What’s Your Favourite Focal Length?
Last night I was looking back over a lot of the images that I’d taken of my kids and realised that while I use a zoom lens (a 24-105mm f/4) for a lot of my every day shooting that many of the images I take were around the 80-85mm focal length.
It’s an odd one because if you’d asked me to guess what length I shoot at I would have probably said 105mm as that’s as far as the lens goes – but perhaps I’m zooming right in and then widening a little before shooting.
It got me wondering what focal length others find themselves shooting at most?
Go back through your last 50 or so shots and see what you’re shooting at and let us know!
PS: now I’m seriously wondering if I can justify the expense of the Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM Lens (pictured right)!
129 Responses to “What’s Your Favourite Focal Length?” - Add Yours
October 19th, 2009 at 7:45 am
The 85L, aka the creamer, is an incredible lens. Very slow focus and awkward to use, everything is forgotten once you see the results. There are only two lenses that I call ‘money maker’, this one and the 135L. Both of these lenses can make an incredible portrait out of anyone.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:50 am
10mm, no doubt! My Nikon 10-24mm ultrawide is on my camera so much of the time, and it’s almost always pegged at 10mm. I love the extreme perspective that it gives me — things go ZOOM. My flickr photo stream is filled with examples, but the most recent one is Road and Sky — using the lines in a road, together with the perspective, to draw you in. So much fun.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Besides using a full range of focal lengths (18-75mm) for a recent wedding, I haven’t really taken my new smc 50mm f/1.4 off the camera for the last month and a half. What a gem of a lens. They really knew how to make em back in 1975. So, I’m gonna say my most used recently is that 50mm.
you can see some of em here
http://picasaweb.google.com/enoeske/PentaxK20D#5382528093683151282
October 19th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Hmm, the last 300 pics I took with 500 and 1000mm while hunting the moon. Before that I took about 80 with a 100mm fixed lens. I think it really depends on what you expect and if you are expected by your models. Shooting a portrait with 85mm takes you quite close to the model. Last summer I shot a lot of kids with 200-300mm which put enough distance between them and my camera so they didn’t realize me taking pictures.
The 85mm is really nice if both sides of the lens know whats happening.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:31 am
55 mm
October 19th, 2009 at 8:39 am
That’s a sweet, sweet lens, no doubt about it.
I’ve been shooting a lot at 70mm for a couple of reasons. One is that my 70-300 lens is noticeably better than the kit lens that came with the camera. The other is that I like the effect it gives. I’ve been doing a lot of product shots lately for the web, and it shows the products well on the page.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Well I keep a 70-300mm lens on one of my cameras and a 100mm on my other. Occasionally I’ll swap out a 18-70 if I need something wide angled or a 500mm if I’m out wildlife (or spying on the neighbors). I went through my last bunch of pictures and I was usually right around 100mm with the zoom unless something was a ways away and I couldn’t get close enough to it.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:14 am
While the 16-40mm L is the next on my list and makes me drool, I’ve had great results with Canon’s 85m f/1.8 which at around $300 doesn’t break the bank but still takes great photos. It’s been huge versatile and I’ve used it for portraits, nature, and general road scenes. Performance-wise it kills my 10-22mm in sharpness and image quality. It’s also a tough beast… I’ve smacked a few brick walls it while being irresponsible and it’s still as good as when I bought it. Here are some of my results with it:
old man in doorway (guatemala): http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/2351240410/in/set-72157603329594706/
vancouver police: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/2692222401/in/set-72157603329594706/
road rage in vancouver: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/2669848847/in/set-72157603329594706/
homeless in vancouver: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/3098664693/in/set-72157603329594706/
baby sea lion in galapagos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/3864911295/in/set-72157603329594706/
and again (so cute!): http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/3849363578/in/set-72157603329594706/
marine iguanas posing in galapagos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/3950563477/in/set-72157603329594706/
galapagos ghost crab peeking out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/3953104220/in/set-72157603329594706/
beautiful girl walks into the waves: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/3962486028/meta/in/set-72157603329594706
October 19th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Hands down my favorite is the 85mm 1.8. I’d love to get the 1.4 but I can’t justify the cost for it now.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:22 am
I generally shoot w/ a 55mm prime on an aps-c sensor so that is an equivalent FoV to 85mm on 35 MM. on the question of a fast prime in your most used focal length the answer is: ASAP!
