Your Realistic 3-5 Lens Collection

Surprised I havent posted to this thread before. I have many bit what stays in my landscape bag is:

Zeiss 15
Zeiss 21
Zeiss 35
Zeiss 50 (makro planar)
Zeiss 135 apo sonnar
Canon 70-200 f4L

I might stop carrying the 135 all the time, rare i cant get a shot i want with the others.

24-70L
85L
135L
200F2L
100-400 mark 2 L

18-55
55-250
50 f/ 1.8

jcothron wrote in post #18222940
Surprised I havent posted to this thread before. I have many bit what stays in my landscape bag is:

Zeiss 15
Zeiss 21
Zeiss 35
Zeiss 50 (makro planar)
Zeiss 135 apo sonnar
Canon 70-200 f4L

I might stop carrying the 135 all the time, rare i cant get a shot i want with the others.

Nice, me like Zeiss

I would be pretty happy with just the 16-35 f4 and 70-200 f/2.8. Something longer might be nice, but not strictly necessary.

After that, just pile on the lighting

Since we are in dream land...


35 1.4L
50 1.2L
85 1.2L
70-200 2.8 L IS
24-70 2.8 L

Realistic?
28 1.8
50 STM
85 1.8
135L
200 2.8L II

Fantasy:
24L II
50L
85L II
135L
200 f/2L II

I've had a change of mind on what I'd consider my minimal lens lineup. The 100-400 II, with its super close MFD, can actually replace the 100L Macro lens option. It's not true macro, but it's close enough to be viable. At one point I stated I'd never get rid of the 100L, but times have changed. Another change is swapping back to the 16-35 f/4 IS from the new f/2.8 III; the switch to the f/2.8III was made because of paid work commitments that require the faster aperture.

16-35 f/4
100-400 II
70-200 f/2.8L II
50L


Are we counting the 1.4x converter as a lens? If so, add that in for the #5 slot, and close the case.

Would this be considered a realistic collection?

I'm pretty happy with my current setup since I'm using a 7D2 and Rebel T6s (both APS-C sensors), with my in-use lenses from wide to long being:

Tokina 11-16 f2.8
Sigma 30mm f1.4 art
Sigma 50-100mm f1.8 art
Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary

To round it out with five, my next lens addition will likely be the Sigma 18-35 f1.8, although I'd likely dump the 30mm art at that point.

-Joe

On my 70D ...

Canon 15-85 EFS
Canon 70-300L
Rokinon 8mm/3.5 Fisheye
Canon 60mm EFS Macro

As I cannot conveniently carry more than three or four lenses, I usually leave out my other two ...

Canon 10-22 EFS
Rokinon 85/1.4

(Oops, that's six, one over the limit.)

I have gotten good results correcting fisheye distortion in post-processing, which is why I usually carry the fisheye instead of the 10-22.
I normally use the manual-focus 85/1.4 only with my 60D, which has a third-party split-image focusing screen.

it's been over a year since I've done this thread, last time was Nov 12, 2015, lets see what's changed


Travel 3 lens kit
CV 12 f5.6 -> 10 f5.6
FE 24-70 f4
OM 200 f5 -> possibly 70-300, still own both

Travel 5 lens kit
CV 12 f5.6 -> 10 f5.6
OM 24 f2.8 -> 24-70 f4
FE 55 f1.8 -> 35 f2.8
Nikon 105 f2.5 -> 85 f1.4
OM 200 f5 -> possibly 70-300, still own both

Events will probably always be 3 lenses, maybe a 4th for backup
OM 24 f2.8 -> 24-70 f4
FE 55 f1.8 -> 50 f1.8
EF 135 f2

lots of changes, however, mostly consolidation/upgrades​. 2 lenses sold off, 3 acquired, GAS is fairly under control

I have my perfect setup for 2 years now.

16-35/4.0L IS
35/1.4 Art
85/1.2L II
70-200/2.8L II IS

I also have 40/2.8 STM but that's not a lens I use a lot.
The only thing which is crossing my mind is changing the 85L for the Sigma art.
and sometimes I would like to add a 24/1.4 art as well.

If everything gets stolen I would buy three lenses immediately back:
Canon 16-35/4.0L IS or the Sigma 20/24 Art
Sigma 35/1.4 Art
Sigma 85/1.4 Art

MrAnderson wrote in post #18256625
Since we are in dream land...


35 1.4L
50 1.2L
85 1.2L
70-200 2.8 L IS
24-70 2.8 L

you can get
35mm f1.4L
70-200 2.8L IS
24-70 f2.8L
fairly cheap now since they have been replaced by newer II versions

I am fairly satisfied with my current setup but hope to add the EF 11-24 f4L in the near future to replace the 16-35 f4 IS

Bonbridge wrote in post #18257548
If everything gets stolen I would buy three lenses immediately back:
Canon 16-35/4.0L IS or the Sigma 20/24 Art
Sigma 35/1.4 Art
Sigma 85/1.4 Art

what kind of neighborhood are you living in?

I've been working on my collection for the last 8 months or so.

Canon 24-105L F4
Canon 16-35L F4 IS
Canon 70-300L
Canon 35 F2 IS
Canon 100 F2

Each one of these has a use case in mind.
24-105 is my walk around lens.
16-35 is for landscapes and occasional astrophotography. I just ordered this after trying out a Samyang 14mm F2.8.
70-300 is for wildlife/rocketry/auto racing.
35 IS is for indoor/low light.
100 is for indoor sports and portraits.

It isn't perfect, but it's the best I can afford at the moment.

If I hit the lottery I'd swap the 24-105 for the 24-70II and the 70-300 for the 100-400II.