what lens do you reach for

Well,, because I have been collecting for 40 years, I have a wide selection,,

but... I do find myself favoring certain lens..


Wide angle - 28 mm it just seems to be the right width on the FX,, Often I am unhappy with the 20 mm,, and find myself selecting the 28 more often.


Macro -> 105 it just places you the right distance from the object for me,, I have the 55 or 60,, but 8/10 I select the trusty 105 (like the image I just posted today in the favorite 800 photos).


Mid range Zoom -> 35-70 2.8,, just because it is so darn sharp, and small. maybe if I owned the 24-70 I would pick that,, not sure.

long range Zoom -> 80-400,, when you need the reach,, it is just there. and seems to be producing sharp enough images.


I tend to use most of my lens,, over time,, those are just the ones I often grap most often..

I keep reminding myself.. like the 85 mm range,, etc,,, but,, when I just want to grab a few lens and go... it makes you think what you absolutely want to carry that day, and be able to hit 95% of any shot.

so.. what lens are you gravitating too?

From my limited collection.

Currently a close call between the 18-55mm and the 50mm - just depends on what I want to do.
Bokeh rich - always the 50mm, gotta love f/1.8

Not having much use out of my 55-200mm though (and even less use on the longer reach towards 200mm), but still a useful lens to have in my arsenal

Will be adding a few more lenses this year (budget willing) so ask me again in 10 months time ;P

I would say #1 is my 28mm 1.8g and I'm sure my 105 2.8 will become 2nd.

I agree with 28mm on FX. On DX, 16 to 18mm is about ok but you deal more on distortion as you go much wider or go below 35mm. Nikon 28mm f1.8G FOV on FX can be varied by using 1.2x and 1.5x (DX) mode to give you a tighter crop.

Macro - I would agree with you but then again, we both have not tried the 150mm and 200mm FL.

Mid-range - I hate the push and pull type. Definitely, the 24-70mm f2.8 is the better lens when it comes to medium range followed by the 24-120mm f4 VR.

Long range: 70-200mm f2.8 for me and supplement it with a 300mm f4 + 1.4x TC for added reach and sharper images. The 80-400mm is just in need of an update.

For portrait head and shoulders, 85mm is my preferred lens.

In most cases, the Nikon 28mm f1.8G is what I grab most of the time for family portraits or as my walk-around lens. The other lenses gets action if I have a specific subject that I need to shoot.

you are right,, I have never event thought of Sigma 150,, but easier to keep to Nikkor brand,, otherwise,, life gets even more complicated

stmv said:

you are right,, I have never event thought of Sigma 150,, but easier to keep to Nikkor brand,, otherwise,, life gets even more complicated

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There is no wrong or right answer here. This is all about preferences. Some swear that the Sigma 150mm f2.8 is the lens to go for bugs while others prefers the Nikon 200mm f4 micro lens.

I seem to always grab a 28 or a short tele....I know my poor eyes prefer the long lenses because they are just easier to focus.

I'm FX and concur re the 105 macro. I have an AIS version and if I knew I was going to be stranded on a desert island forever with a camera and one lens, that is the one I would choose. Versatile enough for normal photography too!!!

10-20 on the D3200 18-200 on the D7000 ..all lengths covered.
small rooms and wide vistas to big wedding ring close ups ..

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I love so many lenses but when it comes down to greatest versatility I grab my Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8. For portraiture where I need wide apertures I'll use either the Nikon 85mm f/1.8 or Zeiss 100mm f/2.

Robert Mitchell said:

I love so many lenses but when it comes down to greatest versatility I grab my Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8. For portraiture where I need wide apertures I'll use either the Nikon 85mm f/1.8 or Zeiss 100mm f/2.

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Hard to go wrong when you have that stuff in your bag.

I'm in the middle of reevaluating my entire bag as I grow from shooting all DX to having the D600, so I'm still in the honeymoon phase with a lot of things, so I don't know if I really have a "go to". I will say that I'm thoroughly impressed with the 24-85mm kit lens that I got with the D600. I could wish it was brighter, but not much to complain about otherwise, It sits on my camera most of the time since I'm currently in "real work" mode rather than "I'm heading out for the day to go shoot" mode, in which case I couldn't leave without the 28mm f1.8.

On my D7000, if I'm doing landscapes then I actually love my Sigma 8-16mm. Otherwise, my Sigma 150-500mm spent, and still spends, a lot of time on there. Great for birds and critters on the cropped sense, and I do enough of that stuff where I can see holding onto them for a long time.

It may get lost in the shuffle, but I have a question for Glenn regarding his use of DX mode on his D800. Is there a reason you prefer shooting this way, at a loss of resolution (I know it's 10.5MP vs. 24.3MP on my D600), rather than cropping afterward if you can't get quite as close as you'd like?

Best lens purchase I ever made was the Nikkor 17-55 with the Sigma 10-20 not that far behind.

That's a good question. For me, it depends on what I plan on shooting. Close ups, macro, etc., it's the AF f/2.8 105mm. I love that lens. I also love my AF f/1.8 85mm lens. I used the 85mm a lot when I was still using film. Just walking around, I have found the AF-S 18-55 mm VR a very nice, versatile lens. I'm using that lens more lately. I never was much of a zoom lens user until recently. I'm forcing myself outside of my comfort zone.

My preferred lens for the D200 is my 28-105. The D40 has the 18-105 on it mostly, although I occasionally slap on the 18-55 when I'm just taking snap shots.
Actually, I like all my lenses, limited as the list is . Upon winning the lottery, however.........watch out! I will be going nuts on a bunch of new Nikon stuff! lol

I too have been collecting for many years, almost 40 in fact, and have 12 AIS/AI Nikkors, all primes. I have had a couple of zooms, but traded or sold them because I am just not that big a fan of them. It is difficult for me to single out just one because I like doing so many different types of photography which require different lenses. My 85mm f/1.4 AIS gets a lot of use though, as does my 180mm f/2.8 ED AIS.

When I go out, and not knowing what I'll find, I have my Nikon 24-85 on the FX camera. I haven't been disappointed yet. I have other lenses for specific situations, but if only one lens goes, it's the 24-85. With the 50/1.8 as a second.

For DX, the 18-55 works just fine.


Distortion can be corrected. "Soft in the corners". I have never detected enough to be noticed.

SS381 said:

From my limited collection.

Currently a close call between the 18-55mm and the 50mm - just depends on what I want to do.
Bokeh rich - always the 50mm, gotta love f/1.8

Not having much use out of my 55-200mm though (and even less use on the longer reach towards 200mm), but still a useful lens to have in my arsenal

Will be adding a few more lenses this year (budget willing) so ask me again in 10 months time ;P

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Woes of mostly doing indoor/closer proxy stuff in my case (and in really low light, so 18-55 doesn't even cut it that well without flash that I despise using), but boy do I love how 55-200 feels compared to the dinky 18-55.

I think if I had a total freedom of choice, I'd do-
24/28mm for indoor event stuff
35mm for general city crawls (and maybe with 55-200 as a longer reach in case I need it)
Ideally something with 300 or even 400 reach for nature/wildlife
And I can just get up close with 24 or 35 for "macro"

For now, can't really think of anything else that this kind of combo couldn't do well.