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 p.5 #5 · If you could only have 20 lenses.... | |
splathrop wrote:
Okay:
Canon TS-E 17
Zeiss ZE 21 f/2.8
Canon TS-E 24
Canon 24L II
Zeiss ZE 35 f/1.4
Canon 35L
Zeiss ZE 50 f/2.0 MP
Sigma 70mm Macro
Canon 85 1.8
Canon 85L II
Canon 90 TS-E
Zeiss ZE 100 f/2.0
Canon 135L
Canon 185L
Canon 16-35L II
Canon 24-70L
Canon 70-200L f/2.8 IS II
Canon 200L f/2 IS
Pick three super-teles: 300, 400, 600.
All of that is for full frame. A few thoughts on the list: I started with photojournalism before autofocus became available. Manual focus remains easy. The Zeiss lenses are my choices for low light, except at the wide end. There, the Canon 24L II is the supreme all-around low-light-capable photojournalism lens. All other photojournalism is handled by the zooms. Another low light exception is theater and events, which is what the 35L is for. It's also a great choice for kids-running-around stuff and family get-togethers.
The Zeiss lenses at 35, 50, and 100 are my portrait lenses, except the Canon 85 1.8 for toddler pictures (faster autofocus than the 85L), the Canon 135L for candids, and the Canon 200L for soft backgrounds. I prefer the portrait style of the Zeiss lenses to the 85L, so I really don't know why I have the 85L on the list. I don't own it now, but have always wanted a justification to own something so weirdly wonderful. A 20-lens list is a justification, I guess, but it's the first lens that would come off the list if I needed space for something else.
The Canon 300 and 400 join the zooms for sports, the 600 for wildlife. The Zeiss lenses and the TS-E lenses are for landscape and cityscape, and fully cover the range, except at 70mm, which is what the Sigma is for (the zooms are less than great for distortion at that focal length). The TS-E lenses double for architecture, inside and out. The Canon 180 does the full macro duty, but the Zeiss lenses—except the 21—are all strong contenders for extreme close-ups short of full macro, as is the 90 TS-E, a little bit farther out.
The Zeiss lenses get the nod for extreme enlargements, but the TS-Es are great there too, especially for stitching.
A no-restrictions 20-lens list really does fill almost every niche.
One piece that I long for, so far unavailable, is a 70mm TS-E, to replace the Sigma 70 on my list. I like to keep landscape perspectives clustered in the neighborhood between 35mm and 100mm, and a new 70 TS-E from Canon would slot right in there. For that matter, I would also be delighted to have a 70mm no-tricks f/2.0 MP from Zeiss. It puzzles me why the 70mm focal length looms so large among zooms, but gets all-but-ignored for primes.
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I also have that 70 mm problem. For many landscapes I can stitch from a 70-200, but it would be nice to have a single lens when that is not feasible.
EBH
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, here is your chance to shed the shackles of minimalistic gear thoughts and indulge in virtual opulence. 
