What is your favourite lens and why?

My favorite lens is a prime Canon 200mm F2.8. Much lighter than the 70-200 and just as sharp. If I need less telephoto I grab the 135mm F2.0. Perfect for indoor sports and birds in the garden.

Hi Nando, screwed onto both my Nikons (D700) are a 28-70mm 1:2.8D and an 80-200mm 1:2.8D.
They have been my proud workhorses for more than 15 years, and do what I want. Great for reportage, weddings, and in the wild. Even in a studio setting with flashes.
My favorite is the 28-70mm.
A substantial chunk of glass and, if needed, the images per square meter (car lettering) are fantastic. Also for getting the depth of sharpness where I want it, they work great. I really like the full lens and aperture.
As for weight, well, quite heavy. But I do like that. It stays nice and stable.

Photo-shooting greetings Robert

My favourite lenses are: the 100-400 for birds and animals. And the 24-105 for other things and portraits.
Especially now in the snow. WONDERFUL

Thoon_Loque wrote on Tuesday 9 February 2021 at 10:49  | reply

My favorite for concert photography is the 16-24mm 2.8 from Canon and the 50mm 1.4 from Sigma. I often didn't need much more. I often took the 85mm 1.4 with me too but I very rarely used it. For a bit of an effect (but not too often, because then it gets boring) I use Sigma's 15mm 2.8 fisheye.
But especially that 16-24 is actually mounted on my body as standard. Once learned from a famous photographer: “If your photos aren't good enough, you weren't close enough”

My favorite lenses are the Canon 70-200 f2.8 and the Canon macro 100 mm f2.8.
I use the 70-200 2.8 together with my Canon 1dx mark ll for sports photography. I also have the 1.4x lll on my camera then. I use the macro 100 mm 2.8 on the Canon 70d for my droplet photography and other areas such as glass photography and creative photography. I also have the 24-70 f4.0 and the 50 mm f1.4.

My 4 lenses:
Olympus 9-18 mm f 4-5.6
Olympus 14-150 mm f 4-5.6 ED MSC
25 mm f 1.8
30 mm f 3.5

This range gives me the possibility to cover everything I want to photograph. In addition, my Olympus camera gives me the possibility to make several adjustments through the camera's software. For example, I can make a trapezoid adjustment through the camera's software, so that I can still capture tall buildings properly.
Furthermore, I hope that Olympus will continue to be able to bring its cameras to the market now that Olympus has been taken over by OM Digital Solutions. Otherwise I have a problem!

Hi Nando,
I use the Canon 100-400 the most because of airplane photography.
For the rest I usually use the 24-105, lovely lens.
I also have a 70-200 but I don't use it that much anymore.
Greetings, Gerard

I don't have a single preference for one particular lens among my 6 different ones. Every application has a lens that is 'better' suited than the others. Because my preference is for nature photography and landscapes, I am almost always 'on the road' with a 12-40 2.8 and a 40-150 2.8 crop 2 (so 24-80 and 80-300) and I always have a 1.4x converter within reach. Not because they are my favorites but because they are suitable for nature and landscapes.

That's not so difficult, my Leitz Summicron 35/f2.0
I also have an Elmar 90 90/f4, but I hardly use it. And a Canon 50mm F1.4,p with adapter but I use that much less too.

Sometimes it is fun to photograph with a lens that, according to the literature, is less or not really suitable for the subject being photographed and can produce surprising images...
I usually use the Canon TS-E 17mm or 16-35 EF LII USM for architecture
As a standard lens, the 24-70mm is a favorite, sometimes the Canon 100-400mm II for nature as well.
For macro photography, MP-E 65 mm and 180 mm macro

Great explanation. My favorite lens is the Sony 85 mm 1.4. you can do a lot with it.

Hi fellow photographers,
I have a full-frame Panasonic S1R camera. The lens I most love using on it is my prime Panasonic S Pro 50mm f1.4. Sharp? Sharper than sharpest. Distortion, lens flare, and other lens troubles are unknown to this lens. And bokeh to dream about. It is not lightweight and certainly not cheap. But yes, it also offers a great deal. Extremely satisfied.
Philippe

On the Nikon D850 and Z7II, my favourite lens is the Laowa 12mm ND 2.8, wonderfully wide for landscapes and then getting right up close to your subject in the foreground gives a wonderfully dramatic effect, another advantage of this lens is the use of ND and graduated filters. Besides that I have a few more that I use a lot, the Z 14-24 2.8 and the 80-400 5.6, I use all three for landscapes, of which the 80-400 a lot in the forest. Furthermore, more glass that I use less, including macro lenses, a 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 (I hardly ever use it, too little tension in the shots) and a 500mm F4 prime sporadically for wildlife.

