# What lenses are necessary for you?



## canononon (Apr 17, 2011)

Hello! 

Before I go into my question, just a little bit of a background. I use primarily a Canon AE-1 and have three lenses. Canon 50mm 1:1.8, Vivitar 28mm 1:2.8, and a Canon 100-200mm 1:5.6. So basically a normal, wide angle, and zoom lens. The three pretty much cover all my bases though I have to say the zoom lens doesn't get a lot of lovin' just because it's hard on the wrists. 

Overall, what kind of lenses do you guys consider to be "necessary" for your film cameras, why do you value those lenses, and which lenses do you use the most?

And P.S., I would love some tips on proper situations for busting out my zoom lens or just tips on making it more...everyday-able? 

Thanks guys!


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## bigboi3 (Apr 17, 2011)

I only use a 28mm 2.8 and a 50mm 1.7 lenses for my Yashica FX-2.  For film, I pretty much just need those two.  Especially for street shooting.


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## j-dogg (Apr 17, 2011)

I have a 5D Mk.I , EOS 650 and Elan 7e. 24-105 f4L IS for my walkaround / wide, and a 70-200 f4L IS for portraits, landscapes, pretty much anything needed in that range. Got a 50mm f1.8 for low light and that's about it. I need something to cover the 300mm range though.


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## dxqcanada (Apr 17, 2011)

The essentials ?

24mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.4, 300mm f/4.0 and a 90/105mm macro.

24mm because 28mm is not wide enough. Great for landscapes.
50mm f/1.4 for the speed under low light.
300mm for wildlife. The 300mm f/4.0 is a good compromise unless you have money to get the f/2.8 or a fast 400mm.
90mm/105mm macro, mid telephoto can be used for portrait and especially bugs/mushrooms.


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## shufti (Apr 17, 2011)

I would choose three focal-lengths: 24mm or 35mm; 85mm or 105mm; 180mm or 200mm.


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## compur (Apr 17, 2011)

^ ditto


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## Wade in Jamul (Apr 17, 2011)

All of my 35mm gear is Minolta. The older ones (SRT 101, X 700) share a 35mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.7 and a 70-200mm f/4.5 zoom. The newer Maxxums (7000 & 8000i) share a Minolta 35-70mm and a Tamron 28-200mm f/4.5. Those lenses cover all the bases for me.


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## KVRNut (Apr 18, 2011)

Okay, Here's the most used lenses for my Canon FD mount cameras and they are zooms:  28-55 mm macro f.3.5, 35-105 mm w/a macro f3.5, 100-300 mm f.5.6.  The 28-55 macro when combined with a lens reverser and extension tubes is a potent little lens.  As I also carry a Canon 2x-A teleconverter in the case so I have a wide range of focal lengths to choose from.  When out hiking, packing a F-1 and a couple of A-1s, the weight adds up quickly especially when you're walking in the hills so I try and keep things down to 3 lenses.

The 3 most used for my EOS mounts are: 28-105 mm f.3.5 USM w/a macro, or the 28-135 mm f.3.5 IS USM, 28-200 mm f.3.5 w/a aspherical, 100-300 mm f.5.6 macro.  With the extension tubes and 2x teleconverter, I have a lens combination that allows me a lot of lee-way when out and about.  The good thing about these lenses is that they're lighter than the FD mount lenses and it makes going out with the EOS 1V and 3 easier to shoulder.

Yes, I do have primes and I do use them when the occasion warrents them being used or when I carry a separate lens bag for them and I don't have far to walk.  LOL


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## djacobox372 (Apr 20, 2011)

20mm 50mm and 300mm primes


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## Mike_E (Apr 20, 2011)

I know that this is going to sound like a wise crack but I'm married to my wife not my lenses.
I take what will do the job or if I'm shooting for fun (most of the time these days) then I'll pick just one lens which suits my mood and only shoot with that for the day.

If you're looking for suggestions on a new lens, look around for a 20mm f/2.8.


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## ghache (Apr 20, 2011)

i have a 50 and a 28mm for my nikon FE and a 50 for my pentax


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## PJL (Apr 22, 2011)

Mike_E said:


> I know that this is going to sound like a wise crack but I'm married to my wife not my lenses.
> I take what will do the job or if I'm shooting for fun (most of the time these days) then I'll pick just one lens which suits my mood and only shoot with that for the day.


