Photographers' Corner, Favorite Len ??

[frayne]

What is your best all around favorite lens ?

I have a Canon 24-105L that I couldn't live without, it is really that good in just about any situation you find yourself in.

What is your favorite lens ?

 

[Ronstar]

Still a newbie, but its a tossup between my 35mm 1.8 and 70-300mm 4.5-5.6. Just got the 35mm. I read an article that new photographers should shoot only with a single prime lens for 6 weeks before branching out to other lenses. I may give that a whirl for the next 6 weeks.

 

[Chuckanut]

My Olympus Zuiko 45mm f/1.8. Not even a contest. The lens is sharp and has great contrast and colour. It's speed makes low light shooting much easier. It is very small, about the size of a small pill bottle. Did I mention it is sharp?

 

[TOOLMAN]

What is your best all around favorite lens ? I have a Canon 24-105L that I couldn't live without, it is really that good in just about any situation you find yourself in. What is your favorite lens ?

Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G

 

[Walt34]

On my Nikon D7000 the kit f/3.5-f/5.6 18-105 mm zoom is the one I use the most. But I also have three SB-900 strobes that I place around a room at family gatherings and a decent tripod for low light situations.

 

[audreyh1]

Really enjoying my new Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 wide angle lens for my full-frame camera. I got it after doing star/milky way photographs this summer. I replaced a Canon 17-44mm f/4.

It worked great doing city shots in Amsterdam.

I still use the 24-105 f/4 kit lens that came with my EOS6D.

 

[Peter]

My Olympus Zuiko 45mm f/1.8. Not even a contest. The lens is sharp and has great contrast and colour. It's speed makes low light shooting much easier. It is very small, about the size of a small pill bottle. Did I mention it is sharp?

Nice to see an M43 lens cropping up. I like the Panasonic 20mm f1.7, but the 45mm m.Zuiko is definitely on the 'wanted' list!

 

[traineeinvestor]

Really enjoying my new Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 wide angle lens for my full-frame camera.

+1 Now that I am FIRE'd I'm spending more time with the camera and this is currently my favourite lens for street photography.

If I'd been asked this question a couple of years ago, I would have gone with the 50 1.4 - it forced me to move my feet a lot but the images were very sharp.

That being said, "best" means "best" for what purpose. If I am travelling, I usually only take the 28-135 3.5-5.6 IS. It may be a bit slow but it does an adequate job for holiday snaps. Maybe time to upgrade to the 24-70 2.8L?

 

[seraphim]

Lately I've been taking more landscapes - urban and country - and have been using the 10-24 on my Nikon almost exclusively.

 

[audreyh1]

+1 Now that I am FIRE'd I'm spending more time with the camera and this is currently my favourite lens for street photography.

If I'd been asked this question a couple of years ago, I would have gone with the 50 1.4 - it forced me to move my feet a lot but the images were very sharp.

That being said, "best" means "best" for what purpose. If I am travelling, I usually only take the 28-135 3.5-5.6 IS. It may be a bit slow but it does an adequate job for holiday snaps. Maybe time to upgrade to the 24-70 2.8L?

The 24-105 f/4 lens is 10 ounces lighter (almost a third lighter) and is image stabilized. I usually avoid f/2.8 for higher focal lengths because they get so much heavier. Of course if I were shooting sports or other fast action, that would be different.

I got an f/2.8 lens for the widest angles because of the improved light gathering for my night sky star photography. It was only slightly bigger and heavier than the similar f/4.

When I travelled to Europe I took all three of my lenses. My telephoto is 75-300mm. I don't use that last one much. I mainly got it because sometimes I want to zoom in more for a sunset shot and sometimes 105mm doesn't cut it. Otherwise, I just don't do much that requires telephoto.

BTW - DH is the one with the giant telephoto lenses that he uses for bird and other wildlife photography. Most of his bird photos are taken at 1200mm.

 

[Mr. Paul]

The Canon 24-70 2.8 is a great, versatile lens. I have the early version and it's sharp as a tack. If I owned Nikon gear I'd be all over the 10-24.

 

[seraphim]

Do they make a Nikon to Canon lens adaptor?

 

[Mr. Paul]

Do they make a Nikon to Canon lens adaptor?

Yes they do. I'm done accumulating camera gear though. If not I'd be seriously looking at a Nikon Full Frame with a 10-24 lens. Another lens I really like but don't own is the Zeiss 21mm 2.8 ... otherworldly sharp and available in different mounts.

 

[Chuckanut]

Nice to see an M43 lens cropping up. I like the Panasonic 20mm f1.7, but the 45mm m.Zuiko is definitely on the 'wanted' list!

The new 12-40mm Olympus Zuiko f/2.8 is on my list of lenses to check out. I sold my big DSLR gear earlier this year and have never looked back.

 

[Chuckanut]

Nice to see an M43 lens cropping up. I like the Panasonic 20mm f1.7, but the 45mm m.Zuiko is definitely on the 'wanted' list!

Yes, it is a great system with a pile of lenses to choose from. People should know that the Micro in Micro4/3 refers to the camera bodies and lenses only. The sensor is the regular 4/3 sensor size.

 

[TOOLMAN]

The Canon 24-70 2.8 is a great, versatile lens. I have the early version and it's sharp as a tack. If I owned Nikon gear I'd be all over the 10-24.

I like my Nikon AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED on my D7000. I use it for; city shots, landscapes, and indoor shots.
I find it's picky about a dirty lens or sensor, and can produce more lens flare than my other longer lens.
Those properties may come with the short focal length?
It gets great reviews, and that why I went for it.

 

[photoguy]

BTW - DH is the one with the giant telephoto lenses that he uses for bird and other wildlife photography. Most of his bird photos are taken at 1200mm.

I'm guessing you mean 1200mm effective focal length? or does he have the

The Mother of all Telephotos | B&H Photo Video

 

[audreyh1]

I'm guessing you mean 1200mm effective focal length? or does he have the

The Mother of all Telephotos | B&H Photo Video

No, LOL! It's the Canon 600mm f/4 with a doubler which ends up 1200mm f/8.

It still is big and heavy and requires a monster tripod with a Wimberly gimbal head.

But if you want to photgraph warblers.....

Actually - his camera body multiplies by 1.3, so effective focal length is more like 1560mm.

 

[photoguy]

A 600 f/4 is a very very nice lens. Luckily for my pocketbook I never got into bird photography -- that lens makes my 24 tseII seem like a bargain.

 

[audreyh1]

A 600 f/4 is a very very nice lens. Luckily for my pocketbook I never got into bird photography -- that lens makes my 24 tseII seem like a bargain.

The lens was bought in 2000, so my husband has enjoyed 13 years of steady use. It was a great investment for him.

However, we did use the proceeds from the sale of our Honda Accord in 2000 to buy it. After retiring we didn't need the second car.

It does make all the other lenses seem like a bargain! Not to mention light and tiny.

He does most of his photography - butterflies and dragonflies - with the Canon 180mm macro lens. But there are several times of year that we have some great birds in the area, and out he goes with the big gear!