October 19th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Lately I’ve kept the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens mounted almost permanently on my EOS 5D Mark II camera. Even though in the beginning it took me a while to get used to a single focal length, now I love all the hidden treasures I can capture with this great lens. I salivated as I read more about the Canon EF 85mm lens you mentioned in your article, however its price is way out of my league.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:56 am
50mm F1.8 that;s 80mm since I have a Canon 400D
October 19th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Interesting question. I’ve never stopped to see what my favorite focal length is.
My main lens is my Canon 24-70 2.8 lens. Lately, I’ve taken a lot of “events” that need a wide angle shot. Out of my last 100 photos, I took 31 at 24mm and 22 at 70 mm. The rest were scattered between 24mm and 70mm.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Most of my photo’s are done with my 18 – 55 kit lens.
I only have the kit lens and a 50mm – which has no auto focusing making it suitable only for scenes that remain still and allow me time to focus properly, but inconveniences aside it is still a good lens.
I would love something really wide like a 10 mm but the price of even the cheapest of these lenses is way more than I can afford.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:23 am
My 50mm f/1.4 rarely leaves my camera when I’m casually shooting.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:27 am
I’m right in the 75-85mm range. Just got a bunch of new L-series lenses. . . maybe one should have been the 85mm. Oh well went for a variety with zoom, telephoto, wide, and the brand new Canon macro.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I am in the same boat as silverzz…………for the lenses. I love using the 50mm aside from the great pics i feel that working for each shot….running around……makes me try out different angles and perspectives. I really enjoyed that road sky picture….great job. I must add that I am new to dslr…since July 2009….mostly take pictures of my kids. Still trying too learn and for some odd reason I only use manual setting on the camera. If I take 100 photos I get about 10-15 really good ones. Of course when I say good I mean good for me. I really enjoy this site. You teach the tech side of the photo and the artistic side. A great shot isn’t put down because of poor white balance….if you catch my drift.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Well few weeks before a recent trip to Vermont I picked up the 70-200 F4L IS and have been using it since, despite being a bit long for general walkaround use on my cropped XSi. For the few wide-angle mountaintop shots I broke out my 10-20 but that was about it. I’d say most of my shots lately have been @ 10, 70, or 200mm. Also entirely possible the 50/1.8 might have been broken out once.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:00 am
I like to do landscapes, so I rely on my old 18-55 and sometimes my basic 50.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Interesting observation, I only have two lenses for now as I am slowly building up my arsenal :-). Both Nikon primes, the 50mm f1.4 and the 85mm f1.4 and looking through my photos I can say that I have used the 50mm 60% of the time for weekend family shots while the 85mm has seen only 40% of the time for mostly portrait work. While the quality of the 85mm is impressive, the 50mm gives me a bit more range. Both are superb lenses, the next one on my list will be the 17-35mm.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:39 am
It always depends. With my main lens (Tamron 17-50mm), I would say 75% of the time I shoot wide, 17mm. And most of the rest (25%) at 50mm.
When I use my 70-200, then it’s mostly the opposite. 75% at 200mm and 25% at 70mm.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:52 am
I seem to vary according to the subject I shoot. I’m a Nikon owner, although I have to hand it to the Canon folk, that you have some nice primes. Zooms not so much. For people, I tend to stay between 35 and 50mm range (50 to 75mm full format eq.) For nature I shoot either extreme wide, 10 to 12mm or pick a particular part of a scene and go to normal or moderate telephoto again. I love my 80-200mm f/2.8 lens and I compliment it with either a normal zoom or a 35mm (clasic 50mm) prime if I want to go light. It fits in a pocket. Its so easy to stitch in PS, I don’t take a wide unless I want some of that cool distortion. Otherwise, I hate loosing part of the scene, fixing backward falling trees or buildings. If you’ve used wide angles often, you know what I mean. Although I can’t really say I predominately shoot a particular range, I can definitely say what I don’t like to shoot. I really don’t like using anything between 16 to 28mm (24-42 in full format). My dream lens would probably start about 24 to about 85 possibly 105 (36-128/150 in full format). With a fast aperture of course. These tend to be expensive and huge, full format lenses however.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Interesting exercise.
