lens love - what's your favourite/dream lens?
 

Comments have been made elsewhere on the forum that there isn't enough chat on here... so I've decided to try and start a few threads to try and get things going a bit.

I guess as we're all interested in taking photos, many of us will be interested in the tools of the trade. I have no hesitation in admitting that I am emotionally attached to some of my gear and I doubt I'm the only one. Much as I love cameras I get far more attached to lenses, cameras come and go but a decent lens is here to stay.

So I'm curious to know what lens(es) you have that you can't imagine parting with or which lenses do you dream of owning? I hope I'm not the only one who loves talking about the gear I use aswell as the photos I take.

I'm going to kick off with a lens that has grown on me and now I would hate to be without (will post about other lenses later).

A few years back I was shooting my first weddings and needed a good fast lens, I couldn't afford to buy new so ended up with a used Canon 28-70 f2.8 L. My first thought was that this huge lump of glass had better be good if I was going to have to carry it all day long. An hour of test shooting later and I realised that it was worth the weight, AF is super fast and acurate and the images were pin sharp even when shooting at f2.8. For the first few weddings I played it safe and shot at f5.6-f8 but got results I was happy with.

Then the doubts kicked in, would I be better with a 24-105 f4 (IS would be good) or even bite the bullet and buy the new 24-70 f2.8. I tried both and could see the appeal of them, but the 24-105 was softer even at f8 and the only plus of the 24-70 was 4mm at the wide end. So I stuck with the lens and started shooting wider, shooting it regularly at f2.8 I finally got what the lens was about. Now, many weddings later I can't imagine shooting a wedding without this lens, a definite keeper.

I love my sigma 10-20 wide angle on my 20D for landscapes. But at the moment it's a case of the last one is the best one. The Panasonic 14-140 (28-280 35mm equivalent) on the GH2 is very good. The camera and lens are light and compact and are great for carrying around with bird watching gear.

Horses for courses, love my Canon 100mm macro and am amazed by it's sharpness plus the IS is a bonus. Also love my 400 DO although I find it a bit heavy to carry round all day these days but any "big gun" would be the same or worse.

My favourite lens is my Sigma 400mm F5.6 Apo/Macro HSM lens which I've used to shoot everything from damselflies (http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...7810&ppuser=43) to Mont Blanc (http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...7810&ppuser=43). I can't understand why Sigma don't still make this lens - look how many times people have bemoaned the fact that the Canon 400mm F5.6 doesn't focus as close as that company's 100-400mm zoom lens, yet there are still lots of the prime lenses around which are potential lost sales for Sigma.

The lens I dream of getting probably isn't available yet, as I would like to carry around something smaller and lighter such as a micro 4/3rds system camera but as far as I know there isn't anything that can match my 400mm in both image quality and long-range 'macro' capabilities. When you add in the HSM 'silent' focus and full-time manual-focus over-ride via a generous-size focus ring, etc., there are just too many compromises to take into account, so I'll just have to dream on for the time being...

My Favorite Lens at the moment is the Nikon 35mm 1.8. It was my first fast lens and i love the fact that it is almost as the eye sees, or seems that way to me. Its nice to be able to shoot in low light situations without flash and still get super sharp images with dreamy blurred backgrounds and amazing bokeh. Being a prime and not having any zoom has also taught me alot about composition. Think you can get lazy when you have a zoom attached to your camera. With a prime you have to physically move to get the composition you are after.

I am currently saving for a Nikon 17-55mm 2.8, I have been lusting after this lens for a long time now and cant wait to get one. Then I want the 70-200 2.8, hopefully these two lenses will live up to my expectations.

Sigma 10-20 for me if I've ever got £400 spare..borrowed Jamies once..liked the potential..& a second hand minolta 50mm 1.8 if I ever stumble across one & can thus beg & grovel to Mrs Tee sufficiently into letting me have some cash..(had more pocket money when I was 10)!
Al.

Guess it has to be the G vario 14-45.:) :rolleyes:.Yes its the kit lens that came with the camera but its the only lens I have.

My workhorse lenses are the sigma 24-70 EXf2.8 and 70-200 EXf2.8. Between the two of them, they account for about 80% of my images. The other lenses that see a lot of use are the sigma 100 macro and tamron 180 macro.
Lenses to lust for? When I was more into bird photography than I am nowadays, the sigma 300-800 - totally unique lens, but some weight to carry anywhere. These days, I rather like the idea of a wide angle tilt and shift, having seen the results a friend was getting with his canon 24mm t&s lens a few months ago. The cost of it though realistically will keep this a fantasy for some time though!

My most used lens is a Canon 24-104 f4 which accounts for 50%+ of my shots ... but it is very much a workhorse lens for me rather than a creative lens.

I had access to a 100mm f2.8 for a little while and I loved the creative opportunities that shooting wide open gave <<Like This>> for example
so I keep looking at the Canon 24-70 f2.8 ... but wondering ... would I miss the IS, would I miss the reach?

I'm also tempted to go for a collection of fast primes eg Sigma 30/50/85 f1.4

Thoughts anyone?

Dream lens would be the as yet unavailable Canon 200-400 L F4 with built in 1.4 converter that Canon has announced is in the pipeline but I shudder to think how many thousands it will cost and I do not even do the lottery so it will always only ever be a dream. Ah well.

