Your favourite lens?

[spareparts]

Recently I was able to pick up a simple Nikon 24mm f2.8 prime for 'social' events instead of bringing a compact camera. Mounted to the D800, it is diminutive and lightweight, yet offers excellent performance in low light and imparts a wonderful IQ and warmth to images.

Without pixel counting, the 24mm prime outperforms the pro-grade 24-70 2.8, is so much easier to handle/tote, and it is now my favourite given the amount of low light/social shooting I do. I could go better to the 24mm f1.4 prime, but it is 4x the cost and bigger.

Which lens is your favourite?

[K12beano]

spareparts said:

Which lens is your favourite?

Impossible question - varies day to day, and I like all my current lenses.

But when I want to go "compact" like you, it will definitely be a 45mm Ai-P f/2.8. I've owned it about 8 years and it has been my favourite with all three of the dSLRs I have been fortunate enough to own.

Meets your criteria of compact, reasonably fast, nice bokeh, plus it has an aperture ring and is as fast to focus as the speed in which you can flick your wrist......

[zcacogp]

Funnily enough, the only prime I have - a 50mm F1.8.

And I'd quite like it to be a bit wider from time to time ...


Oli.

[Simpo Two]

spareparts said:

Without pixel counting, the 24mm prime outperforms the pro-grade 24-70 2.8, is so much easier to handle/tote

It should be, as it only has to do one thing.


Nikon 17-55 f2.8 for me as 'most useful' lens.

[anonymous-user]

I'm with Simpo on this one... The Nikon 17-55 2.8

At nearly a grand its not cheap but I absolutely love it. It does pretty much 90% of my shots now from fairly wide stuff to nice cropped portraits or tight shots of parts of cars, with really nice Bokeh behind.

Mega sharp as well.

[minimalist]

I like my Panasonic 20mm f1.7 for a m43 format camera. Small 'pancake' dimensions, useful focal length (40mm equiv), decent sharpness and good low-light performance.

[Ari]

Bought my first "four figure" lens a few weeks ago, a Nikon 24-70 F2.8

Wow!

Lot of money, but a real feeling of having got what I paid for, it's a remarkable bit of kit.

[S47]

Canon 85mm F1,8usm a snip at £250, shows any zoom how lightweight/sharpness/bokeh/VFM - Ought to be done - it's not even an 'L':

[rob1234]

To go a bit "off-brand"... Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited.

Absolutely fantastic on both digital and film.


New toy : Pentax FA 77 1.8 Limited by ⓨⓥⓔⓢ, on Flickr

[DibblyDobbler]

24-105 f4L for me - got one recently to go with my 6D and wow it is so sharp! Great range as well - wide enough for 90% of landscape shots and long enough for portraits and short range wildlife. It's a very common and widely available lens but I think it's great

[RobbieKB]

I love primes, so it's either my 85mm or my 100mm macro. Probably the former.

[gingerpaul]

The Canon 135mm f/2. It's just a shame it doesn't get out of the bag more often.

[Thunderace]

The lens I use the most - 24-70 F2.8L

The one I most enjoy using - 70-200 F2.8L IS

[JulianHJ]

On my last holiday I found myself using my TS-E 24mm f3.5L mk2 pretty much as a default. It's IQ is just sublime.

[markmullen]

A week ago I would have said my 135mm F2, even though I don't get a lot of chance to use it. Since buying my 24mm TS-E however that has changed, I love this lens, very sharp, very flexible.

[2slo]

Probably my 70-200mm f/2.8 as it's just so versatile and easy to use. I also like my 35mm prime but that's the opposite, it will give good results but it needs a well considered approach to give it's best, especially wide open. In some ways that's a good thing.

[kman]

It varies for me as I have about a dozen lens all of which I love for different purposes. Perhaps the one I like most is the Nikon 85mm 1.4G.

[MudwiG]

My Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS MKII is my favourite, has to be one of the best Canon lenses ever made?

[RDMcG]

Thunderace said:

The lens I use the most - 24-70 F2.8L

The one I most enjoy using - 70-200 F2.8L IS

I use the identical pair and very little else. I have an 85 f1.2 that I occasionally use but its pretty heavy.

[MartinP]

I'm torn between my 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L Mk ii and the 35mm f/1.4. Really love them both, but at a push would probably say the 35mm.