What are your Essensial Lenses?

[e.rose]

Well, the guy says the lens is NOT that sharp...but it has a lovely transition from the focus zone to the out of focus background, and he likes it on an APS-C Canon body, where it in effect becomes more of a "true normal" lens...so that might be part of the reason. As he mentions, a lot of people value sharpness, but for him, the quality he likes is the way the 28/1.8 "draws the scene"...I suspect that using it wider-open on FF would maybe not yield the same look as on a 1.6x body. I liked his use of the term "unreliably great," which is an interesting way to put it.

Sharpness can be wayyyy overrated; look at the Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.4 formula and the results outta those things...OMG...sharp, yes! But hoooooorible background rendering. Uuuuugly. Triple-bagger ugly. Gag me with a double-line bokeh spoon ugly.

I've heard Canon's 20mm prime is really a great lens, but not many people talk about it.

Well... sharpness isn't everything, no, but in general, I like the 24-70 because it's sharp *and* it looks nice overall.

The 28 is not a bad lens at all.. but I would sell it in a heartbeat to put towards a 24-70 if I had the rest of the money to get one.

I'll sell it to you when I'm ready. :lmao:

 

[tirediron]

They're all essential... but... in order of use:

85mm f1.4
24-70 f2.8
70-200 f2.8
105 macro
...

a bunch more 'just in case'

 

[bentcountershaft]

24-70 for the stuff I shoot. Sometimes I make myself use something else just to look at things differently but I always go back.

 

[SCraig]

Anything 300mm and longer.

 

[Braineack]

I honestly think my 24-70 is boring, but it's sharp and fast. my 70-200 and 85mm are lovely.

 

[Derrel]

These kinda threads typically break down along the same lines over and over. The landscapers like the shorties..."Oh, I really love my 10-22!" and "My 14-24 rocks it!" and so on. The bird guys are like, "Well, I like my 500/4 with the TC 1.4x and TC1.7x" and so on. And the people shooters are like, "Lovee me mah 24-70/2.8! and mah sevendeetotwohunnerdtwopointeight!"

The camera makers must love the 24-70 and 70-200 dual-big-ticket lens playground they've turned the monkeys loose in. Earlier today I was thinking...you know, if I could just get me a 35 to 180mm f/2.8, I could shoot with just ONE LENS most of the time!" Buuuuut....offering something like that would probably hurt sales. I mean a GREAT lens too; I owned a 35mm to 135mm f/3.5~4.5 or maybe it was f/3.3~4.5, but a Nikon Ai-S zoom in 1986...I bought it from a friend who had bought it from a friend who had bought it from the poor bastard that originally payed full price for it...

...OMG. Worst. Zoom.Lens.Ever. TOTALLY awful, at every f/stop. The king of sub-par lenses.

 

[CAP]

In my camera bag right now.

Canon 1DX

70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

28-70mm f/2.8L USM

500mm f/4L IS USM

100mm f/2L USM

EX600-RT Speedlight

:hail:

 

[Patrice]

A 28-70/2.8 is my most used lens followed by 70-200/2.8. These two also see quite a bit of use; 85/1.4 and 135/2.5

 

[elizpage]

I shoot almost solely with my 50mm right now.

 

[fooby]

I actually find that apart from the odd time, shooting climbers or boats for example, the 17-40 f4 for fitting landscapes into portraits and commercial work, and the 50mm 1.4 for low light, close ups and standard portraits, that has me covered for more than 90% of the time. The 17-40 is also really light compared to the likes of the 24-70.

 

[Scatterbrained]

Most used for me, 24-70L. It's not my most exciting lens, but it is the most versatile.

 

[Tee]

The essential lens for me? The 85mm 1.4D aka The Cream Machine. I love it and can't live without it.

 

[astroNikon]

My 80-200/2.8 is my most used, followed by
18-35/3.5-4.6,
24-85/2.8-4
then a bunch of other lens.

I want to replace my 35-70/2.8 with a 28-70/2.8 .. ideally the 24-70/2.8 but too much $$$
I also *want* the 85/1.4D
*Needs* got nuttin' to do with it .... :mrgreen:

 

[Raj_55555]

Hey, finally I can post something in threads like these :mrgreen:
My essential lenses are Sigma 75-300 & Sigma 24-70 (f2.8-4), and I truly love them :lmao:

In my camera bag right now.

Canon 1DX

70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

28-70mm f/2.8L USM

500mm f/4L IS USM

100mm f/2L USM

EX600-RT Speedlight

:hail:

Show off! :er:

 

[Monday]

love my 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 as a have it all on me setup, but mostly have my 50 1.8 mounted when I carry the camera around daily due to size and weight.