philber
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 p.305 #4 · ZE/ZF/ZM Images (Official Thread!) | |
Hi Alex, and welcome!
To answer your many questions: no, Zeiss lenses are not required to make fine pictures, or "the finest pictures", or whatever. But they do, on average, deliver extra quality that, for example, Canon lenses do not. Browsing the landscape forum makes me feel that, despite the obvious photographic talent, there is often "something" missing. If you feel the same way, then there are Zeiss lenses that already have your name on them! Please note that I wrote "on average". This matters, because there are very fine Canon lenses as well, such as the two TS/E, the 135L or your proposed 70-200 f:4 IS.
Zooms or primes, and AF or not? Will you "miss shots" by not having AF? Definitely. If your style is to capture as many "magical moments" as possible, then use your 24-70 and complement it by one or two primes. In my case, my photography is much more defined by the shots I get than by those I miss, so I sold my Canon zooms, then my Canon primes, and I happily sold my soul to Zeiss. But that is an individual choice. Also, primes "force" you to adjust to what you have, without the ease of a zoom. That forced exercise moves some people to be more creative than they would in their placement and their composition, and thus get better shots. Am I one of them? Yes. Is this truth? No, others are welcome to feel otherwise. As another photographer said: you can always buy a zoom, and only use one focal length at a time!
Now as to the gear for your city trips, most of your shots will be somewhere between 35mm and 50mm, so your first prime should be one of these two focal lengths, depending which one works best for you. In my case, I would say I need a 50mm first, then a 35 or a 28. I could live with just those two for the cities you mention. The 21 is a fabulous lens, but I use it much less because there is too much cr*p that gets in the way (telephone poles, wires, advertising, signposts etc...) with such a wide lens. A long lens? Well, if you are a tele sort of guy, bring one, but it will be a minority use to you AFAIAC. TS/E lenses are much more time-consuming to use, and require serious skills, as well as a tripod. As tripods are forbidden in many crowd-pulling areas, I wouldn't get too hung up on them. But what I would defintely do is bring a small second camera in case something happens to your main one. Your choice of a second DSLR body, or a small setup (I use a Sony NEX with a Zeiss ZM 35, and get very satisfying results from it). You think this doesn't happen? Well, I went on a four-day trip to the Lofoten islands a month ago just for photography, and my 5DII shutter failed. Fortunately, it "only" failed at the ens of the trip...
In summary, my suggestion is: your 24-70L, a 135L, a Zeiss 35 f:1.4, if you can get one, or f:2.0, a Zeiss 50 f:1.4, or 50 MP if you want the close-up ability. I know that you showed a 3-lens kit, and I suggest 4, but the ZE 50 f:1.4 is small and light, so it shouldn't matter...:-).
And, by the way, if you make Paris one of your destinations, let me know and I would be happy to meet at and shoot with you. That way, I can call you "padruga", and even "lapochka" if you want, and you can laugh the great, sonorous, heart-warming laugh that only Russians have...:-)
cyra: delightful city shots. The second one is my favorite, and just the sort of shot I love to take!
Love your second shot as well, pingflood!
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