I went to Cars and Coffee today on Treasure Island and snapped a bunch of photos. I wanted to show a quick comparison between the 24mm and 35mm.
Obviously there are several differences between these two focal lengths like bokeh, background compression, etc, but I wanted to see exactly how these focal lengths affect how exotic cars… and ultimately, I want to see which focal length suits me the most.
(35mm 1.4g pictured above) I immediately noticed immediately that the lines on the car weren’t as extreme when I shot with the 35mm. In some ways, it the car looked plain. I’m sure there are more flattering angles, but from a corner, it just seemed flat. Sure, the car looks nice, but the photo and focal length wasn’t arousing.
(24mm 1.4g pictured above) As you can see, the 24mm just stretches the perspective and exaggerates the length of the car. The nose feels like it’s so close you can taste it, while everything else is pushed back—this creates a dramatic perspective… and I actually really like the look of the lines.
(35mm 1.4g pictured above) The 35mm looks more natural… but for some reason, it just feels a little boring. Now obviously, we can take photos with compositions that compliment the focal length… but at this particular angle, the car looks pretty normal.
(24mm 1.4g pictured above) On the other hand, the 24mm stretches out the rear and makes it feel much wider. The car obviously doesn’t have these proportions, but the 24mm creates much more depth. Depending on your shooting style, that could be a desirable effect.
Between these two lenses, I personally prefer the 24mm. It just provides something much more interesting. Everything just feels a little more extreme. Lines are sharper and angles are harsher. I like that… a lot!
In the future, I’ll probably just take my 24mm and my 50mm macro to cars and coffee. That gives me an interesting range to capture the extremes of all these exotic cars.