I’m using two lenses on my Nikon D300s. The Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 and the Tamron 17-50 VC f/2.8. Depending on the shoot, I seem to use about 80% at 11-12mm and about 60-70% at 40-45mm. I’m saving for a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VRII but may jump to Tamron if they upgrade their 70-200 to VC before I have the funds for the Nikon.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
My 35mm f1.8 stays on my camera most of the time. The rest I am around 130mm on my 55-200 VR. There are times though when I wish I could get in a bit closer or out a bit farther without having to switch lenses, but I shoot inside a lot, so f 3.5-5.5 is inconvenient. Nikon needs an affordable low f short zoom.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Tokina 11-16 @ 11mm and my old 50 1.4 manual focus lens are absolutely my favourite. After I’m getting used to manual focus, I started to leave my 18-200 VR and playing with 50 1.4 ^^
Thinking of getting 70-200 or 85 1.4, but they seem to be out of my budget so far
October 19th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Ever since I got my 35mm (DX), it’s gone from a rarely used focal length to 35% of the shots I’ve taken this year. Otherwise, it’s on one end or the other of my 18-200
October 19th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
But at f/1.2 only a sliver of their face will be in focus!
I’ve thought about writing an app that will scour a whole image directory and build stats from the EXIF data that tells you what apertures get used how often what focal lengths are most used (though I think I’d round to 5mm increments and build a histogram)
October 19th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
If I’m outdoors, which is most of the time, my 17-40L pretty much lives on my 40D and most shots are between 17 and 24mm. I need to start working more with my 24mm L TS. I haven’t used it near enough but know it will see more use when I go up to full frame.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
What an interesting question! I’ve never pondered this.
I took my last 50 images, which were all during an elk hunting photo shoot, and was surprised to averaging around 88mm (around 135mm film conversion). I had a whole lot more 18/36/60mm shots than I thought I would have. Most interesting, great idea!
October 19th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
I find your observation interesting. I just went back over my last couple of months worth of keepers, and looked at the focal lengths. I shoot around two most often, one of which is 80-85 you mention. The other is 24mm. Now these are from the exif data. I use mostly zooms. Thinking back to my old 35mm film days, I did most of my work with a 35mm lens, which comes pretty close to the 24 I shoot now. The 120mm equivalent is something I didn’t have but I did use my 100mm a lot. I guess I found my focal lengths a long time ago.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
It isn’t the length, it’s how you use it. XD
October 19th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I am using a 28-300mm zoom on a cropped-sensor camera, and would have thought that I was using it in the 200-300 range, but as it turns out, about 90% of my last 50 frames were shot between 28 and 50mm (45 to 80mm equivalent). It kinda surprised me.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I would have to say my 50mm 1:1.8D is my favourite, because it can produce beautiful bokeh with minimal effort and when I get the focus right, it can be sharper than any other lens I own.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
50mm prime lens. Next is only 300mm prime for birds.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
I love with my sigma10-20mm and I take 10mm is my favourite local length!super cool ;p
October 19th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
After upgrading to FF and also upgrading my 50 mm from f1.8 to f1.4 it’s been on the camera almost from the beginning. It’s really a different lens when used on FF.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Jeffrey Friedl’s Data Plot plugin for Lightroom is awesome for this: http://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies/data-plot
According to the plot, most of my images (26%) are taken with 74-85 35mm equivalent
October 19th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
50mm f/1.4
October 19th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
my 50mm f1.4 is my favourite lens, can’t actually remember the last time I took it off to be honest.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
25mm by far, then 18mm and 35mm (All on Olympus E-510, with 2x crop against 35mm film). Occasional 14mm wide-angles or 58/70mm portrait settings also happen.
October 19th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
I noticed that with my “standard zooms” (aka 18-55mm or so), I was always or at 18, or at 55mm.
So when I did buy a D700, I only choosed 2 primes (20mm and 105mm), and I am very happy, they cover 99% of my needs.
Now I shoot mainly portrait and I use almost always a focal around 85-105mm (depending on the cameras and lenses I have).
October 19th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
on a full frame body – 17mm(17-40), 85mm(prime), 100mm(macro), 135mm(prime)
October 19th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Sigma 50mm 1.4. Admittedly my only other lenses are kit and the zoom is just awful (400D). But, getting some great photo’s with this lens. Interested in comments from Cricce about FF though!
October 19th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
mostly at or around 18mm
October 19th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
The favourite has been the 28 mm / 1.9 prime lately.
