Do You Have A Favorite Lens For A Particular Subject?

I get frustrated with my 75-300 zoom, Robert, because I didn't pay much for it (I wanted to use the money for a macro, which I did), and it's really soft unless I'm using a tripod no matter what the conditions are. I rarely use it.

I have a 60mm fixed Canon macro lens that takes worlds better images than my kit lens or my zoom. That said, my kit lens took most of the photos I have posted here and it does a decent job most of the time.

Mary,
I have a prime fixed Canon 50mm macro that I also use for my candid images. This is a very good lens. I also use a "kit" 18 to 55 canon zoom and I like this lens much also for the color and contrast.

I was very delighted with the results from my "kit" Canon zoom 55-250...(Maybe by mistake a good piece of glass was put into this zoom. lol....) But I use it for daylight, and the ISO speed is set at 500 (even for sunny days)....Then I set the F stop at 7.0...this gives me a changing shutter speed as high as 2,000....which means my images are sharp and not blurred....Maybe that's the secret with a "kit" lens....

you really like to drop names for that lens huh?... the best lens is the one you want to carry. i only have the one lens i use for everything. 100-400 is not a street photography lens. it's for sports, birds, etc. light weight is always best i use a tamron 28-300vc - works like a champ. compared to L - L wins, but i don't need L.

---Mike Savad

24 - 135mm works for me everytime!

Mine is my Phoenix 28-80 wide angle. It is a solid lens that works in a number of situations. My Nikon 70-300 is a good lens but is just to much for many closer shots, and many times does not give the view I want. I am beginning to like my Nikon 18-55 kit lens though. Not a bad lens at all.

I love my 24-70mm f/2.8 Zeiss for landscapes and my Tamron 90mm macro. I hardly ever need more.

I used to love my Canon 10 to 22 mm. Right up to the day is stopped focusing. I also liked my nifty fifty which I am about to replace. Presently, my 70 to 200 mm f4L is my favorite and typically I know if the image comes back with something wrong with it, it was probably operator error.

When I travel, I use my Tamron 18-270 lens. Very versatile, and such range that carrying other lenses isn't necessary.

Robert I agree with you on the kit lens. I have a Nikon 55-300 that came with my camera, it's a great lens I use for almost everything. I also have a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 that I love to use for hummingbirds and sports, it's much heavier but the advantage is lightning fast focus. Well worth the extra weight when it comes to capturing subjects in motion.

Christina, I have yet to know a Nikon that was very fast. Even my new one (D3100) I can focus faster on manual than the AF. Nikon has a very slow and ineffective focusing system, where as Canon is much more effective. Which is the only real difference I see between the two cameras.
If yours is that fast I would love to know how you can get a fast focus with Nikon without going manual?

Hi Robert. I'm a Nikon shooter, so my lens choices could be a bit alien to you. My principal lens is an 17-55mm f:2.8. I use it about 90% of the time. My cameras have APS sensors, btw. While I use that lens a lot, I have eight lenses to choose from, all Nikon; and usually carry a shoulder bag with several of them inside; mostly on the wide side. For example, the bag will often contain a 10.5mm rectangular fisheye, 12-24mm f:4 ultra-wide, 60mm f:2.8 macro, and either an 18-200mm f:3.5-5.6 or 70-200mm f:2.8. If I' not carrying the bag and want a versatile walkaround lens, I'll mount the 18-200. Besides the bag, I'll often have my hard case in the back of the car, which contains an extra body, my other lenses, filters, tele-extender, handheld/spot meter, macro stuff and other gear.

That being said, usually, I usually see in a wide mode, rather than telephoto; hence the primary choice of the 17-55mm.

Dan, I'd have your camera checked. My cameras autofocus pretty much instantaneously with all lenses, with the SWMs being the fastest. I do focus manually when needed for creative or technical reasons, like for hyperfocal shooting.

Mr. Bloom,
You said "I usually see in a wide mode, rather than telephoto; hence the primary choice of the 17-55mm."

This is interesting and got me to thinking the way I see...which is in a telephoto mode like from 250 to 400. I guess its because I most often favor what I consider "uncluttered" images.

I once had a inexpensive Vivitar zoom from 70 to 250?....I loved this lens and often used it at 250. I suppose I liked the blurred out backgrounds...when using a faster shutter speed and an F stop like 6.0.

Maybe I have tunnel vision!

Robert, you wrote that you favor "uncluttered" images. By this, do you mean that you like to isolate your subjects? A telephoto shot can be just as "cluttered" as a wide angle one; but as you note, depth of field will tend to soften backgrounds (and foregrounds) with longer lenses. I think that 'tunnel vision' is an apt description. In my experience, photographers who lean toward longer lenses often wish to remove their subject from its environment to at least some degree. My style of shooting, on the other hand, seeks harmony between subject and surroundings, sometimes contrast. While I've often done as you suggest, I think I have a 'wider eye' when it comes to framing and focus.

Murray, the only time it really bothers me is when shooting at night, when I have to use it to see where a flash is needed. If I can see through it, then I go ahead and use it manually. But at night I find all Nikons have a hard time finding and focusing on a target, if they even can. My N90 is my best with the af, then the D3100 is better than my D100 was, but still slower than a canon. But like I said, that is the only negative between them, so not a big deal to go to a shop just yet. I have one lens that has more needs than the camera, it is an old lens, and something got inside it, so I need to take it and get it cleaned.

"prime fixed Canon 50mm macro" or officially the Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro

I have same one. Was recommended by a professional food photographer for the NY Times. Its an older design. Inexpensive and hunts for focus but I usually use it on a tripod and with manual focus for still life and food photography. Very sharp, focusing from infinity down to one-half life size (0.5x). Something like $299. Well worth it for closeup work.

- 35mm f/1.4L and 85mm f/1.8 for indoor car shows
- 400mm f/5.6L for BIF and the Blue Angels at Fleet Week
- 400mm f/5.6L with teleconverters for zoo
- 100mm f/2.8L macro IS for macros
- 50mm f/1.4 for my kid's school plays
- 135mm f/2L for indoor basketball and other indoor sports
- 24-105mm f/4 L for general walkaround
- Tamron 200-500 (non VC) for shooting the moon, which means I've only used that lens a few times
- Sony 24-70 f/4 with the Sony a7r when I want to go light or carry 2 cameras.


-W

Mr. Fielding,
yep, that's the one..."prime fixed Canon 50mm macro" or officially the Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro....
I used it this afternoon when I did some street photography at a nearby hub for trains/buses/and L in Chicago.

(Don't tell this to Mr. Savad. He thinks I only use a zoom of 100-400 for my street images.)

With the 50mm lens, I am able to be not more than 5 feet for some of human candid images. I exaggerate my old age by stumbling about showing how harmless I am.

Photojournalism - the quest for objectivity

My fav was 35 mm
Up close and cosy
Where it's best to be
But if you cannot get close
A 75 will increase the company
A small group becomes a crowd
And a minority becomes a majority
Depending
Otherwise switch hit
And the crowd just melts away
Into another ordinary day

Canon 50mm fixed and the 70-200 II for panoramics.

Plus it depends on the subjects...
For birds and wildlife and zoo....I may use a Canon 100-400 zoom...
For candid images of people....lenses from 24 to 250....

NO - although I'm learning not to use my "big" lens for landscapes.

My favorite is a Canon 15-85, and 70-300 L...

24 can be ok if want to go see round the bend

And a fish eye can bring on feelings of nostalgia as you are reminded a particular fashionable shoe.

BTW Robert

Do you know of a photographer from Chicago called Harris?