Your favourite lens

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

OK, allow me to list some more as well... only MF!

5D:
Minolta Rokkor 2/28
MIR-24N 2/35
Leica Summicron-R 2/50
Nikkor-S.C 1.2/55
Nikkor-H 1.8/85
Leica Elmar-R 4/180
Tamron SP 2.8-3.8/35-80

NEX:
Olympus PEN 1.8/38
Jupiter-3 1.5/50
Leitz Summitar 2/5cm
Leitz Elmar 4/90

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

The whole "if you had to pick just one" concept drives me up the wall. Why should I have to choose? It's like asking yourself, "Which is your favorite child?" Hmmm . . . ? Or in my case, my favorite guitar. Or motorcycle. I have very valid reasons for wanting to own more than one of these things and it's simply because not one will do it all.

Unfortunately if I must choose a single lens, and a single MF one at that, then the lens must have enough versatility for it to be worthwhile using it. Which means it must be a zoom. And my most heavily used zoom for all-around photography is, was, and likely always will be my Vivitar Series 1 28-90mm f/2.8-3.5.

If I were to choose a lens from a standpoint of passion, then it would be different. I'd have to go with my Canon FD 85mm f/1.2 SSC Aspherical.

dragom · Expire: 2013-12-24

My favourite MF lens is Minolta Rokkor 58mm f/1.2. But my really favourite lens is Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 (I'm a bird photographer kind of guy).

NewStuff · Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 847 Location: Wales, UK

Although I use other lenses, and will undoubtedly have many more in the future, My way of deciding came down to this. "What lens would you part with last, assuming circumstances that forced you to sell them?"

The last lens to leave my hands would be my aforementioned Pentacon 30/3.5.

RioRico · Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 10:22 pm Post subject:

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

erkie · Joined: 08 Oct 2011 Posts: 308 Location: Missouri

Just One lens Shocked

Well On film it would be my lowly and cheap (at the time at least) Spiratone Tc 100/2.5 preset. Because it performs WAY above it's pay grade.

On crop sensor dslr I guess it would be the smc m 50/1.7 . Yeah I have faster ones but for just one lens that can do anything asked of it I would have a hard time picking anything else.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Okay, let's stick to your three favourite lenses, the ones you would take if you could only take three.

Mine:

1. Tokina RMC 3.5/17 as aforementioned

2. Konica Hexanon 3.5/28 EE version - outclasses every other 28mm I've tried and probably my favourite focal length to use on my NEX.

3. Konica Hexanon 1.7/50 - probably the best 50mm lens I own, fantastically sharp, great contrast and colour, very little flare, smooth bokeh, just superb. (My Petri CC 1.8/55 runs this one close due to the character it imparts to images)

gaeger · Expire: 2021-03-09

Much easier!

Nikkor 20mm f3.5 AI
Micro-Nikkor 55mm f2.8 AIS
Zoom-Nikkor 80-200mm f4 AIS

MacTak · Joined: 15 Jun 2011 Posts: 108

To me, 'your favourite lens' is quite different from asking 'if you could only choose one of your lenses to use, which would it be'. I don't think it surprising that some people can name one favourite lens and others can't. My own favourite lens is the S-M-C Macro Takumar 50mm f4 (or really any of those Pentax 50/4 optics--with the 1:1 Macro-Takumar deserving special mention as well).

RTI · Joined: 15 Jul 2011 Posts: 282 Location: Moldova, Chisinau

1. Minolta AF 70-210/4 "Beercan" (I know it's a manual focus lens forum, but I can't do anything with that, I love that lens)
2. Canon FD 35mm F2 SSC
3. M39 (early '55) Jupiter-9.

natebarnz · Expire: 2013-01-23

Surely the distagon 35/1.4 followed closely by the distagon 28/2 and then lately it has to be the elmarit 90/2.8 in the #3 slot.

NewStuff · Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 847 Location: Wales, UK

Three favourite? OK, I can play that game.

1) Pentacon 30/3.5 - Great all rounder, works very well with my .42x WA adaptor.
2) Pentacon 300/4 - A good combination of cheap, sharp and Impressive to just about anyone looking at it.
3) Zeiss Flektogon 35/2.4 - Lovely Macro abilities on a DSLR.

These are lenses that I own/have owned myself. I dare say that I will get new lenses that I like better in the future, but at this time, you can pry the top 2 lenses out of my cold dead hands.

stonedes · Joined: 25 Feb 2010 Posts: 27

rbelyell · Expire: 2014-01-31

ZoneV · Expire: 2011-12-02

No problem with the question - I think no one is forced to answer.