Also, I do like the Helios-44-3 58mm, f/2 for it’s look + swirly bokeh. And the 50/1.4 prime for the speed; smooth DOF and bokeh.
I do not like zoom lenses.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
A friend of mine developed a small online tool (http://stats.ghusse.com/) used to analyze ones Flickr Exif data. Among other things you can get a report with all the Focal Length that you use. The name to use is the name displayed by Flickr to say “Hello” in different languages ;)
October 19th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I use mostly 42mm, but it is a 4/3 lens so it results basically in 84mm…
October 19th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
it has to be 50mm 1.4 (on full-frame)……. I’ve extensively used every focal length from 15mm (on full-frame) to 500mm (on cropped frame)…… but I simply didn’t get that pleasure with any other focal length….. it comes “naturally”……
October 19th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
50mm, definitely. This weekend I’ve made pictures of a wedding party with my prime 50mm f1.8, 99% of the time. Check the results. I’m really impressed: http://www.paulosacramento.com/hochzeit-von-emmy-und-sammy/
October 19th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
The majority of the time my 18-200 lenses is on my camera which gives me a lot of range. As I expected, looking through my last 50 photos most are in the 20-40mm range. I like to go wide.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
35mm f/1.8 dslr and analog. creature of habit i guess.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I started photography a year ago with the 18-55mm kit lens. After a month I purchased the 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens, and since then I realised that my fav focal lenght is the maximum 105 mm, and somewhere between 80-105. Sometimes I use 18mm too. Now I’m thinking to get an 50mm lens.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
The 24mm and 85mm is popular for me.
I’d use a 50mm more often if I bothered.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
My favourite lens is my Canon 70-200 IS 2.8L. It’s a fast lens and the pictures are sharp. I use it in a host of different situations and it never lets me down.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
My primary subjects are birds, especially shore birds. For that reason the Canon 100-400mm stays on my camera most of the time. One of my other favorite subjects are butterflies. If they are distant, then the 100-400mm is used, but closeup, I like my 60mm Macro lens. I’ve just recently picked up Canon 50mm 1.4 lens and this coming weekend is the first chance I’ll have to use it much. BTW, I shoot with a Canon 40D, so the 50 is really an 80.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Nobody has mentioned it, so I will:
Canon 35mm f/2 on a crop sensor 400D/XTI
It comes close to 50 mm normal lens, is very small, light and gives good quality.
But after all – not the lens makes the picture, you do!
October 19th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
HMMM When shooting people I would say 90% of my shots are with the ef 85 1.8. When I am just out for a walk i am most likely to grab my ef 200 2.8.
As for the 85 1.2 you mention – I think you will love it (as long as you dont need fast focusing in which case I think my 1.8 is better).
I use a crop body, so I would likely be buying the 135 2 if I had a full frame camera.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
I love my canon 50mm f1.8 lens. It was cheap but has great sharpness. It’s on my camera most of the time.
I shoot with Canon in APS-C format so that would be an 80mm on a full frame camera.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
50mm on a D300
October 19th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
I use the 17-55mm the most, and I will soon have all the details thanks to Jeffrey Friedl’s “Data Plot” Lightroom plug-in.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
24-35 for everything except sports where it is 300mm. Both are when used with an FX sensor equipped camera.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:20 am
I’m not sure that 50mm is my favorite focal length, but I ALWAYS end up using my 50mm f/1.8…it’s most likely because it is the best lens I have. As most of you know, it’s super sharp and the colors/saturation are always spot on. I think I’d actually prefer a wider zoom (e.g. 10-22) but I’ve learned more so much using this 50mm f/1.8, it’s hard to use anything else.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:24 am
I have the Canon 40D and normally for portraits and weddings I would use the 28-135mm. But lately I have been using the 50mm 1.4. I have the 50 1.8 but in my eyes its not as sharp as the 1.4 version. Got to use the 85mm 1.8 at a wedding a few weeks back and simply loved the images that I took with it. My dream lens that I absolutely want so badly is the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS and hope to get it around income tax time. Another lens I would love to have is the 100mm f2.8 because I am a huge macro fan and could use this lens for two things portraits and macro which would be perfect.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:26 am
I have my 100-400L on my camera most of the time. It is laying on the desk beside me now waiting for some interesting bird to come to my feeder. Even in scenics, I like to zoom way in on some interesting portion such as the detail of the bottom of a waterfall or a tree that is growing on a cliff. Most of this is out close to the 400mm. For the few times that I need to do a wedding or somekind of portrait shoot, I go with the 24-105L. Looking back at the last one, it looks like it was the equivalent of 135mm for the head and shoulder shots and 50mm for full body environmental shots.
