Lens question for the Photographers in the Crowd?

[HogwldFLTR]

I've recently purchased a new camera and have bought lenses as well. I'm curious as to what lenses others use the most. So anyone want to comment on what their most used lenses are? Wide angle short length, short length telephoto, long length telephoto, native lenses (which mm), fisheye? Do you have all of the above?

[Pix]

Full frame or crop sensor? -- all of these are for Full Frame- My go to is the 24-70-f/2.8...my favorite portrait is the 85 f/1.2--My sports set up is a 300 F/2.8 with a 1.4x tele, I have also used the 300 for product photography. Also the 90mm T/S is great for headshots when you want to play with Swings and depth of field.

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by Pix

Full frame or crop sensor? -- all of these are for Full Frame- My go to is the 24-70-f/2.8...my favorite portrait is the 85 f/1.2--My sports set up is a 300 F/2.8 with a 1.4x tele, I have also used the 300 for product photography. Also the 90mm T/S is great for headshots when you want to play with Swings and depth of field.

Mines mirrorless and cropped but easy enough to come up with the analogous lens from full frame (divide by 1.6) f is f afaik. Thanks for the inputs!!

[Laszlo]

For a full frame sensor my favorite focal length prime lens is 35mm for street, 50mm for ‘everything’, and 85mm for portrait. Wide angles 28mm or less are great for landscape/creative. If you don’t have a full frame just look up conversions for your sensor. Congrats on the new gear!!

[Flstfirider]

Currently my goto lens is Nikon 28-300 on a Nikon D610 (Full Frame). It covers most situations, and provides relatively good color and sharpness for a mid range Nikon lens.

[Reddy_Kilowatt]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

I've recently purchased a new camera and have bought lenses as well. I'm curious as to what lenses others use the most. So anyone want to comment on what their most used lenses are? Wide angle short length, short length telephoto, long length telephoto, native lenses (which mm), fisheye? Do you have all of the above?

What do you plan to photograph?

[bayerische]

35mm

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by Reddy_Kilowatt

What do you plan to photograph?

Any thing from watches to worlds. At work I have SEMs to play with the smaller stuff.

[MrTwi]

Watches? Get a macro.

[SG56]

I've recently purchased the 24-70 in hope it would be my goto lens.

It's not. I always go back to my 50mm 1.4 prime lens. That's the one always on the camera.

[Sarosh]

I have a 50mm prime fixed lens, great for low light and grabbing on the go when not being too bulky. It’s on the camera 99.9% of the time. Otherwise I use a 18-200mm zoom lens, covers near enough every single base. Next in my sights is 12-24mm lens. But won’t be for a while

[yannis]

Using a 50mm and a 105 macro with my Nikon D7000.

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by MrTwi

Watches? Get a macro.

For me the macro is taken care of by my 28mm F/3.5 which is about a 45mm in full frame world. It can do 1.2X images and it has built in macro lights. Here are a few shots from it.

Originally Posted by Laszlo

For a full frame sensor my favorite focal length prime lens is 35mm for street, 50mm for ‘everything’, and 85mm for portrait. Wide angles 28mm or less are great for landscape/creative. If you don’t have a full frame just look up conversions for your sensor. Congrats on the new gear!!

Thanks! For this I picked up a 22mm F/2.0 which is equivalent to a full frame 35mm. The 28mm f/3.5 macro lens works as a standard lens as well with and equivalent full frame length of 45mm. Close to 50 as is offered for the camera. Went out tonight with the 22mm and took a few shots.

[uscmatt99]

I like fast 35mm lenses on full frame. My favorites are the Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 ZF.2 and the Voigtländer 35mm f/1.2 M-mount lenses, both used on my Sony A7ii with adapters. Manual focus for ultimate control, but not so easy for candid shots unless I stop them down. I also really enjoy my Zeiss 50mm f/1.5 Sonnar, an old design with brilliant rendering style for portraits.

[Valenciawatchrepair]

35mm f/1.8 and 100mm f/2.8 Macro on my Nikon D3300. My walkaround is a cheap Sigma 17-70mm. Decent lens for $200

[dualcarb]

I use a Nikon D810. My trusty old 24mm F2.8D is the one I use most. The lenses that I pair it with are the 50mm F1.4D. And I have a 16-35mm F4 VR for tight indoor situations. Lastly for portrait and outdoor sports events, I will be using my 70-200 F2.8 VRI. I also use a flashgun when the lighting gets dim esp with indoor shoots. Hope this helps...