I generally do the same thing, especially with my 35mm cameras.  My 28 and 50 primes see the most use.


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## Sw1tchFX (Apr 23, 2011)

I've been shooting with my F100 alot lately, and I've mostly been using my 35mm f/1.4G, It renders real nicely on film. I also use my 50mm f/1.4, and when i want to keep it simple, my 24-120VR. My 24 f/1.4 seems to have focusing troubles with the F100.

I might be replacing it soon though, one of my managers told me yesterday that he'd sell me his mint F100 for $100. Mine's got a busted viewfinder (prism or diopter is loose and shakes around, can't see jack throgh it) and the cost of fixing it is about $100.


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## Icarus Image (Apr 23, 2011)

Since switching from a 1D to a 7D for video capabilities and it's smaller footprint, I've found that my new go to lens is the 28mm 1.8. Prior to that it was a 50mm 1.4


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## Streets (Jul 16, 2016)

If I could have only one lens it would be my Sony 18-135mm SAM.  Magnifique!!!!!!!!!!!


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## table1349 (Jul 16, 2016)




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## EIngerson (Jul 16, 2016)

17-40, 24-70, 70-200. The 300 mm is inbound.


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## webestang64 (Jul 23, 2016)

For my Pentax's..... 
50mm, because it is close to the human eye and how I see the world.
105mm, just a nice piece of glass and the images are stunningly sharp.
80-200mm, just got this, Kiron, NICE lens.

For my Canon.....
my trusty 35-105mm and my 20-35 wide zoom-this lens has no wide angle curve, just nice and level.


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## table1349 (Jul 23, 2016)




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## Gary A. (Jul 23, 2016)

The only reason for not using a lens more often but ... is that you're not using a lens more often.  There are no 'Rules' or Laws' governing lens usage.  There are guides, i.e. Wides for landscape, medium telephotos for portraits, et al ... But those are general rules.  Creativity supersedes general rules.  I've successfully used 500mm for flowers and ultra wides for environmental portraits. The greater and more often the use of 'optical drama' the closer you will get to hitting a home runs.

I tend to stay away from 50-ish/normal length lenses.  I use lenses to enhance the story, to bring emphasis to the image.  For me, to capture the world as we already see it ... is relatively pointless.  I want to capture a world we don't see, to tell the story as I see it.  Optical Drama is similar to using adjectives with written words. The further away from 50mm, (in either direction), the greater the drama.  It is up to the photog to determine how much drama is acceptable before the optics become more of a story than the captured image.

The next time you shoot something, only take the zoom. Make yourself think long, make yourself be creative long ... Get out of the box.

When I was shooting news, (film), my most used lenses were the 20mm, 85mm and 180mm.


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## Emanuel M (Jul 23, 2016)

I use my sigma 18-35mm 1.8 most of the time.
Best APS-c lens for sure 
It would be perfect if it was something like 16-50mm 1.8 or f2, but still.

Also use my 40mm 2.8 for macro, close up and all around street lens.
70-200 for nature, some portraits and sports - but the 70mm sometimes is a bit long for the wide side (on the APS-c).

I also bought a Tokina 100mm for a better macro working distance and some portraits.

But it depends on the mood - usually I walk with the D7200 + 18-35mm 1.8 (heavy combo).
When I want something lighter and smaller I put then 40mm 2.8 (I also have a 50mm 1.8 that I don't use so often).
But if I go with my car, there's always a bag with lenses on the trunk 

Cheers


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## fmw (Jul 24, 2016)

Back in the film days I didn't use zoom lenses, mostly because they were pretty compromised in those days.  I had many, many lenses and I took along whatever I needed for the shoot in question.  If I were heading out the door not knowing what I was going to shoot I would carry my 18 f2.8, 24 f2.8, 60 f2.8 micro, 85 f1.8 and 180 f2.8.  I would have viewed that collection to be very flexible for heading into the photographic unknown.


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## OGsPhotography (Jul 24, 2016)

I enjoyed the kitten post. Thanks for that. 

The lenses I have deemed necessary; I have so far failed to convice my better half to see the light and therefor they are necessarily only a dream.


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