I have a 1.2 FD that I bought with my Canon A1 and I really didn’t find that the extra speed was worth the extra money. For my purposes, I wouldn’t pay a lot extra to get a 1.2 instead of a 1.4 of the same quality. It is only 1/3 stop difference.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:35 am
Either Canon16-35mm F2.8L or 50mm F1.2L on my EOS 5D.
I shoot mostly street and like to get quite close.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:08 am
I always have my 18-55 on my pentax k7, and love it! I will definitly be getting a 10-20 as my next lens and I will use that even more for sure!
October 20th, 2009 at 1:21 am
Very, very interesting question. I actually tend to work at the extremes of my lenses. This is because right now I mostly either photograph in my house or birds outside. So I either want to be as wide as possible or as telephoto as possible.
I don’t think I have a favorite specific length. I do tend, however, to prefer frame-filling subjects so I tend towards the telephoto end (even if that means using a 50mm indoors which isn’t telephoto, but more telephoto than most would choose, I think).
October 20th, 2009 at 1:45 am
Why don’t open a Reader Poll? I think will be interesting for new members.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:02 am
I guess as you are talking about the 85L then you are talking about FF pro cameras. I think this piece of information is so important to continue talking about favorite focal lengths.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:05 am
Most used lens hands down is DA* 16-50 2.8. All ranges in between, but I find myself at 16 a lot.
For me, the wider, the better.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:32 am
200mm f/2 is buckets of fun, though slightly expensive.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:36 am
canon 135 (f2.0) it’s so sharp…take a look at these example, please check them out full size! :) I think they are amazingly sharp!!!!! 5 minutes thinking about the money it costed but than..only pleasure….
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alfeel/3923242415/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alfeel/3878514187/
October 20th, 2009 at 3:07 am
12mm on a Tokina 12-24 f/4. There’s nothing like getting in there and going super-wide—the pictures have a surreal, “I-feel-like-I’m-in-the-picture” vibe that teles just don’t have.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:46 am
the 85L is a legend …. it’s tack sharp at f1.2 and the bokeh is the best i have ever seen (including leica lenses)
this lens makes sujet pops…. the subject looks 3D: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelmixture/2785622928/
the 35L is my second favorite lens: 35mm is the best all around focal length you can get…. i’ve always found 50mm cumbersome….to long for street photography….too short for portraits…
the 135L is like the 85L but much easier to use….
October 20th, 2009 at 4:49 am
For reportage, you can’t beat the 28mm.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:52 am
once again the 85L is a high quality level lens …. in par with leica lenses….and costing half the price of a leica lens….so yes you can justify the cost…. if your a portrait photographer
October 20th, 2009 at 6:28 am
65 mm similary to you I think its because i am zooming in fully and then zooming out to fit the subject in the frame on my 18-75 kit lens.
October 20th, 2009 at 7:19 am
I love shooting with my nikkor primes… I’m a huge fan of the 85mm f/1.4, and I was shooting with my 55mm f/1.4 about 90% of the time, until I bought the 35mm f/2… the 35mm f/2 is my new fav focal length.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:59 am
When I started shooting film in 1971, I scrimped and saved to buy a second lens for my Minolta SRT 101.
I was convinced I needed a 200 tele, maybe because I thought I would be shooting sports or wildlife.
I went to my favorite full service camera store of all time, the oft lamentedly gone Altman’s in Chicago’s loop.
The sales guy listened to my newbie prattle, asked a couple of questions. Then he brought out the 85mm1.8 Rokkor glass. I said, “But…but…but…” He was right. That lens lived on my camera.
When I finally made the move to digital, I loved the much improved zooms…and I own several.
But I kept searching for a prime that would rekindle the spark that allowed me to take so many
low light candids. The 85mm 1.4 Nikor quickly became one of my go to lenses, especially anytime I’m shooting portraits and candid shots. Oh, yeah, my SRT 101 eventually died after decades of hard use. But I found a lovingly restored SRT 102 and now my Rokkor 85mm is back in business.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I love wide angle like some of you above. I had a Tokina 11-16mm for my Nikon D90, but something was funky with the focus, so I had to part with it. I am planning on getting a Nikon 10-24mm when money proves to be more plentiful. My current favorite focus lengthS are 18mm (landscape) and 50mm (portrait).
