optimun outfit. how much lenses?

DR.JUAN · Joined: 08 Feb 2013 Posts: 661

Mine is only three lenses. Classic option.
They are
1. 2,8/24 nikkor ais.
2. 1,2/58 pg rokkor
3. 3,4/180 apo telyt.

Yours large? Zoom?

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Yes, I'd say yours is a classic selection. The 24mm has always been my most heavily used wide angle. A fast normal lens should be included for low-light work. And a tele of decent length and speed is very useful. I would tend to stay within one system, though:

Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 AIs
Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 AIs
Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 ED AIs

-or-

Canon FD 24mm f/2.8 SSC
Canon FD 55mm f/1.2 SSC Aspherical
Canon FD 200mm f/2.8 IF

But for quite a few years, I went with a three-lens combination in which two were zooms:

Vivitar 17mm f/3.5
Vivitar Series 1 28-90mm f/2.8-3.5
Tamron 60-300mm f/3.8-5.4

Sometimes I added a fourth, which was a fast normal lens, e.g., 50mm f/1.4.

DR.JUAN · Joined: 08 Feb 2013 Posts: 661

Michel, fine choices.

In the past i used two "classic" outfit.

1,4/35 summilux M (at 5,6 is better than the cron)
1,4/50 lux. Old chrome of 1966. Great at 5,6.
2/90 little cron. Not asph.

2,8/24 hexanon
1,8/85 hexanon.
4/75-150 hexanon

All nice.

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

DR.JUAN · Joined: 08 Feb 2013 Posts: 661

Perhaps no so.
2,8/35 biogon
2,8/90 sonnar contax rf

Zeiss cheap lenses and very good ones.

But i prefer leica lenses. My apo telyt is very goof

DR.JUAN · Joined: 08 Feb 2013 Posts: 661

Yes, a fast short tele lens as you say is a nice option for ff. And a wider than 24 mm lens should be ok too.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

There is no optimum really all depend from your usual subjects.

Personally I can't live without fish eye and at least one long lens.

DR.JUAN · Joined: 08 Feb 2013 Posts: 661

dean.peace · Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:59 pm Post subject:

my every day tools:

zuiko 24mm 2.8
rokkor-x 35-70mm 3.5
pancolar auto 80mm 1.8
yashica ml 200mm 4 or Jupiter-6

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

On 5D Classic (FF):

S-M-C Takumar 35/2
S-M-C Takumar 50/1.4
S-M-C Takumar 85/1.8

sometimes add:
S-M-C Takumar 135/2.5

I'm also liking Tokina 24/2.8 (5D mirror hits S-M-C Takumar 24/3.5 Sad

)

frenched · Expire: 2014-06-17

I need only the fewest, best affordable primes to cover the spectrum I work in.

Lightshow · Joined: 04 Nov 2011 Posts: 3666 Location: Calgary

I have a few sets I like to use, I mostly try and stick to 3 lenses unless I'm going for a longer than a day.
•Rokkor MC 28/2.5, 58/1.2, 85/1.7
•Canon FD SSC 24/2.8, 50/1.4, 85/1.8
I still want the SSC 55 & 85 1.2 Aspherical's, and team them up with the 35/2.8 tilt/shift.
•Topcor RE 28/2.8, 58/1.8, 100/2.8
•mix and match• Elmarit M 28/2.8, a 50 of some sort(still looking), Canon 100/3.5 LTM.

Laurence · Expire: 2016-06-19

I use only one lens when hiking long distances, the slightly wide angle Pentax 55 on the Pentax 645. So I think you could get by with just one lens for a while if you didn't want to buy extra lenses right away.

That said, for general photography I use the Pentax-A lenses in 55, 120, and 150. The 120 is of course to the view from the 150, but it's a macro 1:1 lens.

DR.JUAN · Joined: 08 Feb 2013 Posts: 661

Guys, a lot of very good stuff.

