Gear advice Lens question

[TMG1961]

Do you use prime or zoom lenses or maybe both? And why do you use one or the other?

At the moment is have 2 prime lenses, the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 macro lens and the Samyang 35mm f/1.8 AF.
My 2 current zoom lenses are the kit lenses i still have from my previous a6400, the 16-50 and the 55-210.

 

[Morexp57]

I’m using mainly my zoom Nikkor 18-300mm 3.5 - 6.3. I have also another zoom Nikkor 10-20mm 4.5-5.6 mm.
The only prime lens is the Nikkor 35mm 1.8
why mainly my 18-300 ? Because I don’t like to change the lenses and because I avoid to carry too much weight…
I know I should use my 35mm more often...

 

[Andy Smith]

I have the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.5 1-5x Macro, the Canon RF 100mm Macro and the Laowa 100mm Macro, all of which I use often for various projects, depending on the outcome I am looking for.
If I am travelling or walking/cycling around locally I use my 16-35mm mainly, or the 24-70mm if I am looking for nice landscape shots or street photography, because they provide more diversity.
However I do quite often use the 70-200mm for close up work of small animals, portraits or astrophotography.
I also use the 16-35mm for Milky Way imaging as well, because of the wide angle, so all in all I use all the lenses I have about the same as each other, although since I have bought the Canon 100mm macro I find I am using the Laowa less and less, just because the Canon has auto focus.

 

[Jack]

I have 2 prime lenses as well.

Canon 50mm f1.8
Canon 100mm f2.8 L Is II

Rest of my lenses are zoom. I believe zoom lenses gives you more control when you out there and shooting by zoom in and zoom out when prime Lenses are more for portraits or static objects. Example shooting products.

My personal opinion is totally depending on you, what you want to take photos of.

 

[TMG1961]

I am going to focus more on landscape and architecture and macro. For macro i have the Laowa lens which i am very happy with.
Still not sure what i do, go for a zoom lens like the Sony Fe 16-35 f/4 (f/2.8 too expensive) or go for a 24-70 or 28-75 from one of the other brands. Not sure about the sony 24-70 f/4, seems like it is not all that great from what i have seen online.

As for the 70-200(300) mm range. Not sure which one to take, the Sony f/2.8 lenses are just out of my reach, used ones are even €1800 or more. Not sure what to think of the Tamron 70-300 for Sony Fe, it does not have image stabilisation and at 200+ the ibis of my a7rii might not be up to the task of keeping things steady.

And then there are also the prime lenses that can be used for landscape and architecture. I own the Samyang 35mm f/1.8 AF lens but find it not wide enough. It is a sharp lens but could be a bit wider. So for prime lens i would go for 24 or 20mm.

Luckily the weather is not that great so i have plenty of time to figure out if it will be prime or zoom.

 

[Jack]

I am going to focus more on landscape and architecture and macro. For macro i have the Laowa lens which i am very happy with.
Still not sure what i do, go for a zoom lens like the Sony Fe 16-35 f/4 (f/2.8 too expensive) or go for a 24-70 or 28-75 from one of the other brands. Not sure about the sony 24-70 f/4, seems like it is not all that great from what i have seen online.

As for the 70-200(300) mm range. Not sure which one to take, the Sony f/2.8 lenses are just out of my reach, used ones are even €1800 or more. Not sure what to think of the Tamron 70-300 for Sony Fe, it does not have image stabilisation and at 200+ the ibis of my a7rii might not be up to the task of keeping things steady.

And then there are also the prime lenses that can be used for landscape and architecture. I own the Samyang 35mm f/1.8 AF lens but find it not wide enough. It is a sharp lens but could be a bit wider. So for prime lens i would go for 24 or 20mm.

Luckily the weather is not that great so i have plenty of time to figure out if it will be prime or zoom.

You have good lenses there.

In terms on not having image stabilisation, you can use a tripod for that.

Luckily we have 2 forums who covers landscape and macro photography and you can share and talk on both 😀

 

[TMG1961]

You have good lenses there.

In terms on not having image stabilisation, you can use a tripod for that.

Luckily we have 2 forums who covers landscape and macro photography and you can share and talk on both 😀

I only have 2 full frame lenses. The Laowa and the Samyang. Besides those 2 i also have the 2 aps-c kitlenses that were from the a6400. They work on the sony a7r2 but i feel that i am just throwing away more then half of the megapixels the camera has by using them. The files are 18mb instead of 42.

So that is the reason i am looking for full frame lenses, just to use the entire sensor and its capabilities instead of just 42%.

 

[Jack]

I only have 2 full frame lenses. The Laowa and the Samyang. Besides those 2 i also have the 2 aps-c kitlenses that were from the a6400. They work on the sony a7r2 but i feel that i am just throwing away more then half of the megapixels the camera has by using them. The files are 18mb instead of 42.

So that is the reason i am looking for full frame lenses, just to use the entire sensor and its capabilities instead of just 42%.

I have only one crop camera lens , I would recommend to sell all aps c lenses and focus on full frame.

Do you already have a full frame camera ?

 

[TMG1961]

I have only one crop camera lens , I would recommend to sell all aps c lenses and focus on full frame.

Do you already have a full frame camera ?

I have a Sony a7r2 since september last year.

