Photon wrote:
I'm going to answer in a different format, but in the spirit (I hope) of your request:
Favorite versatile lens for wedding and social event coverage - 24-105/4L IS
Favorite for outdoor head shots - 85/1.2L[Mk2]
Favorite for crowded, dimly lit rooms at receptions - 24/1.4L
Favorite for candids from a distance - 70-200/2.8L IS
Newest lens that seems likely to become my favorite for romantic wedding shots - 50/1.2L
Lens that gets only limited use (because of its focal length) but never disappoints me with the results - 135/2.0L
nice list; organized the way I'd do it... (favorite lens by use)
I like doing a lot of different types of photography, wildlife, scenic, pictures of the dog,Infrared both on my modified digital and film. I also like shooting colour infrared film and digital ultraviolet photography. I also enjoy macro photography especially at extreme closeness.I have a large lens selection because of my different interests but I never limit a lens to its recognized primary uses. I use my 400mm often for scenics. In the end I like all my lenses and have my personal primary uses for each, but there are days I will challenge myself and go shoot with only 1 lens and do all styles of photography with it.
Non-L Prime
1. MP-E 65 f2.8 - for extreme closeups
2. UV Nikkor f4.5 - Ultra Violet and Infrared I have adapter to use on Canon - I know you didn't want adapters mentioned but I use this lens often.
3. 100 f2.8 - Macro photography and occasionally scenic
4. 135 SF f2.8 - Scenic and dog pictures used with/without soft focus
L Prime.
1. 400L f5.6 - My favorite lens, birds, wildlife and occasionally scenic
2. 85L f1.2 - Infrared photography and lowlight night photography and scenics
3. 24L f1.4 - scenics and infrared
4. 50 1.0L - lowlight and scenics, I like the 50mm focal length
5. 180 f3.5L - macro and scenics
L Zoom.
1. 24-70L f2.8 - My general walk about lens for scenics
2. 100-400L f4-5.6 - great zoom range and travel lens. Used less now that I have the 400mm f5.6 prime.
3. 16-35 f2.8L - used a lot was part of my travel kit. Since it suffers from Infrared hot spots I have started using the 17-40 f4 L more often
4. 70-200L f4 - great travel lens and light weight, fast to focus
5. 50-200L f3.5-f4.5 - I like the zoom range, it is an old discontinued lens and slow to focus, but extremely lightweight. Used mainly for scenics.
Wouldn't the top zoom or prime be whatever gets the job done on a given day ?
Tommorow for example, I've got an assignment to shoot the team photo for OSU's rowing team.
24-70 or a 17-40 with strobes is what I'll be using. Is my 135 f2, 200 1.8, 400 2.8 and other lens still good glass ? You bet but would they be the least bit useful for my assignment ? Nope
So given that we dont know when our phone rings next, (or in todays day and age our next email comes in) and says that we've maybe got to go shoot some interiors for a designers, or maybe go cover a football game, or do some team photos, or maybe shoot some headshots for a new play production, you get the idea, how can we say what our best lenses are ?
The best lens is the one thats letting me do a job right then and now. I can't think of any other basis to judge it on that actually matters at the end of the day.
Thinking about getting the 17-55 to replace 24-105. We'll have to see.
Hoping Canon re-releases a super zoom such as 100-400 with updated IS and optics.
60mm tempts me every once in a while also - would use it for portrait and macro.
Brutus_B wrote:
Wouldn't the top zoom or prime be whatever gets the job done on a given day ?
Tommorow for example, I've got an assignment to shoot the team photo for OSU's rowing team.
24-70 or a 17-40 with strobes is what I'll be using. Is my 135 f2, 200 1.8, 400 2.8 and other lens still good glass ? You bet but would they be the least bit useful for my assignment ? Nope
So given that we dont know when our phone rings next, (or in todays day and age our next email comes in) and says that we've maybe got to go shoot some interiors for a designers, or maybe go cover a football game, or do some team photos, or maybe shoot some headshots for a new play production, you get the idea, how can we say what our best lenses are ?
The best lens is the one thats letting me do a job right then and now. I can't think of any other basis to judge it on that actually matters at the end of the day.
Thinking about getting the 17-55 to replace 24-105. We'll have to see.
Hoping Canon re-releases a super zoom such as 100-400 with updated IS and optics.
60mm tempts me every once in a while also - would use it for portrait and macro.
burningheart wrote:
I like doing a lot of different types of photography, wildlife, scenic, pictures of the dog,Infrared both on my modified digital and film. I also like shooting colour infrared film and digital ultraviolet photography. I also enjoy macro photography especially at extreme closeness.I have a large lens selection because of my different interests but I never limit a lens to its recognized primary uses. I use my 400mm often for scenics. In the end I like all my lenses and have my personal primary uses for each, but there are days I will challenge myself and go shoot with only 1 lens and do all styles of photography with it.
