What Is Your Favorite Lens?

[trewyn15]

I saw a couple of similar threads that were Canon specific.

Lets open this up to all brands, Canon, Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, Rokinon, anything.

Share what your favorite lens is, why you like it and maybe a photo that you've taken with it.

I'll start:

Tamron 17-50mm VC - Great sharpness, f2.8, good size and build quality.

IMG_6405 by MitchTrewynPhotography, on Flickr

 

[phrehdd]

I'll be candid - how does one talk about a favourite lens when it depends on what one is shooting?

if I had to look back over the years, I would say my most productive use of a lens was the Vivitar Series 1 90 macro on a Nikon body (film). I can also remember my Fuji 645 rangefinder roll film camera that had one of the all time sharpest lenses (fixed) that I have used and was a great lens. In 4x5, a couple of the Nikon M lenses made life great for me.

Today I shoot with Fuji X series cameras and have 3 lenses that ALL do well by me. I couldn't pick a favourite because they each do captures that are very different based on their focal lengths. 18-55, 55-200 and 35 prime 1.4.

Maybe you can rephrase your question and get more responses.

 

[dmw16]

My current favorite is my Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 but once my new baby is born I'm looking forward to my 60mm macro.

 

[jqworle]

My EFS 17-55 f2.8 is my favourite lens at the moment but I have had some great results with my 2nd hand efs 18-200 .

 

[trewyn15]

I'll be candid - how does one talk about a favourite lens when it depends on what one is shooting?

if I had to look back over the years, I would say my most productive use of a lens was the Vivitar Series 1 90 macro on a Nikon body (film). I can also remember my Fuji 645 rangefinder roll film camera that had one of the all time sharpest lenses (fixed) that I have used and was a great lens. In 4x5, a couple of the Nikon M lenses made life great for me.

Today I shoot with Fuji X series cameras and have 3 lenses that ALL do well by me. I couldn't pick a favourite because they each do captures that are very different based on their focal lengths. 18-55, 55-200 and 35 prime 1.4.

Maybe you can rephrase your question and get more responses.

I disagree, I think youre just trying to make more of a deal out of the question than needed.

I have 5 lenses all of which have their purposes. This doesnt mean I dont have a favorite. I love my 17-50 because of the IQ of the images, portability, weight and build structure. Pretty much everything I post about it in my original post.

So yes all of my lenses have their purposes from zoom to fisheye, this doesnt mean I dont like on in specific for what it has to offer.

My current favorite is my Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 but once my new baby is born I'm looking forward to my 60mm macro.

F2.8 is really great isnt it?

Youll enjoy the macro, the primes are quick and sharp generally.

Plus macros are always fun with a couple extension tubes

----------

My EFS 17-55 f2.8 is my favourite lens at the moment but I have had some great results with my 2nd hand efs 18-200 .

Im glad im not the only one to have great results with second hand lenses.

My 17-50vc is a refurb, 70-300vc second hand, 100mm macro second hand, my only new ones I got as gifts from the girlfriend and that's my shorty forty and my rokinon fisheye.

 

[MCAsan]

What Is Your Favorite Lens?

walk around for crop: Tamron 18-270, you can't beat the combo of low cost, huge range and IQ for the cost If Tamron had a SP version, it would be a killer.

walk around for FF: Canon 24-105, you can't beat the range and IQ for a FF body. Get a refurbed one at Canon USA for good savings.

 

[Cheese&Apple]

Not the lens I use the most but my favourite without doubt: Nikon 70-200 mm f/2.8 VRII.

I love the fast aperture, image quality, build quality, stabilization and the versatility of the 70-200 mm zoom.

The only reason I don't use as much as I would like is that I tend to photograph a lot of wildlife and it's just not long enough for that.

~ Peter

 

[Apple fanboy]

Not the lens I use the most but my favourite without doubt: Nikon 70-200 mm f/2.8 VRII.

I love the fast aperture, image quality, build quality, stabilization and the versatility of the 70-200 mm zoom.

The only reason I don't use as much as I would like is that I tend to photograph a lot of wildlife and it's just not long enough for that.

~ Peter

So what do you use for the wildlife photography?

 

[Laird Knox]

On the D7000 it is hands down the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8. It is a fantastic lens. I've always been amazed at the quality of this lens and have even used it on occasion on a full frame body at 16mm. Minimal distortion and great IQ.