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by dualcarb

I use a Nikon D810. My trusty old 24mm F2.8D is the one I use most. The lenses that I pair it with are the 50mm F1.4D. And I have a 16-35mm F4 VR for tight indoor situations. Lastly for portrait and outdoor sports events, I will be using my 70-200 F2.8 VRI. I also use a flashgun when the lighting gets dim esp with indoor shoots. Hope this helps...

It does; I'm considering a flash as well but so far I'm sticking with the built in one until I know more about their use.

[gnuyork]

By far my most used lens (or equivalent focal length in various formats) is the nifty fifty. And I like primes much better than zooms in general.

[Valenciawatchrepair]

Originally Posted by gnuyork

By far my most used lens (or equivalent focal length in various formats) is the nifty fifty. And I like primes much better than zooms in general.

When I had Canon setups I got a lot of use out of the Nifty! Really great lens, especially the newest STM Version.

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by gnuyork

By far my most used lens (or equivalent focal length in various formats) is the nifty fifty. And I like primes much better than zooms in general.

Originally Posted by Valenciawatchrepair

When I had Canon setups I got a lot of use out of the Nifty! Really great lens, especially the newest STM Version.

Primes are usually faster than the zooms as far as I can tell. I assume there are trade-off made to make the zooms. I've also heard it regarded as the Thrifty Fifty. There aren't so many lenses in the Mirrorless range for Canon unless getting an adapter and using EF instead of EF-M lenses.

[gnuyork]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

I've also heard it regarded as the Thrifty Fifty.

That depends. I have 50mm lenses ranging from under $100 to over 2K. I just like the focal length best for my style of photography. I also like 28, 35, and 90 - but if I had to choose one, it would be 50 for sure.

Primes are generally faster, yes, and most good ones are a good deal sharper as well.

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by gnuyork

That depends. I have 50mm lenses ranging from under $100 to over 2K. I just like the focal length best for my style of photography. I also like 28, 35, and 90 - but if I had to choose one, it would be 50 for sure.

Primes are generally faster, yes, and most good ones are a good deal sharper as well.

One of the nice things with the mirrorless camera is the lens size, weight, and price are reduced. I would believe the MTF curves tell a lot about the lens performance. The other thing I'm liking is the speed at which the cameras can shoot. I think this is an advantage for HDR photos either in camera or after camera work.

[dualcarb]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

It does; I'm considering a flash as well but so far I'm sticking with the built in one until I know more about their use.

I use a flash only when lighting conditions make it difficult for me to get clear shots as I rarely use my lens wide open. I usually keep my aperture at f/8. Unless I don’t have a flash on me, then f/5.6 at ISO 3200 max.

My flash will always be used with a diffuser to “soften” the lights a little. And just to add that touch of light to give definition to the photo. So I will go full manual on my camera instead of using shutter or aperture priority.

[geebob]

I have a full frame camera D750. My lenses are: 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm.

I usually carry two lenses when I go out: 24 and 50, or 35 and 85. The wide lenses are for low light, indoor, city, street or environmental portrait while the 50 and 85 are for portrait. However, usually it’s the wide one that stays on the camera. So when I carry 24 and 50 it’s usually the 24 that I use. The 50mm stays in my bag.
Same story when I carry 35 and 85.

That’s outdoor daylight shooting.

When shooting in low light and/or indoor without external flash (I carry flash in my bag and prefer to shoot with flash, but sometimes it’s not possible) I only use (and carry) either the 24 or the 35.

I try to keep my shutter speed at a minimum 1/focal length of the lens to avoid any camera shake. So indoor and low light, I shoot with aperture wide open and crank up the ISO to get a minimum shutter speed of 1/25 or 1/30, faster if possible.

If I can only have one lens it would be 35mm. It’s my favorite focal length.

[themast]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

Primes are usually faster than the zooms as far as I can tell. I assume there are trade-off made to make the zooms. I've also heard it regarded as the Thrifty Fifty. There aren't so many lenses in the Mirrorless range for Canon unless getting an adapter and using EF instead of EF-M lenses.

