Favorite lenses, personally?

armisiano

armisiano

Veteran
So photographers, what are your personal favorite lenses? Why?

Yes, we all love all of our glass, and COULD list each one with it's personal strengths, but really, if you had to shoot a few of your kids to let a couple others live, who'd survive?

I'll start.

I've 2 that I'll mention as personal faves.
-First, my Sigma 20-40mm f2.8. Why? Great versatility, nice and bright, and I'll never stop being amused at close up portraits done at 20mm. Always fun.
-Second, my Nikkor 85mm f2. God I love this lens. Absolute favorite for portrait work by far. The richness of the colors and the contrast I get are so noticeably better than with any of my other lenses, even pricier ones. I don't see myself replacing it anytime soon at all.
 
My most used lens is my Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 but my favorite lens is my Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR... Those are the two pieces of glass that I wouldn't want to live without.
 
Nikon 85mm 1.4
Really enjoying my new Sigma 28 1.8, will enjoy it more after I send it to Sigma for calibration

Why? Models seem to be impressed by a big piece of glass. When I take the tiny 35mm f2 off the camera and put the 85mm on it they know we're getting serious.
 
tamron 90mm f2.5 macro.

Great portrait lens and allows me to shoot close ups. I love it for food photography and all kinds of other things.
 
Putting aside lenses I need for work and just personal opinion.

My fave is my 16 mm f/2.8 :D
The most compact of my glass. I can take both wide scenic shots, and group shots, and just get crazy angles.

However, I am an intimate shooter and I like closing distance between my subjects. That's why I dig this lens.
 
Nikon 17-35 2.8 - nice wide angle with out tons of distorition, and can blur out the background by moving in close.
Nikon 85 1.8 - Mine actually shoots about 2/3 of a stop faster, tack sharp, great for portraits and concerts in low light
 
My two favorites are my Tamron 80-210mm f/4 and my Pentax 50mm f/2. They're both beefy, manual focus lenses.:thumbsup:
 
HorseFilms said:
They're both beefy
Click to expand...


Mmmmmm, beefy.

drooling_homer-712749.gif
 
I never thought I'd like this lens (due to its "normal" focal length of 58mm), but I thnik the new Voigtlaender 58mm / 1:1.4 is really nice!
I use it on full format, so no crop.

Extremly sharp pictures, nice focus throw (it's only MF)...

I also own a Nikon 85mm / 1:1.4. I thought his would be my prefered lens, but it just can't beat the Voigtlaender... but as far as having models react to a professional looking lens, this one is the way to go, the Voigtlaender is so tiny im comparison ... ;)
 
MaxZenk said:
... but as far as having models react to a professional looking lens, this one is the way to go ...
Click to expand...

I don't know, no reaction compares to pulling out the trusty 70-200mm 2.8. Saving the grand and a half is almost worth the one-stop-shop-ness get-wide-eyed-dropped-jaw-reaction-ness of it.

To phrase simply.
 
Favorites from the lenses that I wish I could afford list:

Nikon 85 F1.4 $1,024.95
Nikon 70-200 F2.8 $1,624.96 (would be OK with an 80-200mm F2.8 $914.95)
Nikon 17-55mm F2.8 $1,199.95 (haven't seen enough work from the 24-70 F2.8 $1699.95)

Other than that. I would have to say my favorites that I own and/or used-borrowed would be Nikon 50mm F1.8 $109.95 (own) and Nikkor 16mm F2.8 $689.95 (borrowed). And the one that I use the most, Nikon 18-70 F3.5-F4.5 $329.95.

I wanted to list the prices so some people could get an idea of what they are getting themselves into when looking into lenses. All prices are from BH Photo Video and are all USA lenses. Someone once told me that, "Money grows on trees". I have yet to find those damn trees.
 
Wow, you all have superior lenses compared to my best/favorite lens, but here it is anyway.
Canon 17-85mm f4-5.6
 
Zeiss Jena middle format from the 60s and 70s - the heyday of Zeiss Jena fabrication. (Pentacon Six bajonett)

I use them on my LEX as well as on my Sigma SD10 with a Pentacon/Nikon adapter.

Flektogon 50/4
Biometar 80/2.8
Sonnar 180/2.8
Sonnar 120/2.8
Pentacon 300/4
Mamiya 645 E m.Sekor 2.8/80

Don´t be fooled by the numbers.
Because of the huge diameter my Biometar 80/2.8 is almost as fast as my Nikon 50/1.4 - the same to the other lenses.

Frank
 
Postmaster said:
Zeiss Jena middle format from the 60s and 70s - the heyday of Zeiss Jena fabrication. (Pentacon Six bajonett)

I use them on my LEX as well as on my Sigma SD10 with a Pentacon/Nikon adapter.

Flektogon 50/4
Biometar 80/2.8
Sonnar 180/2.8
Sonnar 120/2.8
Pentacon 300/4
Mamiya 645 E m.Sekor 2.8/80

Don´t be fooled by the numbers.
Because of the huge diameter my Biometar 80/2.8 is almost as fast as my Nikon 50/1.4 - the same to the other lenses.

Frank
Click to expand...


Can you explain this a little further?
 
Because the diameter of the middleformat lenses is bigger they let more light in.

So the number (speed)can not be compared to 35mm lenses.
There is a formula somewhere in the web for that - can´t find it in the moment.
 
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