Non-L Prime
1. MP-E 65 f2.8 - for extreme closeups
2. UV Nikkor f4.5 - Ultra Violet and Infrared I have adapter to use on Canon - I know you didn't want adapters mentioned but I use this lens often.
3. 100 f2.8 - Macro photography and occasionally scenic
4. 135 SF f2.8 - Scenic and dog pictures used with/without soft focus
L Prime.
1. 400L f5.6 - My favorite lens, birds, wildlife and occasionally scenic
2. 85L f1.2 - Infrared photography and lowlight night photography and scenics
3. 24L f1.4 - scenics and infrared
4. 50 1.0L - lowlight and scenics, I like the 50mm focal length
5. 180 f3.5L - macro and scenics
L Zoom.
1. 24-70L f2.8 - My general walk about lens for scenics
2. 100-400L f4-5.6 - great zoom range and travel lens. Used less now that I have the 400mm f5.6 prime.
3. 16-35 f2.8L - used a lot was part of my travel kit. Since it suffers from Infrared hot spots I have started using the 17-40 f4 L more often
4. 70-200L f4 - great travel lens and light weight, fast to focus
5. 50-200L f3.5-f4.5 - I like the zoom range, it is an old discontinued lens and slow to focus, but extremely lightweight. Used mainly for scenics.
L Primes
1. 500/4 IS - my workhorse lens, you can handhold it, works wonderfully with 1.4x and 2x TCs and you can stack them with good results too
2. 300/2.8 IS - another workhorse lens when I am a bit closer to the action, takes TCs just as well as the 500.
3. 135/2 - love this lens, so fast and so sharp, beautiful bokeh
4. 35/1.4 - my walkabout lens
5. 85/1.2 - don't use it very often but when I do, wow!
L Zooms
1. 70-200/2.8 IS - simply the best zoom, ever, ever! So fast and so sharp!
2. 100-400 IS - my airshow lens. very versatile in lots of light. cr4p in anything but good light
3 24-70/2.8 - used to be my walkabout lens until 35/1.4 arrived, now demoted, probably will be sold due to lack of use.
Hope this is useful.
PS - all of them are based on use with my 1.25x 1D2N though I can imagine the same comments apply on FF, I just don't have an FF - yet - waiting till March!
My top zooms (for their respective ranges) are 24-70L, 70-200 f2.8L IS and 100-400L. The others come and go, but those are the three that have stayed with me.
For primes, the 300 f2.8L IS for it's sharpness, and the nifty fifty 50/1.8 for it's price. The 135L was awsome, and so was the 85 f1.2, but I could not justify keeping them based on my usage vs price. In fact, I am thinking of selling off my 300 f2.8L IS for the same reasons.
I also have the 35L, but am even thinking of selling that due to under use. I use the 24-70L and 70-200L more than all the other (20+) lenses I owned put together. That's why they have all gone (or are going) one by one....
Alistair101 wrote:
I only use L lenses so here goes:
I shoot alot of motorsport and wildlife.
L Primes
1. 500/4 IS - my workhorse lens, you can handhold it, works wonderfully with 1.4x and 2x TCs and you can stack them with good results too
2. 300/2.8 IS - another workhorse lens when I am a bit closer to the action, takes TCs just as well as the 500.
3. 135/2 - love this lens, so fast and so sharp, beautiful bokeh
4. 35/1.4 - my walkabout lens
5. 85/1.2 - don't use it very often but when I do, wow!
L Zooms
1. 70-200/2.8 IS - simply the best zoom, ever, ever! So fast and so sharp!
2. 100-400 IS - my airshow lens. very versatile in lots of light. cr4p in anything but good light
3 24-70/2.8 - used to be my walkabout lens until 35/1.4 arrived, now demoted, probably will be sold due to lack of use.
Hope this is useful.
PS - all of them are based on use with my 1.25x 1D2N though I can imagine the same comments apply on FF, I just don't have an FF - yet - waiting till March! ...Show more →
Thanks for adding the info, I have heard a lot of good about the 35L.
DaveEP wrote:
My top zooms (for their respective ranges) are 24-70L, 70-200 f2.8L IS and 100-400L. The others come and go, but those are the three that have stayed with me.
For primes, the 300 f2.8L IS for it's sharpness, and the nifty fifty 50/1.8 for it's price. The 135L was awsome, and so was the 85 f1.2, but I could not justify keeping them based on my usage vs price. In fact, I am thinking of selling off my 300 f2.8L IS for the same reasons.
I also have the 35L, but am even thinking of selling that due to under use. I use the 24-70L and 70-200L more than all the other (20+) lenses I owned put together. That's why they have all gone (or are going) one by one....
I wanted to thank everyone for posting what they did , and I wanted to ask again if anyone had any examples or websites with examples to see these lens in real life use.