I photograph with the Sony A7iii and Sony A9, mostly birth photography. For this, my favorite lenses are fast primes. My 'go to' lenses are the Sony 35 mm 1.8 and the Sigma Art 35 mm 1.4, and also the Sony 24 mm 1.4 GM.

4BYE wrote on Tuesday 9 February 2021 at 13:33  | reply

After 40 years of Canon, now over 18 months of Sony and Olympus.

Most used are:
Olympus 60mm Macro for focus stacking. Macro only becomes really interesting with focus stacking, in my opinion. With Olympus I can make 15 images from the hand, incredibly fast, as long as the subject does not move. (and up to 999 in total) ProCapture and Live Composite are also some nice options.

Sony 200-600mm 5.6-6.3 for wildlife and BIF. With a second-hand A9 it is even easier to quickly pick something up and the tracking AF keeps it well in focus. Animal EyeAF works as it should but there is room for perfection.
Sony 100-400 4.5-5.6 GM for close-ups and walking lens. The first serious test was in a butterfly garden. More manageable than the 200-600 and wonderful for close-ups on trails, aside from the wide zoom range.
Sony 16-35 GM for landscapes
Sony 85 1.4 GM for portraits

I own two lenses. Both are from Tamron. A good price-quality ratio and sufficient for me as a dedicated amateur.
The TAMRON SP 90MM F/2.8 MACRO DI VC USD CANON
For macro and portraits. For portraits, just slightly better quality than when I would use the same focal length from the lens below.
And as a standard lens
The TAMRON 18-400MM F/3.5-6.3 DI II VC HLD CANON
for all other beautiful moments. A nice range from wide-angle to telephoto and sufficient light-gathering power.

Hi Nando,
I photograph with 2 Canon cameras:
- EOS 80D with a Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM
- 60D with a Canon EF 24-105 F4L IS USM. I mainly use this one for landscape photography.
Because I have 2 cameras and 2 lenses, I never have to change anything.
I mainly focus on nature photography and my favourite lens is the EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM.
This lens is relatively light (1.5kg) and thanks to this weight and the excellent image stabiliser, it can be used well handheld. An ideal lens for bird photography, but also great for macro/close-up photography.
Because the minimum focusing distance is only 0.98m (measured from the sensor!), you can get as close as about 75cm to the subject.

In the past, when I was still a strong, young guy I had all sorts of prime lenses in my bag and backpack. and I enjoyed that -and taking pictures with them.
Until.... I had a tumor picked out of my back and had to learn to walk again. Hobby over ?
No, because I got rid of all the prime lenses and now use an 18-300 Nikon on my D7200. Still quite a heavy lens, (there is also a lighter one now) but on its own much less weighty than all those lenses together.
The sharpness-quality of the shots is clearly less high than before, but that could also be due to leaving the tripod at home. (weight). Long live VR ! And well, I don't really need to take part in competitions, now that I'm 86.
it's more about the experience and the excitement when editing the pictures.

My camera: Canon 80D (APS-C). Myfavorite lens when I go photo hunting: Canon 15-85, because of its excellent performance, especially when there is enough light. When I travel light (on vacation), this is the Canon 18-135 because of the better zoom, but I feel that the images from the 15-85 are qualitatively better. When I really don't need to zoom and want to go all out with the better photos, I use the Sigma 18-135 1.8 ART

I have a 5D mark II and a (budget-friendly) 50mm Canon was recommended. 100 euros for a lens that is insanely sharp. An added advantage is that you learn to take photographs through the fixed focal length. Step left right etc. And it weighs absolutely nothing.

There is no doubt what my one, favorite lens is.
That is my Canon 100 mm f/2.8L.
I would like to photograph everything with it.
Not only is the quality of the glass very good.
The size, weight, mass, and ease of use are also perfect for me.
Even the balance on my Canon 60D is fine for me.
I have (so far) only one absolute favorite!

I haven't been photographing for very long yet. I use a Nikon D3500. I'm still looking for which type of photography suits me best. Of the 4 lenses I have, so far I prefer using the Nikkor 35mm/1.8.

