If you had to choose one lens?

Stephanie Stewart · Jun 4, 2015

My photography business has taken on a life it's own. I never expected to have 10 sessions booked the first week after becoming an LLC, opening a separate bank account, paperwork after more paperw
ork and I wasn't even sure it would be worth it! I'm not from the area so I have no friends or "built- in" clientele. So it's truly amazing to me that things are going well (so far - and still my expectations are low) my question is, If you had to have one lens what would it be? I have a telephoto 55-200 a 50mm and 35mm prime. I'm obviously missing (although I don't miss it) the kit lens that came with my old camera the 18-55mm. Any suggestions?

oldhippy · Jun 4, 2015

Nikon 85mm 1.8. G
This is my go to and never get rid of lens.

Derrel · Jun 4, 2015

Tough question. I shoot FX Nikon, so for "me", the go-to lens for portraiture and outdoor stuff is a 70-200 or 80-200mm tele-zoom. The 85mm f/1.8 AF-S G that oldhippy mentioned is a very sharp lens, with a wide maximum aperture, and it's very good even at f/2.5, all across the frame; it is one of the very best-performing Nikon lenses in the under-$4,000 price range. Seriously--it is SUPER-crisp in its imaging. And it's smallish, and light in weight, and has a large, well-designed polycarbonate bayonet-on lens shade that shades and shields/protects the lens front from drops and bumps from obstacles and other cameras. The issue though is that on APS-C, it's...a medium telephoto that is too long (too narrow a picture angle) for many places you'll be taking photos.

I dunno...for a crop-sensor user, something like a 17-50mm f/2.8 third-party lens would be pretty useful for general event work and group portraiture; it gives you wide-angle, normal, and very short-tele looks in one, single lens. The 35mm and 50mm prime lenses are very handy,and it's great that you have those.

I do not think the 18-55mm f/3.5~5.6 is really that helpful, and that's why I am suggesting the 3rd party 17-50mm f/2.8 option: focal length flexibility, and NO lens changes for many events.

ruifo · Jun 4, 2015

70-200mm f/2.8

chuasam · Jun 4, 2015

I just got me the 85mm 1.8g and I must say I've been using it a lot.
It's not as sharp as my 70-200 wide open but I've gotten feeble in my old age and i like a lighter lens.

imagemaker46 · Jun 4, 2015

300 2.8

pixmedic · Jun 4, 2015

for crop frame, grab a sigma 50-150 f/2.8, or a 17-50 f/2.8...
preferably both if your doing commissioned work.

Photo Lady · Jun 4, 2015

thanks for tips...... i always wondered about this..

KmH · Jun 4, 2015

For portraits:
If cost is an issue - Nikon AF DC 105 mm f/2D or AF DC 135 mm f/2D
If cost is not an issue Nikon's AF-S 200 mm f/2G

Stephanie Stewart · Jun 5, 2015

Thank you all for giving me some great choices! I have the 85mm 1.8f on order and will go from there! I know it will be longer (127.5), but I take a lot of photos of kids running around and unless I want to chase them around with a 35mm this gives me a great alternative for now! Thank you all! I plan to add all of the others eventually too!

ronlane · Jun 5, 2015

imagemaker46 said:
300 2.8

This, as long as Scott is buying it for me.

For portraits sessions, that would be hard but I would probably say the 70-200mm f/2.8 and next would be the 85mm f/1.8, third on the list would be the 24-70mm f/2.8 L II. (All for Canon)

sscarmack · Jun 5, 2015

Lately it seems to be my 85 1.4G

Derrel · Jun 5, 2015

Something interesting, sort of along the one lens idea....Last year, before he took down and thus eliminated thousands of older posts (and then re-started his blog) on The Visual Science Lab, Kirk Tuck had a blog article in which he very pointedly and specifically mentioned that one of the m4/3 fixed focal length lenses from Panasonic allowed him to shoot from kind of a moderate distance, and have the images look somewhat wide-angle....but then, if he moved a few steps closer, the pictures had more of a short telephoto effect to them. He had several samples of this as proof of concept, and I must say, what he said appeared to be the truth. The shots were done inside of a cafe/diner type restaurant. It was really interesting, how one prime lens could double as both a wide, and a short tele-type lens, just through camera position changes.

***Mmmmkay, I found a related link from that era; I believe the blog post on VSL is gone, but Kirk did this guest spot on The Online Photographer.
The Online Photographer Kirk s Take Leica 25mm Summilux Review

psreilly · Jun 6, 2015

I've always loved my 55-110mm HC Hasselblad lens.. It's versatile enough for portraits, but you can also step back with it

Gary A. · Jun 6, 2015

Stephanie Stewart said:
My photography business has taken on a life it's own. I never expected to have 10 sessions booked the first week after becoming an LLC, opening a separate bank account, paperwork after more paperw
ork and I wasn't even sure it would be worth it! I'm not from the area so I have no friends or "built- in" clientele. So it's truly amazing to me that things are going well (so far - and still my expectations are low) my question is, If you had to have one lens what would it be? I have a telephoto 55-200 a 50mm and 35mm prime. I'm obviously missing (although I don't miss it) the kit lens that came with my old camera the 18-55mm. Any suggestions?

Are you shooting Fuji? Those focal lengths can all be associated to Fujinon lenses. If you are shooting Fuji and if you're shooting portraits, I strongly suggest either the Fujinon 56mm f/1.2 and/or the 50-140 f/2.8. The 56mm, (85mm in FF). is heralded as simply a killer lens. The 50-140 (75-210 in FF) is tack sharp at all focal lengths.