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Do you have a favourite lens? If so, what is it and why?

Tronhard
Elite
Elite

I have a lot of lenses, stretching back to the early 1990's.  The quality of the images they take vary, as one might expect, somewhat by prices and technological development.  That said, I have a couple of lenses that I love the images from:
Canon EF 28-300L,  a monster lens: and until the RF 24-240, Canon's only super-zoom lens.  It has a wonderful tonal quality to it and it behaves amazingly well on both FF and APS-C bodies.

Canon EOS 400D, EF 28-300L@97mm, f/8, 1/500sec, ISO-800Canon EOS 400D, EF 28-300L@97mm, f/8, 1/500sec, ISO-800

EF 70-200L f/2.8 (and 4.0) MkII IS USM: both with really nice tonal qualities that are especially effective for portraits - which I rarely do, but since I don't shoot people very often (in the nicest way), I do, on occasion get to photograph an animal.

Canon EOS 5DsR, EF70-200L@182mm, f/8, 1/80sec, ISO-200.Canon EOS 5DsR, EF70-200L@182mm, f/8, 1/80sec, ISO-200.

So, what are your favourite optics and why?


cheers, TREVOR

"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris
16 REPLIES 16

Hi Wandalynn!
Great to 'hear' from you!  Yep, the EF 100-400 L MkII is one of my favourite DSLR lenses too.   I never afforded the L macro but get along with the f/2.8 EF-S 60 and EF100 macros and they do enough for me.  Love to see some of your shots!


cheers, TREVOR

"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

Thanks! Here are three of my photos.R5, EF 100-400 L ii, 400mm, f/8, 1/2000, ISO 2500R5, EF 100-400 L ii, 400mm, f/8, 1/2000, ISO 2500R5, EF 100mm L macro, focus bracket of 5 images, combined in DPP, f/7.1, 1/100, ISO 800R5, EF 100mm L macro, focus bracket of 5 images, combined in DPP, f/7.1, 1/100, ISO 800R5, RF 100-400 at 400mm, f/9, 1/1000, ISO 800R5, RF 100-400 at 400mm, f/9, 1/1000, ISO 800

WOW.  Amazing work!  Specially the butterflies.

Thank you! Your landscape shots are beautiful, and I enjoyed your post! Since I haven't traveled much in the past few years, it's easier for me to find "bug shots" than landscape shots. 

AtticusLake
Mentor
Mentor

 

Of course, as you say, it totally depends on what you're doing.

I've been shooting landscapes, in video, on the C70, which is a Super 35 camera. The absolute workhorse for me has been the RF 15-35mm f/2.8. I have other lenses, including the excellent 50mm f/1.2, but the 15-35 just seems to work for almost everything I do.

8 Bhraoin Loch.jpg

Of course sometimes a longer lens comes in handy; I have the RF 70-200 f/4.0 for that.  I have to say I use it a lot less than I thought I would.  Still, sometimes definitely good to have.

10 Glenfinnan.jpg

Lately I have got the RF 24-70mm f/2.8, and it's turning out to be super useful too. I guess I avoided the 24-70 because it's such a cliché, but of course that's for good reasons... 😉

Still, on the Super35 sensor particularly, the 15-35 is really great for getting the wide angles.  Still I rarely use it wider than 20mm, even then.  The overwhelming majority of my Highland Beauty project, which I've been doing for the last year plus, was shot on that lens.

https://moonblink.info/MudLake/beauty

And then sometimes the phone is the only option. I was up in the mountains getting my nice camera and lenses out of the bag, when a group of reindeer just casually walked by, and the phone was in my hand...

Reindeer.jpg

Happy shooting, whatever you shoot.

 

Atticus, these are lovely images.  Thank you for sharing!

For the kinds of images: I shoot - wildlife, I tend to use long lenses, but while I have the absolutely gorgeous 70-200 MkII IS USM 2.8 and 4.0 versions, they are just too short.


cheers, TREVOR

"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

johnrmoyer
Mentor
Mentor

The lens I use most often by far is EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM often with 1.4x III or 2x III extender. So this might be my favorite. But I also have other favorites.

Zinnia with American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) in Norman, Oklahoma, September 15, 2022Zinnia with American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) in Norman, Oklahoma, September 15, 2022Glacier in Chugach National Forest near Whittier, Alaska, August 7, 2019, panorama, EOS 80D, hand held from deck of moving boat, stitched using hugin, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USMGlacier in Chugach National Forest near Whittier, Alaska, August 7, 2019, panorama, EOS 80D, hand held from deck of moving boat, stitched using hugin, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

My lens I have the most emotional attachment to is a 45 year old Minolta MC ROKKOR-X PG 1:1.4 f=50mm from a film camera.

Minolta MC ROKKOR-X PG 1:1.4 f=50mm, F/16, 1/332, ISO 250, processed with GMIC Richardson/Lucy to remove diffraction blur.Minolta MC ROKKOR-X PG 1:1.4 f=50mm, F/16, 1/332, ISO 250, processed with GMIC Richardson/Lucy to remove diffraction blur.

Another favorite lens is EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM which I use on an EOS R5 or an EOS 80D. I like it on the R5 even though I have been told it is not appropriate for a full frame sensor. I already own it and full frame wide angle zooms seem expensive to me. I also often use an EF-S 24mm.

Castilleja indivisa (also called Indian Paintbrush) and Achillea millefolium (also called Common Yarrow) blooming in Norman, Oklahoma, May 27, 2022, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, focus stack of 8 images, F/9, 18mm, 1/64Castilleja indivisa (also called Indian Paintbrush) and Achillea millefolium (also called Common Yarrow) blooming in Norman, Oklahoma, May 27, 2022, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, focus stack of 8 images, F/9, 18mm, 1/64

 

 

 

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