Whats in your bag?

[35mm]

After many years of photography I want to settle in on getting more for less. I have had at one time nine(9) lens and want to keep things a little more manageable. Here's whats left, 200-400 Tamron (which I rarely use anymore). Canon 35-135, Canon 18-55 (this is the plastic) lens which everyone seems to knock but I find it pretty versatile. Sigma 18-200 (this is my favorite lens) and I use this more than any of the others. I just purchased a Sigma 30-105, I have a 50mm prime, 2x converter and ext tubes. I recently sold my canon 100-300. I shoot 80% outdoors in all seasons and Macro. So my question is do I have the right stuff?. do I need to over lap etc.

thanks Mike

[ravncat]

As a prime user - nah, you don`t need the overlap.

I find, very often, I am quite good with three focal lengths - I`ve found myself more and more just taking three lenses with me - 24 / 85 / 180 (on full frame) and that`s just about perfect.

I wouldn`t get rid of my bag of primes, because they all have a use and place - my tamron 28-300 though - gets very little use - I should probably get rid of it. (My full bag is in my signature)

[nickbedford]

For my mobile solution I use a LowePro Toploader Pro 70 AW with a 50mm lens bag attached. All my other lighting gear (flashes, reflectors) go in a standard backpack.



My toploader + 50mm lens bag fits:

• Canon EOS 50D with BG-E2N battery grip
• Attached Canon EF-S 17-55mm F2.8 IS USM lens
• Canon 270EX Speedlite with Demb Flip-It attached
• 2 spare camera batteries, 4 spare AA batteries for flash
• Lens cloth
• BlackRapid RS-7 strap (stuffed in a side pocket, just...)

[Indigo November]

In my opinion, you definitely don't need the overlap.

I have 9 lenses (soon to be 10), granted, these are split between 3 different cameras, all of different brands.
I have a bit of overlap (18-105 and 80-200), but I rarely use zoom lenses anyways.
My old, manual 50mm f/1.8 and my 35mm 1.8 get the most use, and I know
that once I get my 85mm 1.8 it's going to be on the camera 80% or more of the time.
That said, my main interest is portraits. I know that for outdoor photography, a zoom is helpful at many times.
I own my two (Nikon mount) zooms for just this reason.

I think that you would do well to sell off some overlapping focal lengths.
And maybe you could buy yourself a nice macro lens with the money.

[sk66]

shooting "outdoors" is not a subject so I can't say you would benefit from other lenses...

I will say stick with what you use and find need for...overlap is a waste (unless it's a high demand/fast paced environment (i.e. weddings))....
I will also say get the "sharpest" lens you can afford for each scenario...and that DOES NOT meat a super zoom has to be excluded..
(I have just done some recent testing and I get arguably *better* images from my new 28-300mm (@300mm) super zoom than I do from my older 500mm prime at the same image size (300mm cropped/upsampled))

[Jim Bryant]

What's in my main bag, which is a Think Tank Airport Security V2.0? Everything in my equipment listing except the EOS MKIIDs, Flashes, and 400mm.

[daft_biker]

Originally Posted by ravncat

As a prime user - nah, you don`t need the overlap.

My primes can overlap....usually around 1:1 if I use enough extension (handy when working distance is fixed)

I don't go for the cover all the bases approach with zooms for my personal photography either....two or three macro lenses and something for shooting landscapes does me fine. Other than sports my 50mm doesn't see much use on a cropped sensor these days.

My bag is called, "A Pocket full of Peter".




Why does everyone laugh when I say that?! It's our band name!!!!

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by maxharvard

My bag is called, "A Pocket full of Peter".




Why does everyone laugh when I say that?! It's our band name!!!!

You funny guy!