My favorite at the moment is Tamron's 90 mm F/2.8 macro. Because macro is preferred at the moment.
If I start photographing birds again I use my sigma 150-500 mm. 1.5-6.3 Because this one has been going along for a while, I would like to have a new one sometime. I'm thinking of a 600 mm from tamron.

jerry wrote on Tuesday 9 February 2021 at 19:08  | reply

Hi there, On my D750 I have a Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8, that's my most used lens both for reportage and other photography, then comes my 70-300 mm Tamron which I also use for reportage and landscapes, greetings, Jerry

I photograph with a Sony A77II. My most used lens is the Sony DT 16-80mm F3.5-4.5 Carl Zeiss. A nice range and crisp, sharp photos.

For action and sports I use a Minolta 80-200mm F2.8 HS APO G. Super-fast and accurate focus, not too big and not too heavy. Sharp already at F2.8, it is no worse than the modern lenses.

Hi Nando
my favorite lens is Canon's 24-70mm. Lots of sharpness, sufficient range, especially because I walk around the streets a lot. But I also get good results for portraits. Only disadvantage, but you quickly get used to it, is the weight.

Hi Nando,

My most favorite lenses are:
Nikon 24-70mm G ED f2.8
Nikon 70-200 AF-S f2.8 E FL ED VR
Nikon 85mm f1.4 G
Nikon AF-S 105mm f2.8 IF-ED

I use all of these for portrait/nude photography in the studio and on location.

Kind regards. Lauran van Schilt

I have a Canon 5D MarkIII and am in the field every week for registration photography for our local nature department. I use the 28-300mm lens for this, L-series, and I am extremely very satisfied with it because I don't have to change lenses. Although I am considering buying the 100-400mm (that is to say, I am saving up for it). Do you think this is a good idea ? Because when I have this one, I already have to stand a small meter away from my subject for small objects, but on the other hand, when I want to photograph flying birds or zoom in on a sitting kingfisher, for example, I am already somewhat closer to it. Furthermore, I also have a Canon7DII and I always use it when I have to take photos of insects, dragonflies, and other small things, and on this camera I always use Canon's 100mm macro lens. Am I doing it right this way ?

Dear Nando,
I use a Panasonic GH3 and, for the past few weeks, the Panasonic DC-9, which I am getting familiar with in terms of settings etc., both are MFT cameras with Lumix-Leica lenses.
My favourite lens is the 12-60mm for landscapes, interiors and city photography of buildings and homes.
I mainly use the 45-200 mm telephoto lens in the sports hall to capture basketball games.
I use the 100-400mm for, for example, sailing sailboats such as when Skutsje sailing or Sail is taking place, or when capturing birds of prey or waterfowl.

For general use:Oly 12-100 f/4.
Successful portrait lens for parties in the dark: Canon 85 f/1.2 with speedbooster on a Sony A7: results in f/1 .Manual focus though

Hi Nando , on my Nikon D300s (now 10 years old) I have an 18 - 105 3.5 for travel photography.
And for 1 year now I have had a Nikon Z6 and it has a 24 -70 /4S mounted, a very good lens.(my favorite)
For macro I have a 60mm 2.8, it's good but a 105 or 150 would have been better.
also have an 18 - 300 mm 3.5, I don't use it that much, only when I want to have everything with me and want to be as light as possible .

Paul

Unfortunately, I also have quite a broad preference for all kinds of subjects... In the end, you do end up with multiple lenses, my favorites are:
Tamron 17-35 for landscapes, urban photography and creative nature photography;
Tamron 35-150 for portraits and as an all-rounder / vacation;
Tokina 100 for macro;
Nikon 70-200 for nature photography

Donald Willemsen wrote on Saturday 13 February 2021 at 14:14  | reply

@André, I would definitely buy a 2nd body as well. I read that you have a zoom with a range of 16->300mm. That is a zoom range of almost 20x. That is disastrous for the quality of the photos. Because of such a large zoom range, you need more moving lens parts and that affects the weight and also the lens aberrations. A zoom range of 4 or 5x is more or less the limit for good photo quality. That is also why I use 3 bodies. This gives me a range of 10 to 250mm divided over 3 zoom lenses, namely: 10-18mm, 18-55mm and 55-250mm. This allows me to go in all directions.