Hang in there Lee. Canon will likely release at least one EF-M lens this year (according to canonrumors.com)

In general, lens selection really depends on your needs and photography style.
For the EOS M, my go to lens is the 22mm f2. I am tempted by the 11-22mm because I have heard it delivers very nice IQ. However I am awaiting to see what Canon comes up with. I really would like a 24-70 f2.8 or a 50mm prime (yeah, I know, the nifty fifty is ~$100 but I would like to have native lenses...)

[SDRider]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

Primes are usually faster than the zooms as far as I can tell. I assume there are trade-off made to make the zooms. I've also heard it regarded as the Thrifty Fifty. There aren't so many lenses in the Mirrorless range for Canon unless getting an adapter and using EF instead of EF-M lenses.

The "Nifty Fifty" is the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens. It retails for around $125.

Not to be confused with the faster and more expensive 50mm f/1.4 lens or the much more expensive f/1.2 lens.

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by SDRider

The "Nifty Fifty" is the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens. It retails for around $125.

Not to be confused with the faster and more expensive 50mm f/1.4 lens or the much more expensive f/1.2 lens.

The thrifty/nifty is the lens that comes with many Canons if purchased with their standard lens. My first SLR came with one back in the mid 70s (FTb).

Originally Posted by themast

Hang in there Lee. Canon will likely release at least one EF-M lens this year (according to canonrumors.com)

In general, lens selection really depends on your needs and photography style.
For the EOS M, my go to lens is the 22mm f2. I am tempted by the 11-22mm because I have heard it delivers very nice IQ. However I am awaiting to see what Canon comes up with. I really would like a 24-70 f2.8 or a 50mm prime (yeah, I know, the nifty fifty is ~$100 but I would like to have native lenses...)

The 22 is equivalent to a 35 in full frame, at least it's got a respectable f/2.0. The 28mm macro is a 45mm in full frame reality but with relatively high f/3.5 it's pretty slow. it's like Canon made a decision to not let the mirrorless compete with their DSLRs by restricting the lenses for them. It's also rumored that they're coming out with a full frame mirrorless this year which would further make the smaller framed mirrorless cameras second class acts. I'm looking at the 11-22mm too. Again it's pretty slow at f/4-5.6. I guess IS should help with the issues.

[Valenciawatchrepair]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

The thrifty/nifty is the lens that comes with many Canons if purchased with their standard lens. My first SLR came with one back in the mid 70s (FTb).

I don't know if the 50mm f/1.8 is bundled with bodies any more. I have yet to see it. Only been into DSLR's since 2005 though.

Also remember it being called the Plastic Fantastic lol

[mschafer]

I photograph a lot of people and usually favor little longer than normal (image diagonal determines what that is for your camera), but a normal lens is a great and versatile companion (from 55-90/105). For reportage shots,, like a party, where I want to be immersed in the action, I like a 35mm on full frame DSLR. But these days a normal zoom can cover most of these focal length, so a 24-70/105 fits the bill, and that's where to money goes, you'll upgrade your camera before you need a new lens. A single focal usually offer wider f stops for more light and shallower depth of field. Also, get some quality UV or clear filters for front lens element protection.

[SDRider]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

The thrifty/nifty is the lens that comes with many Canons if purchased with their standard lens. My first SLR came with one back in the mid 70s (FTb).

The 22 is equivalent to a 35 in full frame, at least it's got a respectable f/2.0. The 28mm macro is a 45mm in full frame reality but with relatively high f/3.5 it's pretty slow. it's like Canon made a decision to not let the mirrorless compete with their DSLRs by restricting the lenses for them. It's also rumored that they're coming out with a full frame mirrorless this year which would further make the smaller framed mirrorless cameras second class acts. I'm looking at the 11-22mm too. Again it's pretty slow at f/4-5.6. I guess IS should help with the issues.

I have a 1.6x crop factor Canon DSLR and find the 17-40mm f/4.0L lens to be a decent walk around lens. I'm planning on purchasing a full frame sensor camera body soon though and retiring my 10+ year old 30D. I never really found the fish-eye lenses to be all that appealing to me even with the crop factor of my camera's image sensor.