Minolta Rokkor 58/1.2 - it is my most loved lens - but I have other lenses I love very much too.

I like the focal length on the EOS 5D.
Sharp enough - even when I use the lens with extension tube wide open.
I love the subtle glowing of this lens, the fast speed that allow me to use it with small DOF and in low light situations.
I like the build quality and heavy metal Smile

I am happy with the price I paid for this lens ~ 1/3 of normal.
Like to have it self converted with reaching infinity. It is interessting, that I love lenses that I have converted / repaired more than normal untouched lenses.

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

It's hard to choose a favourite.
If I really have to choose ONE lens than I would choose the Samyang 8mm Fisheye!

My favs for different systems:

for APS-C DSLR
Samyang 8mm F3.5 MC Fisheye (my most used manual, very great lens)

for APS-C NEX
Minolta Macro Rokkor 100mm F4 (razor sharp, good bokeh)
(and also 17mm Tokina RMC F3.5 and also Minolta 50mm F2)

for 35mm film:
Minolta MD Rokkor 50mm F1.4 (very good compromise between price, speed, bokeh, contrast and sharpness)

for medium format film:
Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 50mm F4 (low distortion, great feeling)

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

Down to 3?

Hmmm...

5D:
Minolta Rokkor 2/28
Leica Summicron-R 2/50
Nikkor-H 1.8/85

NEX:
Olympus PEN 1.8/38
Konica Hexanon 1.8/40
Leitz Summarit 2/5cm
(They are all very close, but it's a great FL on a NEX!)

Tedat · Joined: 08 Nov 2011 Posts: 800 Location: Berlin/Germany

My #1?

Well that's easy: Minolta AF 135/2.8 [T4.5] STF

To name the other both favorite lenses isn't too hard too: Konica UC Hexanon 1.8/28 and Carl Zeiss Distagon 2/28 T*. But I couldn't tell which of both I like more. One thing for sure.. none of those 3 lenses will go as long I'm alive

IAZA · Joined: 16 Apr 2010 Posts: 2587 Location: Indonesia

1 Jupiter 3 50/1,5 LTM compact for NEX, great OOF area
2 Takumar 17/4 M42, sharpest fisheye and compact
3 aus jena flektogon 35/2,4 great for overall

heartcat · Joined: 31 Dec 2009 Posts: 371

I don't understand why some people seem to get irritated by threads like this, or consider them pointless, etc.

If you don't have a 'favourite' lens or don't want to choose one, etc. no one is forcing you to. Other people 'do' have clear favourites.

Everyone understands that generally people use an SLR/dSLR so that they have the option of changing lenses. Everyone understands that some lenses are better for certain situations or goals than others.

But sometimes people do have a lens that just stands out at the top of their list as their 'go to' lens. And sometimes other people are curious as to what that lens is and/or want to share their own. And those people find such threads interesting.

I know that when I was a newbie, I loved threads like this. I 'got' that people could love and use multiple lenses and that different lenses were good for different things. But when I was just starting to collect, and had limited money to spend, it was interesting and helpful to me to read where people listed that lens that they felt was their favourite. And it gave me a good starting point to do more research.

There are always other threads for those who want to share what their favourite lens(es) for different focal points might be, or for shooting specific situations (landscape, portrait, urban street scenes). And they all have their place and their value. But that doesn't mean that a thread asking for one favourite lens is pointless.

Maybe it's not for everyone, but it has a place.

FluffPuppy · Joined: 11 Dec 2011 Posts: 365

Each time I buy another lens I try to use it as much as possible. I think one tends to 'save up' ideas and then implement them when the new lens is acquired.

woodrim · Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4060 Location: Charleston

I liked Orio's similar post a little while back; he allowed 12 and asked for comments and samples from each. I actually find a ranking of one's lenses in any focal length more meaningful because you get to see not only the lenses favored, but the ones they beat in that photographer's collection. To say one is your favorite means no more than that unless I know which lenses it's compared to.

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

This is a question like "which of your children do you like best?"
I can understand the problems to find a real favourite, if it's not impossible.

My most likely favourite child overall is the Samyang 8mm F3.5 MC Fisheye which unsuseable for most normal photographic purposes. So in most cases I prefer another lens.

natebarnz · Expire: 2013-01-23

I like threads like this because someones else's favorite lens could likely become your favorite lens someday. It's nice to get ideas for new acquisitions.

Orio's post is really the best for this though because not only does it show samples but it also allows for more lenses to be displayed.