I want all of them Embarassed

NikonD · Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 1922 Location: Slovenija

my set would be:
landscape
Tokina 17/3.5
Nikkor 35/2
Nikkor 55/2.8 micro
Nikkor 105/2.5

or:
traveling
Nikkor 24/2.8
Nikon 75-150/3.5E

or:
portrait/low light
Nikkor 50/1.4
Nikkor 85/1.8

or:
family stuff
Sony 18-55AF

depends on the situation, but I carry all of them with me Wink

DR.JUAN · Joined: 08 Feb 2013 Posts: 661

Wow Roman. Nice nikkors!!

Something difficult to carry on. Shocked

Let me do a question, please. What about your 2,8/24 ais. I found mine as very contrast lens with good colors but not do sharp, at least no like my 1,2/58 minolta nor the apo telyt 180.
Yours?[/u]

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

My favorite bag can hold 5 lenses together with the camera, so I usually pick up five.
I vary the choice depending on the situation, but a typical setup could be:

Zenitar 2.8/16
MC Mir 20 M 3.5/20
MC Mir 24 2/35
Pancolar 1.8/50 (or takumar 1.4/50)
Super Takumar 1.9/85
CZJ Sonnar 2.8/180

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

It just occurred to me that my earlier choices were for general photography, which for me means general outdoor photography -- scenics, macros, and the like.

But my passion for years has been motorsports -- or really anything that travels at high rates of speed, so airshows are events I like to attend whenever possible.

When I attend an airshow, I want to use a sharp zoom that will reach out to 300mm, or a fast 300mm prime. I personally use the Tamron SP 60-300mm f/3.8-5.4 or the Tamron SP 300mm f/2.8 LDIF. Sometimes I'll bring both along and use one with a film body, the other with my DSLR. I'll also bring along as wide angle a lens as I can find. At least a 24mm (for FF). If I'm shooting with my Canon FD outfit, then I have a 17mm I can use, also. Static display shots of aircraft is where a very wide angle lens becomes useful. Often I can get what I need with my DSLR's 18-55 kit lens, though. Mine is the IS version, which is quite sharp. Good enough. But as soon as I reach the viewing area for the show, that kit lens comes off and the 300/2.8 goes on for the rest of the show.

For auto or motorcycle racing, though, things are quite different. It all depends on where I'm positioned at the race track as to what focal length I need. Plus, I usually move around during a race, so my focal length needs will shift as I move about. There are some spots on some tracks where the photographer will need focal lengths out to 600mm, and other areas of other tracks where a race car will fill the frame, while only using a 105mm lens. I've been to at least one track -- Willow Springs International Raceway in Willow Springs, California -- where the gamut of focal lengths can be used -- from about 50mm all the way out to 600mm. It all depends on track position and how the fencing and barriers are arranged to keep the spectators back a safe distance. So if I were going to a race, I'd be packing a couple long telephotos and my Tamron 300/2.8 with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. The long teles are old Century Precision Optics lenses -- a 500mm f/5.6 and a 650mm f/6.8. Made back in the 60s and 70s, but still very sharp. I would pack all three of these teles because I might not know which focal length will give me the best fit. But including the Tamron's TC's, I would have tele focal lengths of 300mm, 420mm, 500mm, 600mm, and 650mm. One of these lengths will be a "best fit." For other lenses in the kit, honestly I'd prefer to pack my Vivitar S1 28-90/2.8-3.5 and my Tamron SP 60-300mm f/3.8-5.4. Maybe toss in a very wide, like my Vivitar 17mm, for example.

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

I have a bad habit of fine-tuning my choice of perspective so I carry more than most. I find MF lenses in general to be small enough to justify their ticket (at least they feel light when your daily job involves hauling heavy modern AF lenses). They fit nicely in pairs on top of each other for foam pockets in the bag, so a small backpack for travel fits the

Nikkor 20/2.8 Ai-S
Nikkor 24/2.8 Ai-S
Nikkor 28/2 Ai-S
Voigtländer 40/2 Ultron
Voigtländer 58/1.4 Nokton
Nikkor 85/1.8H Ai'd
Nikkor 105/2.5K Ai
Nikkor 135/3.5 Ai
Voigtländer SL 180/4 APO Lanthar

A mini-bag for a day trip would include the bolded ones only