Joshua, thank you so much! What a great compliment coming from you. The Batis 18 is excellent. I have been considering getting the 16-35 GM but it would be very tough selling the Batis.
AGeoJO wrote:
Both sets of images are jaw dropping, Alfredo! You certainly know how to make the Batis 18mm sing and impressively at that that, too.
Batis 135 @ f/5.6
Salzburg
I like the compression of 135mm - the 'castle' on the hill is about 1 mile in the distance.
This is simply a perfect travel lens.
Completes my kit (18, 25, 50, 135) for travel, but honestly, didn't get used nearly as much as i thought it would (but neither did my 85 when traveling - i mainly use a 35 or 25/50 combo with 18 for interiors).
here's a google maps screenshot to show the distances (i was standing in the gardens on the far left):
both of these are Batis 25 @ f/2 (i really love walking around w/ this lens on the a7r2 and a wrist strap - some days, i'll carry my ona prince for some extra lenses but regularly, i'll just take the b25 on the camera and enjoy myself - even if the photos often just look like 'snapshots')
ecarlino wrote:
Batis 135 @ f/5.6
Salzburg
I like the compression of 135mm - the 'castle' on the hill is about 1 mile in the distance.
This is simply a perfect travel lens.
Completes my kit (18, 25, 50, 135) for travel, but honestly, didn't get used nearly as much as i thought it would (but neither did my 85 when traveling - i mainly use a 35 or 25/50 combo with 18 for interiors).
Eric, the image using the Batis 135mm lens excellent ! Did you use a single body for those lenses during travel? I was on 2 short non-photography trips recently and i only took just small prime lenses with me and a single body. Lens changing got a little bit old after a while...
AGeoJO wrote:
Eric, the image using the Batis 135mm lens excellent ! Did you use a single body for those lenses during travel? I was on 2 short non-photography trips recently and i only took just small prime lenses with me and a single body. Lens changing got a little bit old after a while...
Joshua - I don't have beautiful women jumping out of gardens begging me for my attention (as you do) so my need/desire to switch lenses is far less :-)
When I travel, i'm usually in the same location for several days and i tend to stick with a lens for at least an hour - and try to 'see' with that lens; if i'm too lazy to change 'today' i'll remember to start out with the other lens tomorrow. I have 3 'styles' of shooting: just 1 camera + lens; 1 camera w/ lens and a 2nd lens on a PeakDesign lens switch (or whatever they call it) and if i'm out by myself (good light in the morning or evening) i'll bring my bag w/ all 4 lenses.
I've been debating which primes to take with me for family travel photography. I've got the same lenses as you, along with the Loxia 35 & 50, the 35/1.4 and Batis 85.
I think your combo of 18/25/50/135 is probably the way to go, given that the 135 has replaced the 85 as my go-to portrait lens, and given that I'd probably rather be without a 35 than be without the 25 or 50/1.4.
I like travelling light, so my tendency is to take no more than two lenses and the A7rII with me on an outing, unless I have specific locations in mind AND the main purpose of the outing is photography.
And I often like to go out with just the camera and one lens, and just look for what suits that lens. In the past year my favs have been the Batis 25 & the Sony 55/1.8. Soon to see if the new 12-24 will hold my attention over the Batis 25; certainly it will be more versatile.
The more tiring the weight of gear is, the fewer photos I take and the less fun the whole experience is.
St. Isaacs Cathederal, St. Petersburg, Russia
Batis 25
AGeoJO wrote:
Holy smoke - those are some jaw-dropping images! Did you use a flash trigger for those?
Nope. I used my patented MacGuyver method of stopping all the way down to f/22 and setting ISO at 64 to get a long enough shutterspeed to capture lightning bolts. Would have been much easier to just buy a lightning trigger. And then I wouldn't have had to shoot at f/22!
Messier77 wrote:
Nope. I used my patented MacGuyver method of stopping all the way down to f/22 and setting ISO at 64 to get a long enough shutterspeed to capture lightning bolts. Would have been much easier to just buy a lightning trigger. And then I wouldn't have had to shoot at f/22!
Thank you for your reply! I realized later on that i typed in flash trigger but meant lightning trigger but you understood what I meant . If you do that often enough, it would be indeed worth buying, right? And you can vary the aperture to whatever you need rather than stopping down to f/22. I know I would in your position....
AGeoJO wrote:
Thank you for your reply! I realized later on that i typed in flash trigger but meant lightning trigger but you understood what I meant . If you do that often enough, it would be indeed worth buying, right? And you can vary the aperture to whatever you need rather than stopping down to f/22. I know I would in your position....
! Did you use a single body for those lenses during travel? I was on 2 short non-photography trips recently and i only took just small prime lenses with me and a single body. Lens changing got a little bit old after a while... 
. If you do that often enough, it would be indeed worth buying, right? And you can vary the aperture to whatever you need rather than stopping down to f/22. I know I would in your position....