 Stan Lubach |
Favorite lens? I've noticed that of the photos I've put up on my gallery, most of them were taken with my 60mm Micro-Nikkor lens ( even though only one of them is an actual macro shot ). I guess this has become my favorite lens ( if unconsciously so ). I like the smooth backgrounds and the sometime 3-D effect I get on my shots. I was just wondering what other SLR users consider their favorite lens and why.
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John P. Sandstedt |
The 60mm Micro-Nikkor meets the definition of a normal lens, even though it also offers the macro-capability. Many folks rely on the normal lens, some to exclusivity. I bought a Vivitar Series 1, 70-210 mm zoom with a macro feature that lets me get 4-inches from my subject. Then I bought the Series 1, 28-90 mm zoom and effectively stopped taking pictures with my normal lens [Minolta SRT 201, with 50 mm MD lens.] When I bought my Canon EOS 620, I opted for the Canon f/4.0, 70-210 mm and Canon 28-70 mm zooms. The later was a waste as the zoom range is too close to the normal 50 mm, in my opinion. I curently use a 35-105 mm Canon, when I use the physically-smaller zoom. I bought the first generation Tamron 28-200 zoom and used it on my tour of Italy six years ago. Body and zoom, polarizing filter and film. And, never looked back. Before a trip to the Canadian Northwest [Banff and Lake Louise,] I bought the Tamron 200-400 mm zoom. Once again, I never looked back - although I don't have that macro capability of my original Vivitar. And, while lots of folks might scoff at after-market lenses, I still win my share of competitions using these Tamron beauties. Once I have the capability of making a 13"X19" print [but, it'll be with scanned image] maybe I see a differnece.
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BetterPhoto Member |
My favorite would be my 28mm vivitar that fits onto my Minolta XGM SLR body. And I'll tell you why. I'm all about nice and wide open spaces. I love to capture the grandiose landscape. Not exclusively, of course, but this is admittedly where I am most at home. And I have made some spectacular images with my telephoto lenses by cutting away some of the backdrop and hitting a sharp backlit sillouette. But I love wide angle photography. It gives a sense of place. With telephoto lenses, the picture always seems to be GOING somewhere. But with a wider and less dramatic perspective, you can notice where you are before you have to bustle on to the next importantly important thing or place that need doing or going to. I guess this is to say that a wider angle let's me stop and smell the roses every once in a while. Though not everybody might follow this creedo, I can't help but anxiously look forward to my one Saturday every two or three months alone in the woods or backroads with my Jeep, my manual SLR and my wide angle lens.
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Justin G. |
Well I only own one lens and it's a 90mm f/3.8. Does very well and I really like it. I really want to get the portrait 180mm f/4.5. That would be the lens I'd buy right now if I had the money and next up would be a wide angle 65mm f/4.5.
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Bob Cammarata |
My pick would have to be my manual-focus Nikkor 180 mm 2.8 ED. At the time of its introduction it was the smallest (and most affordable) telephoto in the Nikkor line to feature ED glass. The color reproduction is true and accurate and the images taken with this lens are tack-sharp. I bought this lens new back in the mid-80's and it continues to work flawlessly to this day. Another personal favorite is a macro lens,...a M/F Micro-Nikkor 55 mm 2.8. If I were limited to taking only one lens this would be it. I like having the flexibility to focus from 10" away (for 1/2-life-size)...all the way to infinity. The clarity and corner-to-corner sharpness of this lens leaves nothing to be desired.
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John G. Clifford Jr |
I like sharp glass. I like my pictures to be tack-sharp. One of my favorite lenses was my Nikon AI-S 35-105/3.5-4.5 for my FE2 that always seemed to take great shots. While it had a little barrel/pincushion distortion at either extreme, it always gave me very sharp pictures. My Nikon 50/1.8 AI-S lens was very sharp, but the sharpest lens I've ever used is the 1970s-era Pentax Super Multicoat Takumar 50/1.4 lens I'm using with an M42 adapter on my Sigma SD10. What an incredibly sharp lens! The picture of my son and his teddy bear on my gallery was taken with it, and the smaller image does not do the lens true justice. If you can find an M42 adapter for your latest dSLR, these lenses are incredible values and often perform as well or better than the best quality new lenses. You'll have to focus manually, however, (my SD10 does give me focus confirmation) and set the exposure manually as well (aperture priority auto mode should work on most cameras).
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