Why no 57mm normals any more?

[Robert Soames Wetmore]

Why is the 57mm normal a thing of the past? Does anyone know? All fast normals now seem to be 50mm on the nose, whereas once so many were 57mm. I rather like the 57mm focal length, and it makes a nice compliment with a 40mm (also not so popular any more). I once recall someone (maybe Mike Johnston - I'm not sure) posting about how it was easier, or once easier, to make fast 57mm lenses as compared to fast 50's. (I may have gotten that all wrong. I've gotta get more organized about saving and cataloguing old posts.)

To keep this on topic, I was thinking about doing a shoot out between my Hexanon 57mm f/1.2 (for Konica Autoreflex) and the Pentax SMCP-A 50mm f/1.2. I have a feeling the Hexanon is superior but would be interested to test the performance differences. Would anyone be interested in the results?

RSW





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