” every Leica shooter has heard of, who travels the world shooting models wide open with a noctilux in fancy places. What’s the point of being at a location if you’re going to blow the background out anyway? Justin, IMHO you use the 1.4 correctly. Thanks for the channel. I really enjoy it.

[@AskMOTT]

Thank you Christopher , such a thoughtful comment . I do my best to do my 1.4 justice but not over do it :).

[@gordbarker1501]

Great video. One minor quip. You kept comparing f1.4 to f2.8. the next f stop down from f1.4 is f2 and there are a lot of lenses out there that have a maximum aperture of f2 that are considerably less expensive than F1.4s.

[@StephenPodrasky]

I finally have my own google sign in. No longer under my wife's. Great video. I will shoot wide open for some photos. I will shoot the Noctilux at .95. If I only want to shoot at 2.0 or 2.8 then no reason to carry the weight from the larger aperture lenses.

[@donald5378]

Love the 1.4 in daylight look from Summilux and Nokton lenses. A variable ND allows me to move between 1.4 to f/8 with ease, especially when using film, I find it helps avoid the trap of being locked into 1.4 due to the hassle of unscrewing/re-attaching a fixed 3 stop ND.

[@RS-Amsterdam]

Great video and solid points, but the next gen cameras will have a "take an award winning shot" button

[@AskMOTT]

How much extra will that button cost :)

[@laurapodrasky9687]

I bought the 50SL summilux to shoot it wide open. When I am not shooting wide open then the SL50APO or the 24-90 goes on the camera. I have the Noctilux just to shoot it at .95. No reason to use the fast glass unless you are shooting them wide open. If you are out to shoot at F8 then by a cron or even the elmarit. Both are great at F8 and much smaller.

[@RS-Amsterdam]

Agreed

[@AskMOTT]

That’s a nice combo , I bought the 24-90mm as well to cover me on paid shoot or when I’m doing hybrid shoots.

[@jlsmith7588]

I have had success shooting with stopped down aperture and using Lightroom to blur the background. It gives me the option to blur later.

[@davidkipperman5218]

I have a 50mm 1.2 Noctilux and love it! It has a look of its own.

[@KirstenBayes]

I have a couple of decent cameras and really any shot I can get with one, I can get with the other. Same isn't true for my trusty f/1.4: it is chonky, it cost more than my first car (for real), but it gets the shot. Low light, busy backgrounds, fast moving subjects, we love. Plus I live in the rainiest country in this world, and it's weather sealed.

[@AskMOTT]

Fair enough Kirsten, I love it in low light situations and pretty much most situations it thrives.

[@wilfredshum3703]

I like pairing Summilux lenses with my M9 and M8.2 cameras for obvious reasons.

[@craigyuill7502]

I recently started taking multiple photos of subjects where I will change the aperture one stop at a time, from maximum aperture to f/8 or f/11. I have found that I tend to prefer the look of photos 1 to 2 stops down from maximum.

[@cuffarophoto]

Kids today! Less talk, more shooting. Let your photos do the talking. 🙂

[@bosiefoobar]

My Sony gm 35mm 1.4 (banger of a lens) cost 1400…. Nothing is as expensive as Leica glass haha

[@AskMOTT]

This is true :)

[@RS-Amsterdam]

And good ....

[@filibertkraxner305]

....but big ;-)

[@junichinomura4810]

Same weight of your sony camera 😅

[@bosiefoobar]

@@junichinomura4810500gram isn’t that bad ;) but yes, bigger, heavier, better than a Leica lux

[@markgurley241]

1.4 is not as relevant since I got the sl2-s, but when I shoot my m7 having the 50/1.4 comes in handy in low light. You lose dof but gain some shutter speed and less blurry pics. I enjoyed your video. Thanks.

[@niklasthalmann7851]

i was shooting a festival the last weekend and was wondering if i may overdue my open aperture... one problem for me is a lot of clients love the look so I'm trying not to fall in a routine and find good balance... It's definitely easier to get a "good looking" shot wide open.

