How do you decide what lens to take?

Hi,

Many of us have quite a few lenses and I'm curious what influences your choice in which lens to take out.

For instance I quite often take out the Sigma 17-70 & Canon 100-400 if I'm out for a walk with the family.

Also from your current crops which are your favorite?

in all honesty.... if i'm just urban walking or popping up the park with the kids or rushing out to grab my 365 because i've left it too late yet again i usually just take whatever's on the camera at the time & make it work!!

17-55 rarely comes off, unless I know I will want macros

Almost always I start by mounting the 85 1.8, I pick my smallest shoulder bag, put the 28 1.8 and 10-22 in it... I put this all in the car.
When I arrive at the location for the photowalk, I pick up the camera with 85mm and leave everything else in the back of the car... yes, just the camera.

I should probably sell all my other lenses too.

My 24-105 F4L tends be the most used lens I own. But for what other lenses I grab really depends on where I am going and what I am doing, indoors versus outdoor, etc...

Based on past experience and knowing what/how/where I am going to shoot. Pretty straightforward.

The only lens that I don't use as a walk around is the 70-200.

It depends on where I am going. On most vacations, I'll pack the 10-22mm, 17-55mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/4. However, for our trip to Yellowstone this summer, the 70-200mm will get replaced by the 100-400mm.

If we are going to the zoo, I would pack just the 17-55 and 100-400. For a family indoor event, I may just take the 28mm f/1.8 and 85mm f/1.8, along with a flash. Other day trips may just need the 17-55.

I start by pre-visioning the assignment and figuring out what kind of shots my client is most likely going to want. On 99% of my shoots I bring at least the PJ3(16-35 f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8II) and mount the 24-70 on the ff. The 70-200 goes onto the 1dIII.
If I know I will be doing a portrait, I'll bring along the 135. If I know I want something different, I'll bring the fisheye. On some shoots I fit my whole kit into my TT Skin set and go for it.
Weekend walkabouts and family occasions are usually just comprised of the 16-35 or the 24-70 on the ff.

15-85 + 100-400 covers just about everything, and with pretty good IQ.

It is mostly location based

- Mostly outdoors... I will take my zoom Sigma 17-50 and Canon 70-200 f4 IS
- Mostly indoors... I will take my primes 28mm f1.8, 50 mm f1.4, and maybe my 100L if needed.
- Mixture... I will take my bag if I can or just decide on which lenses I like the most that day.

There are few exceptions though. For band shoots or going to the park with my kids, I will take my 10-22. If I can set lights up, then I may switch the primes for zooms indoors.

I HATE having to decide. I'm heading to maritime canada in a few weeks and know I'll have to make some decisions there, and I'm tortured by it. To make matters worse, my friend will be renting a plane to do some aerial shots of Prince Edward Island, and I've never done that, so must I take the whole line up? Decisions, decisions, ugh. To answer your specific question, HOW do I decide? It depends on the situation of course, but on a paid gig, I take my rolling suitcase and bring it all, giving me a range from 14mm to 400mm. If I'm just going out to see what I can see, my 50mm is what I bring. My camera is heavy enough without the burden of a longer focal length, and while I will typically WISH I had brought something additional, I make it work.

Are we limiting to just one lens? Then the 18-135 for walk around, or my 50 if I know I'm going to be indoors with low light or where I can't use the flash as much.

If not, and again it's outside or where flash is OK, I'll toss the 18-135 and the 55-250 in my fastpak 100 and go.

suecassidy wrote in post #12339549
I HATE having to decide. I'm heading to maritime canada in a few weeks and know I'll have to make some decisions there, and I'm tortured by it. To make matters worse, my friend will be renting a plane to do some aerial shots of Prince Edward Island, and I've never done that, so must I take the whole line up? Decisions, decisions, ugh. To answer your specific question, HOW do I decide? It depends on the situation of course, but on a paid gig, I take my rolling suitcase and bring it all, giving me a range from 14mm to 400mm. If I'm just going out to see what I can see, my 50mm is what I bring. My camera is heavy enough without the burden of a longer focal length, and while I will typically WISH I had brought something additional, I make it work.

Im the opposite. I have learned that I HATE switching lenses when Im out and about, so I plan ahead on what I want to shoot, then bring the appropriate gear.

When I was shooting with the 40D alone, I used to have a lot of 3 lens combinations:

Landscape / nature walks
Tokina 11-16 f/2.8
Tokina 35mm macro
Canon 100 macro or Tokina 80-400.

Cityscape / urban
Tokina 11-16 f/2.8
Tamron 17-50 f/2.8
Tokina 50-135 f/2.8

Indoor / party / people
Canon 28 f/1.8
Canon 50 f/1.8
and optionally the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 + one or two flashes

Recently I added the 5D and consolidated some lenses between the 40D and 5D.
Still figuring out what to bring when, and what to add, but the 17-40L took over the 11-16 and 17-50's place. I rather bring a second body than a 4th lens (weight and size-wise the same). It also cuts down a LOT on my lens changing, especially if I just shoot wide landscapes (17-40 on 5D) and macro + semi tele (100mm on 40D).

For a very versatile low light and low weight kit, now I really like to bring the 5D and
17-40L
28 1.8
85 1.8

But it's really hard to narrow down what I plan to shoot. Each lens I own has it's special function, earning place in my kit.
When I shoot portraits, I like bringing the 50-135 and leave the 100mm macro. When I shoot landscapes, I prefer the macro function, so I leave the 50-135 at home (if I even bring the 40D). Choices like that.

Sorry for the long post

If there's an obvious need for wide vs. long vs. big aperture I will of course decide based on those criteria first.

When it's a tossup and I can't decide what to bring, I try to force myself to pick one that I haven't been using very much lately. I like to think it would keep me from getting stuck in a rut and vary my style a bit. I don't know if it helps but it seems like a nice idea.