The 2 aps-c lenses i have are the Sony E 16-50mm F/3.5-5.6 OSS and the Sony 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS
I tried selling them but you get next to nothing for them. The highest quote i got for the 16-50 was 40 euro and for the 55-210 the highest was 75 euro.
So decided to keep them, i can always buy a used aps-c camera as backup and use them on that. And until i have a full frame lens i can also use them on the a7r2 in crop mode, only downside is that it turns the sensor in a 18mp sensor instead of 42mp.

 

[Jack]

I have a Sony a7r2 since september last year.

The 2 aps-c lenses i have are the Sony E 16-50mm F/3.5-5.6 OSS and the Sony 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS
I tried selling them but you get next to nothing for them. The highest quote i got for the 16-50 was 40 euro and for the 55-210 the highest was 75 euro.
So decided to keep them, i can always buy a used aps-c camera as backup and use them on that. And until i have a full frame lens i can also use them on the a7r2 in crop mode, only downside is that it turns the sensor in a 18mp sensor instead of 42mp.

You can try to advertise on our forums your lenses for sale. You never know.

I would say to keep lenses untill you get full frame camera so you can focus more on getting full frame lenses.

Crop cameras aren't expensive nowadays, I got 2, and thinking to upgrade to full frame later this year or next year.

 

[MartinF]

I use both zooms and primes since different needs require different gear.
For landscape photography I really like my EF 16-35/4L IS lens. However, for night photography (Milky Way, aurora etc) it´s too slow so then I use my Samyang 24/1.4 prime.
The same with tele lenses... I love my Sigma 500/4.5 but most of the time the Canon 100-400 zoom is a lot more practical to use.
Also, for video - a tripod does not help when it comes to moving shots, then the IS of the zoom lenses I have is a valuable asset.

 

[Jack]

I use both zooms and primes since different needs require different gear.
For landscape photography I really like my EF 16-35/4L IS lens. However, for night photography (Milky Way, aurora etc) it´s too slow so then I use my Samyang 24/1.4 prime.
The same with tele lenses... I love my Sigma 500/4.5 but most of the time the Canon 100-400 zoom is a lot more practical to use.
Also, for video - a tripod does not help when it comes to moving shots, then the IS of the zoom lenses I have is a valuable asset.

For landscape you want a wider lens to get as much as possible in the frame.

I would say both prime and zoom lenses can be used in landscape, depending on the location and composition.

 

[MartinF]

For landscape you want a wider lens to get as much as possible in the frame.

I would say both prime and zoom lenses can be used in landscape, depending on the location and composition.

Yes and no I find that limiting myself to a less wide lens can sometimes be very valuable for landscape. Especially in areas with mountains or other dramatic features. Some of my best landscape shots were taken with a 70-200 lens.

 

[Morexp57]

Yes and no I find that limiting myself to a less wide lens can sometimes be very valuable for landscape. Especially in areas with mountains or other dramatic features. Some of my best landscape shots were taken with a 70-200 lens.

Yes, I agree with Martin. Look at the pictures I posted in the Mountain landscape forum, they were all taken with my 18 - 300 zoom lens. Some at 50mm others at 80mm and the pictures of the two towers taken from my balcony are done at 300mm.

 

[Jack]

Yes and no I find that limiting myself to a less wide lens can sometimes be very valuable for landscape. Especially in areas with mountains or other dramatic features. Some of my best landscape shots were taken with a 70-200 lens.

Yes, I would agree. Depending on the location and subject. If as you said in mountains you'd use some zoom lenses, which I've done myself to get closer to the mountain. But sometimes I would use wider lens to capture more in the frame.

Zoom lenses can be handy sometimes and give different perspectives

 

[MartinF]

Yes, I would agree. Depending on the location and subject. If as you said in mountains you'd use some zoom lenses, which I've done myself to get closer to the mountain. But sometimes I would use wider lens to capture more in the frame.

Zoom lenses can be handy sometimes and give different perspectives

For sure! I love my zooms, wide as well as tele. Wides are awesome when you want to include some nice foreground.

 

[TMG1961]

As my budget is limited i am looking at used lenses. But at the moment not much available here, most of them are either the sony 24-70 f/4 or the sony 28-70 f/3.5-5.6 oss lens. As for primes, most of them are 35mm lenses and i already have the samyang 35mm f/1.8 AF and i for me it is a great lens.

I probably will go for a zoom lens first, not sure if it will be a wide angle or tele zoom lens. I check the online shops once a day to see if they have added new used lenses.

 

[Jack]

As my budget is limited i am looking at used lenses. But at the moment not much available here, most of them are either the sony 24-70 f/4 or the sony 28-70 f/3.5-5.6 oss lens. As for primes, most of them are 35mm lenses and i already have the samyang 35mm f/1.8 AF and i for me it is a great lens.

I probably will go for a zoom lens first, not sure if it will be a wide angle or tele zoom lens. I check the online shops once a day to see if they have added new used lenses.

Have you checked on eBay?

 

[TMG1961]

Have you checked on eBay?

I have no experience with ebay. No idea if it can be trusted and what if the item is not as expected? Can you return it to the buyer or are you just out of your money with a lens that is not good?

 

[Jack]

I have no experience with ebay. No idea if it can be trusted and what if the item is not as expected? Can you return it to the buyer or are you just out of your money with a lens that is not good?

Yes, had issues couple of times, returned the item and got money back. In worst scenario you can claim money back through PayPal which I also done.

I also sold some items on eBay as well.

So you as a buyer, you're protected from fraud. But still pay attention.