[@AskMOTT]

Client do indeed love it , I have to resist the temptation of over using it not using it correctly.

[@devroombagchus7460]

My only f1,4 lens is on my Olympus 4Ti. The view is a tiny bit brighter and focussing is a tiny bit bit easier. In 60+ years of photography, I seldom used f2,8 or lower. Less sharpness and very limited depth of field. What bothers me about videos like this one is that they don’t state that the technique is for a particular style of photography only. I definitely liked most of your images, but also found it a pity that too much was blurry. It’s a matter of preference. Same as this fad with low speed exposure of running water. Why must the water be turned into yoghurt? I love the sparkling, as in some of the pictures of Hodler. Sharpness here is perfection, blurr is fashion.

[@rio_nakayama]

..and now he only shoots at f22 😂 Kidding.. hehe. But seriously it is relatable. I think everyone goes through this phase. Great video as always!

[@richarddenise3886]

Thanks!

[@AskMOTT]

Thank you Richard, you're so kind for doing this.

[@jklphoto]

Hmm, I'm torn Justin. Is f1.4 glass sexy as hell, yes. Do we NEED it with digital, no. Does your work SHINE with WO glass, YES! Would people be able to tell the difference if you switched to the much smaller and cheaper 35mm Cron, no...

[@garymc8956]

Would be interested in your take on the lens blur feature in Lightroom. I might guess but be interested in your words.

[@matthewb21]

I like your videos, but you repeat one thing that might confuse people starting out in photography. How can you say that more light hits the sensor at F1.4? As long as the exposure is correct, it doesn't matter what mix of f-stops and shutter speeds you use to achieve it, the sensor always gets the same amount. I suppose it's a mental shortcut, but it can be misleading. F1.4 has it's place, but personaly to retain more contex, I shoot more and more often at a range of F4-8

[@lindakuo88]

Ok I literally NEVER shoot wide open, not going below f5.6 It just didn’t speak to me or seem like my style and I wasn’t into all the bokeh hype. However, often in low light situations, I would combine ambient with a hit of strobe so that it still looked natural. Now, I am convinced that I need to experience shooting wide open. My resistance was also, focus concerns. I will take on this challenge. Question. On your very very low light images such as the night shots, did you, and do you, use auto iso? So you ever use auto iso (I know you are manual and so am I but there are times auto iso can be useful) and do you have a limit on what ISO you will not go over? Or is that no longer a concern for you with the technology? Thank you JM

[@albertma5467]

Justin what is your thoughts on the XCD 80/f1.9, a 1.4 equivalent

[@AskMOTT]

Do you shoot wide open?

[@bugsybunny398]

Sometimes, it depends on the lens. When I thought I was a landscape photographer, I shot at f8-f11 with Fujifilm native lenses because I thought everything had to be sharp and focused. 😁When I started using vintage lenses on my digital cameras, my obsession with having everything super sharp and in focus waned.

[@Glenn_K]

Yes but it can backfire when the subject is not fully perpendicular to the plane of the lens so that part of the subject is out of focus. It’s less of an issue at 24mm but it becomes more of an issue at 35mm and definitely at 50mm.

[@AskMOTT]

@@Glenn_K You definitely ruin shots if you mess up the focus. I've gotten pretty good at it through the years but I should've discussed it.

[@TungPhanTalks]

for portraiture, I'm almost always tempted to do so. Unless there's an obvious background element that needs to be included.

[@filibertkraxner305]

Sometimes, but not all that often. Usually, I'm around 2.8 for my available light dance photography (using zooms), only opening up to 2.0 if I really have to in near darkness. A bit of depth of field is useful here, especially with more than one dancer in the image. Portraits are sometimes nicer wide open, but not always.

[@grantrobertdavies]

Hey Justin :) Great video man... Sorry I haven't check in for a while (Been Busy) - I sent you a DM on your instagram as I'd be keen to see what you think about certain "topic" of discussion I'm seeing a lot on the KZbin's :)

[@AskMOTT]

Thanks Grant, I'll check the DM now as I didn't see anything earlier today. Have a great day.