Favorite lenses

chrisinhouston · 07-08-2011, 02:59 PM

Just a personal note on the 2 of my favorite lenses in my gear bag.

The first it my Canon 85mm f1.2 which is great for portraits and in low light. You have to be careful to make sure you get what you want in focus as the depth of field wide open is next to nothing at wide open. I try for eye lashes when shooting portraits.

My second favorite is my Sigma 800 f5.6 for those long shots and the ability to pull the background into the subject. Only problem with this lens is you have to use a large sturdy tripod and it is big and heavy to travel with, I carry mine in it's own metal case. Great for wildlife though!

nowhereman · 07-10-2011, 07:53 AM

Lots of Nikon gear, but my favorite lens is the 15mm f/5.6 retilinear lens. If you keep it level and square the verticals don't distort (except way out at the edges). It's a great lens for tight spaces - I do a lot of photographing installations in art galleries.

Sperlock · 07-10-2011, 09:23 AM

I've only got 2 lenses - the Canon 85mm f/1.8, which I haven't been able to use as much as I would like, and the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6.

Scriveyn · 07-10-2011, 09:46 AM

Got started on DSLR last month. So, to date, my only two lenses are
Canon 70-200 f4.0 (excellent stuff) and Sigma 17-50 f2.8 (need to evaluate this some more).

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Canon at 200mm, distance approx 10m, picture cropped & downsized to 63% to fit the forum

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chrisinhouston · 07-10-2011, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nowhereman

Lots of Nikon gear, but my favorite lens is the 15mm f/5.6 retilinear lens. If you keep it level and square the verticals don't distort (except way out at the edges). It's a great lens for tight spaces - I do a lot of photographing installations in art galleries.

I had that one back in my Nikon F3 days. Unfortunately while shooting aerials on a helicopter over the Houston ship channel many years ago the front element somehow came loose and fell a few hundred feet into the channel!

My insurance did replace it though! I now have a Canon 15mm fish-eye which is fun for the occasional wide angle distortion picture and also the Canon 16-36mm which is my standby for wide angles with hardly any noticeable distortion.

chrisinhouston · 07-10-2011, 09:57 AM

Scriveyn, those are good choices. You are covering a good bit of focal length range as well as keeping your gear a bit lighter with the f4 instead of the f2.8.

I have owned several Sigma lenses in the past but the Canon bug got to me and I upgraded several of them. I really liked the Sigma 100-500, it was sharp and focused very quickly.

Here is one of The Blue Angels from my son's USNA graduation event shot with that lens.

The next shot was also from that event but shot with the fish-eye

Gravdigr · 07-10-2011, 03:31 PM

If you bought those two lenses Chris mentions in the first post, new, they would cost just over what I made the last six months I worked.

Bullitt · 07-10-2011, 05:02 PM

I very much liked my Nikkor 24-120vr. Great walk-around lens

chrisinhouston · 07-11-2011, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

If you bought those two lenses Chris mentions in the first post, new, they would cost just over what I made the last six months I worked.

Yes they can be expensive, I purchased the 85mm for shooting my brother in law's wedding and he was paying me about $2500 so it paid for the lens and the plane ticket.

I got the 800 on eBay for about $2000 as it was used and it was the previous model to the one Sigma has in their line up now but I have seen no discernible quality issues with whatever this one does not have as opposed to the new one. The Canon version runs around $11,000 new which is kind of crazy!

Gravdigr · 07-12-2011, 01:54 PM

Yeah, but, you definitely get what you pay for when buying glass.

But, it hurts so much.

07-08-2011, 02:59 PM	#1
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Favorite lenses Just a personal note on the 2 of my favorite lenses in my gear bag. The first it my Canon 85mm f1.2 which is great for portraits and in low light. You have to be careful to make sure you get what you want in focus as the depth of field wide open is next to nothing at wide open. I try for eye lashes when shooting portraits. My second favorite is my Sigma 800 f5.6 for those long shots and the ability to pull the background into the subject. Only problem with this lens is you have to use a large sturdy tripod and it is big and heavy to travel with, I carry mine in it's own metal case. Great for wildlife though! Attached Images

07-10-2011, 09:23 AM	#3
Sperlock Elite Elitist Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 322	I've only got 2 lenses - the Canon 85mm f/1.8, which I haven't been able to use as much as I would like, and the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6. __________________ Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who stood their ground. - Anonymous http://informationthreshold.blogspot.com, http://spiritualthreshold.blogspot.com

07-10-2011, 09:46 AM	#4
Scriveyn amnesic-confabulatory opsimath Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Between my ears Posts: 739	Got started on DSLR last month. So, to date, my only two lenses are Canon 70-200 f4.0 (excellent stuff) and Sigma 17-50 f2.8 (need to evaluate this some more). Canon at 200mm, distance approx 10m, picture cropped & downsized to 63% to fit the forum .

07-10-2011, 09:57 AM	#6
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Scriveyn, those are good choices. You are covering a good bit of focal length range as well as keeping your gear a bit lighter with the f4 instead of the f2.8. I have owned several Sigma lenses in the past but the Canon bug got to me and I upgraded several of them. I really liked the Sigma 100-500, it was sharp and focused very quickly. Here is one of The Blue Angels from my son's USNA graduation event shot with that lens. The next shot was also from that event but shot with the fish-eye Attached Images

07-10-2011, 03:31 PM	#7
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	If you bought those two lenses Chris mentions in the first post, new, they would cost just over what I made the last six months I worked. __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

07-10-2011, 07:53 AM	#2
nowhereman sliding down the razor blade of life Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: just over the edge Posts: 228	Lots of Nikon gear, but my favorite lens is the 15mm f/5.6 retilinear lens. If you keep it level and square the verticals don't distort (except way out at the edges). It's a great lens for tight spaces - I do a lot of photographing installations in art galleries.

07-10-2011, 05:02 PM	#8
Bullitt This is a fully functional babe lair Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Akron, OH Posts: 2,324	I very much liked my Nikkor 24-120vr. Great walk-around lens __________________ Kiss my white Irish ass.

07-12-2011, 01:54 PM	#10
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	Yeah, but, you definitely get what you pay for when buying glass. But, it hurts so much. __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

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