This picture was taken with a D70 about 40 feet down:

For the D800 I use the Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 most often. Even though I often use other lenses I am constantly coming back to this one. Great general range and fantastic quality.

This is lit with a pair of flashlights:


Classic-Cornering by lairdknox, on Flickr

When I'm shooting long exposure panoramas it is the matched set of Nikkor 28mm f2.8 AIS manual lenses. The older design of the manual lenses work great at night. They generally have good focus scales and smooth operation. The only thing I would like on these is a bit more speed. I just picked up the Rokinon 24mm f1.4 to try out. The ironic thing is that this relatively inexpensive lens handles coma wide open better than the $2000 Nikkor. This is important to me because of the amount of night work I do. I have yet to see how it holds up in overall IQ.

A night shot with the dual Nikkor 28mm setup:

So for me it really depends on what system I'm using.

 

[minnieoi]

Favorite Lens

Not the lens I use the most but my favourite without doubt: Nikon 70-200 mm f/2.8 VRII.

I love the fast aperture, image quality, build quality, stabilization and the versatility of the 70-200 mm zoom.



~ Peter

Seconded

 

[Attonine]

Nikon 24mm F1.4 G. Has to be my favourite, it's my only lens!

 

[phrehdd]

I disagree, I think youre just trying to make more of a deal out of the question than needed.

I have 5 lenses all of which have their purposes. This doesnt mean I dont have a favorite. I love my 17-50 because of the IQ of the images, portability, weight and build structure. Pretty much everything I post about it in my original post.

So yes all of my lenses have their purposes from zoom to fisheye, this doesnt mean I dont like on in specific for what it has to offer.



F2.8 is really great isnt it?

Youll enjoy the macro, the primes are quick and sharp generally.

Plus macros are always fun with a couple extension tubes

----------



Im glad im not the only one to have great results with second hand lenses.

My 17-50vc is a refurb, 70-300vc second hand, 100mm macro second hand, my only new ones I got as gifts from the girlfriend and that's my shorty forty and my rokinon fisheye.

I am glad you have a favourite lens and it works well for you. I just couldn't imagine using that lens say on a safari of sorts. - The latter is just an example of why I made my comment. I do have favourites depending on what I am shooting. If my original post was taken the wrong way then the point was missed as well as I did mention some favs that I have had along the years.

 

[Cheese&Apple]

So what do you use for the wildlife photography?

A Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 G. It's a very good lens but it's a tad softer and slower than I would really like. It does leave me thinking about one of the big Nikon primes for sometime in the future. One can dream.

For the D800 I use the Nikkor 24-77mm f2.8 most often. Even though I often use other lenses I am constantly coming back to this one. Great general range and fantastic quality.

This is an awesome lens as well. I started with the 24-120 f/4.0 because of the longer reach and VR but holy smokes...the distortion (mostly vignetting) was terrible. I quickly sold it for the 24-70 f/2.8.

 

[trewyn15]

I am glad you have a favourite lens and it works well for you. I just couldn't imagine using that lens say on a safari of sorts. - The latter is just an example of why I made my comment. I do have favourites depending on what I am shooting. If my original post was taken the wrong way then the point was missed as well as I did mention some favs that I have had along the years.

I see what you mean for sure, id probably take my 70-300 vc for a safari type thing but itd also be rather short.

I more or less was talking about your favorite lens overall regardless of situation.

 

[Designer Dale]

I don't have a preferred lens. Each has it's own purpose in photography. Sometimes I like to limit myself by just taking a single lens like my 1.4 50, but I usually have at least two with me.

If I had to pick a single lens for an extended period of time I'd go crazy deciding between my 28-75 2.8 Tamron and 100mm Canon macro.

My least favorite lens is my Tokina 12-24 f/4. It's broken...

Dale

 

[nitromac]

My Pentax 15mm f/4. All metal, super smooth focus and just an overall joy to use -- not to mention the incredible image quality and 99% flare resistance. Shooting straight into the sun is no problem with this thing.

For tighter shots and wide aperture, I use a 50mm f/1.7. Superb sharpness and gives a lot of character to the image.