Fave lens: Probably the 100mm f2.8 Zuiko on my OM. Great portrait lens.

Dream lens: a 6-600mm f1.4, pinsharp at all apertures and focal lengths, fits in my camera bag, weighs less than 2kg, costs £100, fits all my cameras. Hey, I can dream...

The 24x70 L f2.8 is almost welded to my 7D.
The f2.8 more than compensates for the lack of I.S. in my opinion and with the minimum of ISO being bumped up you can get pin sharp shots equivalent to any workhorse lens with I.S.
What I love is the versitility of the lens. Outdoors it gives good enough wideangle at 24mm - indoors a super 50 to 70mm for portraits, that are enhanced with the f2.8.

After the 24x70 my next fav is the 70x200 L f2.8 - great for candid shots

These two make up for 95% of my usage with a 10x22 and 100x400 often gathering dust waiting for the rare moments they are used.............

I agree that the IS isn't a big deal and in my experience the 24-70 is a better lens (faster focusing, sharper and f2.8 is nice) definitely worth a try. I also used my 28-70 f2.8 alongside a 70-200 f2.8 and find it to be a superb combination for people photography.

However if you like the dof effect of an f2.8 prime you'll love the way that the really fast primes melt the backgrounds. Even the cheaper primes do the job very well - you could get a 50 f1.4, and 85 f1.8 and an 100 f2 secondhand for a similar price to the Sigma 85 f1.4. I've been using an 85 f1.8 for quite a while and have been very happy with the results but am now selling it as I managed to find a good deal on a used 85 f1.2, that really is a crazy lens. If you shoot wide open for head shots the dof is so thin that it's hard to get both eyes in focus. For full length shots it really makes the person stand out from the background giving a nice 3D feel. Attached are a few shots taken at f1.2, I reckon that the lens has a lot more to give than I've got from it yet. If you are ever over my way then feel free to come and play with it and the 28-70 f2.8.

I'm one of those becoming rarer Olympus users, so my favourite lenses are my 28mm 50mm and 135mm legacy lenses. I love to use them on my 510. Sharp, contrasty and like the Camera itself, compact

Do you mean the OM lenses by legacy? I have an OM-system, complete with 28mm, 50mm and 100mm. You are right, the 50mm 3.5 and 28mm have served me well. The 100mm f2.8 is perfect for portraits.

I love my Nikkor 24 -70 mm F/2.8 lens ,Recently played a lot of Nikkor 60 mm and 85 mm Lenses.. they are also fabulous.. but 24 -70 mm remains most of the time.
My next lens is bit of confusion for me... Nikkor 80 -200 F/2.8 or 135mm 2D

OM lenses mate. I bought an OM to e seriesfocus assist converter, and they have given me great sevice!

I can imagine, they are first rate glass. I use 'em as they were originally intended :P

My dream lens is still on the way to get into my kit. Still saving for the Canon 70 - 200mm, f/2.8 IS-II. I used it ones and fell in love with it. As of now the 100mm f/2.8 does a great job, and gives my heart a sense of fulfillment until I get my dream lens.

That makes two of us then and my favourite lens is the more modern ZD 50mm f2 Macro, sharp as a razor and I find it great for portraits where a narrow dof is needed.

I know what you mean about the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS mkII, I have the mkI version of this lens and it is superb, but I still would love to upgrade in the future... just not totally convinced that it would be worth the ~£700 it would cost to change.

Silly question, this on my R5, no contest.

http://leicarumors.com/2008/12/11/th...f-course.aspx/

Can anyone lend me the missing £1,990,999.99p

CFould be good for birding with a 2x converter ;)

looks ok, but I'd prefer something faster than f5.6 myself... this little Zeiss would do the job I reckon - http://www.dpreview.com/news/0610/06...eiss1700f4.asp

Trouble is that it is used for a hassle, I do have a Bronny, but most people have 35mm, unless you buy me the Hassle as well:):):):)

Sigma 105mm lense
 

I use a Sigma 105mm macros lense. The detail it gives is great. I use it for all manner of nature shots. I love nothing more than driving to the country side, where I walk around taking close up pictures of anything that catches my eye. I ve taken great pictures of beatles, worms, leaves, stones. Even in low light it works well. I ve tested it in all manner of situations but have found it especially usefull for weddings. It gives great detail in flowers, rings, glasses, place names and decorations. I just love the macro element of wedding phoptography and this lense gives me the ability to photograph all the finest details of a wedding. Check out these pages to see samples of work done with the Sigma 105mm
Hopefully these pages will give an insight into why I love this lense.

Starting to catch up - spotted this thread - Not long ago I got the new 28-300 Nikkor - and I'm finding it replaces most of my other gear - or it could be that I'm just getting lazy and cannot be bothered carrying more than a camera and lens.???

Ohhh, my favorite lens at the mo is my pentax DA*55mm f1.4, perfect in every way! ;)
If i had enough money at the moment, i'd buy a pentax FA 31mm f1.8.

Out of my excessive collection of lenses there are 6 I routinely use.
Of these my Pentax F-50mm f 1.7 (one of only 2 of my primes that I routinely carry around) is now rapidly becoming the most used. However the 10-17 Fisheye zoom is always fun to play with, and then there are times I need something a bit longer...

I have to admit I also get a bit of a kick using my 1930s Kodak 12cm Anastigmat on a digital camera, but then perhaps I'm just bizzare. :-)