The statement, “If You Know, You Know,” is embodied in the 35mm full-frame lens. For many photographers, this little gem can do everything. Before the world and spaces became super cramped, photographers stated that a 50mm lens was the one to rule them all. But in the past few years, the 35mm lens has succeeded and claimed its rightful place on the throne. In my opinion, the camera system with the most versatile 35mm lens on the market is LUMIX. If you took the idea of a companion lens and made it manifest, the LUMIX S 35mm f1.8 would be the one.
This article is presented in partnership with LUMIX. Their 35mm f1.8 is a fantastic lens that you can get for yourself on Amazon.
I’m going to get all the technical reasons out of the way first because in the world of modern photography, it’s probably the most boring part. But knowing that you can rely on the weather resistance of the LUMIX S 35mm f1.8 will mean that your lens and camera are far less likely to fail when you need them — providing that you’re using a weather resistant camera too. Beyond that, the image quality you get from this lens will be a wonderful partner to LUMIX’s Real Time LUT feature. The cherry on top of all this is the fast and reliable autofocus performance that will help you get all the moments you’re looking to immortalize in pixels.
But the more important part, of course, is how you use it. And luckily, the 35mm lens is the one that gets out of the way of taking and making emotionally fulfilling images. Essentially, it’s the most point-and-shoot affair that a photographer could have when it comes to shoots.
I think one of the best things that a photographer can have is tech and gear that totally gets out of the way of making great images. Personally, I sometimes feel like zoom lenses can do that — but even this has changed. For me, the LUMIX S 35mm f1.8 lens lets do me everything I want and need. I can often just walk up to a subject that I’m paying attention to in my immediate surroundings and photograph them. If I’m too close, I’ll back up a few feet. If I’m too far away, I’ll close the gap and make the image.
My personal fine art photography often involves slow shutter speeds, low ISO settings, and deeper apertures along with in-camera movement. When you’re using the LUMIX S9 and the LUMIX S5II, it’s hard to do this because the image stabilization is so good — especially with a 35mm lens due to the laws of physics. But I can always still find a way to do it that brings me great joy. And if you’re shooting photos for yourself, isn’t the whole point for us to bring joy?
If I’m working for paid clients, things often change a bit more.
My paid work often involves working with people and products. With the LUMIX S 35mm f1.8, I can set a camera like the LUMIX S5II to people detection and combine it with tracking or another area-type autofocus. The pairing, along with a bit of light from a flash, make it all easy and help me develop my signature look. But at least that’s from the tech standpoint. A lens like this gets out of the way of my process and lets me just focus on the people-aspect of photography. I can talk to people, ask for their permission, collaborate with them, and get the photos that I’ve got in my head. Typically, we all end up going our separate ways with smiles on our faces and memories we can all enjoy later.
Later on, using this lens along with the camera means that I’ve got less post-production to do. And that lets me just continue on with life as making images brings me far more joy than being behind a computer screen. Right now, the world could use a lot more joy.