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Which lenses do you use mostly and why

G

Guest

I would be interested to know which focal length you prefer for your own shooting style and why.

Would you be willing to exchange your fixed focal lenght against a modern Zeiss-zoom? If you look at the lens-industry it seems that this is the way to go. New designs are mostly zooms, seldom FFL.

Have you tried that already? What is your opinion?

I have tried the Zeiss 28-85 (C/Y) and the new N24-85. Both are very good, especially the N-zoom. And I have the 24mm already included, what I was always missing on the old 28-85zoom.
 
I have a G2 with the 28mm, 35mm, 45mm and 90mm .. all wonderful
I also have an Aria with a 28mm, 35mm, f1.4/50mm, f1.4/85mm and a 135mm .. also great lenses..
now the funny thing is, although I tend to think more wide angle, as my main subjects are landscapes and cityscapes, I find myself using the "standard" lenses, 45mm G and 50mm SLR, more than any others, even for the odd portrait I do. I just find the angle of view somehow pleasing .. you may ask why I didn't save a lot of money and just buy one lens .. good question ...
 
I have a T3, until then I used, for many years a 35 as my main lens...first on a Canon Ftb with a 100 as my second lens, which saw much less use, later an EOS system with a 35-70 and a 70-210 zoom...felt this system was too bulky. I then purchased a G1 kit with a 35mm F2 and the 200 flash, soon to add the 90mm lens. I have not used this as much as I would have liked, but I have found my my photos to be quite nice.. what has really stolen my interest has been my T3. The lens is wonderful, it is a small and delightful camera..I take it everywhere and the quality of the pictures is just great. So far I have not felt that I am missing much with only this one lens..I have even considered selling the G1, but I will wait a bit...I may sell the 35mm on that or trade for a 45 as I don't think the 35f2 has anything over the T3. For me the 35 has always been about perfect as a general lens, landscapes, candids...I do little work that would necesitate a really long lens.

Joel Stern
 
In my teenage days (1981-1989) I was happy with Agfa CT 18 film, my grandpa's Voigtländer Bessamatic SLR, and one lens: a 2.0/50 Septon. I store many hundreds of slides shot with this combo, they show that 90% of all motives can be managed quite well with the standard focal length. From 1989 to 1997, I mainly used Agfa CT 100 and a Minolta X700 with many lenses from 2.8/20 to 5.6/500, including zooms and fix focals. Although I tried nearly everything, my standard lens became a Tokina 3.4-4.5/28-70, in my eyes the perfect travel lens. The results were just fine, but I dreamed of perfection. So I traded the whole Minolta stuff for a used RTS III and the famous 1.4/50MM in 1997, and added three other Zeiss primes: 2,8/25MM, 2,8/100AE, and 4.0/200MM. For me, it has proven as the perfect selection, the quality is simply outstanding. Since then, my standard film is Fuji Sensia 100 and my permanent companion a Manfrotto 055 tripod. About 40% of my slides are shot with the 50, 30% with the 100 macro, 20% with the 25 and 10% with the 200. The puristic limitation on four really distinct primes makes every focal length essential - it's a joy of its own to have only "important" lenses, no seldom used stuff anymore. But to be honest, I think I could learn to live with only the 1,4/50 again, combined perhaps with an ultra-simple body like the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 (primitive and great) or a Contax S2 (poor value for the money).
 
I have a Contax Aria with the 45mm/f2.8 "pancake" lens and the 28/f2.8 and 80-200/f4 zoom. 90 per cent of my photos are taken with the 45mm lens because it is so small it allows me to always have the Aria with me in a small Lowepro Nova 1 bag. I used to have the 28-85 zoom, and loved it's image quality and versatility, but it was just too big and heavy to always lug around. It was very liberating when I started taking just the 45mm lens. The camera kit becomes so small and light, and the angle of view from the 45mm lens is extremely versatile to use for everything from portraits to scenics. I have also been using a borrowed AX body recently, and the "macro" function of the AX allows me to take amazing closeups with this simple Tessar lens. The versatility of the 45mm/f2.8 pancake lens is outstanding, and the image quality is superb. I have no inclination to replace it with anything else. I also find that people are less intimidated by this lens when I am taking their portrait, and it is therefore easier to get "natural" expressions from them. The big zooms intimidate many people, especially in a candid environment. But apart from being very staisfied with the images, the bottom line is "if you haven't got the camera with you, you don't get ANY images" -- and this 45mm lens coupled to the small and light Aria, allows me to ALWAYS have the camera with me.
 
In answer to your question about which lens do i like to use,I love to use 85mm as there a shallow depth of field compared to 50mm plus you have the slightly compressed background and you can take candids without intruding to much.Portraits are superb I just love the look of photos i have taken with an 85mm lens.
 
I cannot really tell, what I would use the most since I own only two lenses. My main lens is the Planar T* 1.4/50 and the second is the Distagon T* 2.8/35. I like both very much but I just love the 50mm wide open! It allowed me to take really cool shots under bad lighting conditions in some Parisian Cafes (to be seen here below). Also portraits came out great!
If I could afford it, I would also go for the 1.4/35 and the 1.4/85 but since I'm a student, I have to wait and save money ...

511.jpg
 
wow, is this your shot?

I like this style. I was living in Paris for 6 months and it gives me back some nice memories...

you should definitely upload this in the picture area for discussions
 
For some 30 years I have used nothing except primes with two RTSIII bodies plus a Yashica body. Recently I decided to try the Zeiss zooms, concurrent with my purchase of an N1. I am not hooked on the zooms. The image quality is almost equal to the primes but the composition possibilities are really great. I used to be able to view a composition in fixed format steps from 25mm to 200 mm. Now I use two zooms, the 24 - 85 and 70 to 300. Much lighter to carry, greater composition fluency.

I guess that throughout the years, I have been waiting for Zeiss quality in a zoom lens.
 
In my recent e-mail re why I use what lenses I said the I am not hooked on zooms. That should have read that I am now hooked on zooms.
 
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