I'm not going to put my zooms in here because while their image quality is pretty close to what I get from the above 2 lenses, they're heavy and large and not as fun to use.


With the 15mm (oh and it produces awesome starbursts at strong sources of light... like the moon here. 10s exposure)


15mm again


50mm f/1.7

 

[Policar]

Some of my favorites:

Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 (for APS-C)

Canon 50mm f1.8 II wide open (for FF)

Nikon 105mm f2.5 AI/S

Canon 70-200mm f2.8 II IS

Cooke S4is (in general)

Angenieux Optimos

18mm and 65mm Zeiss Superspeed Mark IIIs

135mm Apo-Sironar-S

180mm Apo-Sironar-S

Least favorites:

Canon 50mm f1.8 II at any stop other than f1.8

Zeiss Compact Primes

Red Pro Primes

 

[trewyn15]

Some of my favorites:

Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 (for APS-C)

Canon 50mm f1.8 II wide open (for FF)

Nikon 105mm f2.5 AI/S

Canon 70-200mm f2.8 II IS

Cooke S4is (in general)

Angenieux Optimos

18mm and 65mm Zeiss Superspeed Mark IIIs

135mm Apo-Sironar-S

180mm Apo-Sironar-S

Least favorites:

Canon 50mm f1.8 II at any stop other than f1.8

Zeiss Compact Primes

Red Pro Primes

You own these?

Why are the 'red pro primes' your least favorite?

 

[iancheyne]

Favorite lenses

For my Canon bodies: Sigma 24 - 70 f2.8 and 70 - 200 f2.8. I also love the Tamron 60mm f2.0 macro but it will not focus anymore and I have to get it fixed.
For my Sony Nex cameras: the 16mm pancake.

None of them are the best for just walking around, but for the majority of the shots I take they they just seem to fit the bill.

If I'm walking around the Canon 28 - 135 macro works best for me and for the Nex the 18-55. I rarely travel with the Canons these days as the Nex 5 and 7 are so much lighter and so most of my landscape shots are done with those, the Canons tend to be used for Sports and people gatherings.

 

[trewyn15]

For my Canon bodies: Sigma 24 - 70 f2.8 and 70 - 200 f2.8. I also love the Tamron 60mm f2.0 macro but it will not focus anymore and I have to get it fixed.
For my Sony Nex cameras: the 16mm pancake.

None of them are the best for just walking around, but for the majority of the shots I take they they just seem to fit the bill.

If I'm walking around the Canon 28 - 135 macro works best for me and for the Nex the 18-55. I rarely travel with the Canons these days as the Nex 5 and 7 are so much lighter and so most of my landscape shots are done with those, the Canons tend to be used for Sports and people gatherings.

How do you like your Nex? I was looking for something a bit smaller, bought a Canon G10, liked it but being a pixel peeper it wasn't the best for me.

 

[Policar]

You own these?

Why are the 'red pro primes' your least favorite?

I certainly don't own them all! I haven't even shot on the S4is just posted with them, but the look is unbelievable. The rest I've used pretty extensively.

Red Pro Primes have ugly flares, are huge, and have a clinical lifeless look. No fun to use, boring results. No character.

 

[tmagman]

By far my favorite lens is my Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS II. Love the weight and balance of it, oh and of course the image quality is incredible.

 

[trewyn15]

I certainly don't own them all! I haven't even shot on the S4is just posted with them, but the look is unbelievable. The rest I've used pretty extensively.

Red Pro Primes have ugly flares, are huge, and have a clinical lifeless look. No fun to use, boring results. No character.

Gotcha, I was going to say that's a large lens collection! haha

 

[mgauss7]

Panasonic 20mm 1.7, Sigma 50-150 2.8

Panasonic 20mm 1.7, Sigma 50-150 2.8, Olympus 45mm 1.8

 

[someoldguy]

Canon - 24-105L full frame , 15-85 crop (50D) Neither one has any surprises , they just work.

Leica - 35 f2 Summicron from around 1969-70
28 f3.5 Cosina Voightlander screw mount with an eBay M mount adapter with coding as a last generation 28 2.8 . Tiny , slightly beat up , but works far better than one would expect from its' looks.
28-35-50 Tri Elmar … Don't use this thing much , should probably sell it, but I keep it around 'cause it's a neat piece of engineering.