October 20th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
My most frequent focal length is 85mm!
I love love my 85 fixed lense
Raya in Westchester County
October 20th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I am guessing mine is 85mm too. I have been eyeing up that 85mm f/1.2 lens for a while now, but it remains FAR beyond budget!!
October 20th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Looks like I cluster at 70mm and 300mm.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
I am having so much fun with my 50mm 1:18D lens and find the images to be sharp with bokeh just the way I like them. I think I will be using this lens for a while.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Depends on:
-subject
- sensor/film (ff/aps-c/mediumformat)
for portraits i like the equivalent of 100mm for 35mm film
October 21st, 2009 at 12:32 am
My Nikon AF-D F1:1.4 85mm lens on either a Nikon D3 or D3x (both FX sensors), depending on subject and light levels, is absolutely my favourite combination right now.
Ignoring event shoots where a combination of a 70-200mm on the D3x and a 400mm+ lens on the D3 seem to be best combination; I can say without reservation that since I collected the 85mm lens last month about 75% of the shots I have taken (>3,000), and an even larger share of those pictures I have printed (>200), have been with the 85mm lens on an FX back.
With this combination, I seem to be able to be at the right distance from human subjects to get a good degree of intimacy – but not TOO close.
The lens, whilst physically quite large, is not imposing or unwieldy – my 70-200 and even 105mm lens alternatives are great but – there are disadvantages – size/weight – impact on the subject.
Also, when combined with an SB-900 flash and diffuser – I can great really good fill or full lighting.
For landscape/urban shoots, I naturally thought that a very short focal length lens would be preferable, the new AF-S 14-24mm being my personal favourite, but looking at my numbers it seems that I only use this about 5% of the time in these settings – most of the time the 85mm is the current favourite. That said on a recent shoot we got great shots at night along the millennium bridge in London with a 200mm wide open on a long exposure – where the VR helped and the compression a telephoto gives to the shot helped considerably.
I guess that my current favourite really is linked to what I am shooting and the right tools for the job – if the mix of the shoots I am taking changes – then my “favourite” lens choice may change – but like I said – I really like the 85mm on an FX sensor. So maybe it wont change too soon.
Obvious point to those of you who have a DX sized sensor in your camera – a 50mm lens on this would pretty much give you the same results (magnification) as an 85mm on an FX body.
October 21st, 2009 at 1:17 am
50mm; on a Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM
Great for headshots; if you have a 1.6 crop factor.
October 21st, 2009 at 4:03 am
As my lens maximum is at 55m and I can’t zoom more, I usually shot at 55mm, I don’t want to be too close for the subject specially humain, also to have a good DOF.
October 21st, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Definitely 135-200mm (there’s actually not much of a difference between them). I love my 70-200 and tele in general, and the tele end of the 70-200 seems to be what I use the most/like the most.
October 21st, 2009 at 4:01 pm
17mm most definitely! I like to get close and wide. Gives me a bigger picture from a smaller subject and I love the outcome.
October 21st, 2009 at 11:17 pm
50 mm, for now.
October 22nd, 2009 at 2:14 am
I take most of my photos @ 18 mm, i like wide angles
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Using a Canon 50 D, 50mm f/1.4 USM, 70-200mm
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Now enjoying 50mm f/1.8 in my 450D
October 22nd, 2009 at 2:05 pm
50mm f/1.8 – Nikon girl – the majority of what I shoot is newborn babies and I hardly ever take this one off. Bokeh is beautiful and it’s tack sharp. A steal of a deal for the “nifty fifty” prime!
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:05 pm
I love my Canon EF 35mm f/2. I find it so versatile – for low light, indoor group shots with the family, some landscape, street shooting. Plus, on my 5D it’s quite light!
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:40 am
This question should really be “what 35mm equivalent focal length is your favorite?” since some people shoot on full frame, some on APS-C and some 4/3rd system. A 50mm focal length lens produces wildly different effective focal lengths on the different processor sizes. By standardizing the question on the 35mm equiv. you get valuable data. Without knowing the camera the focal length is put on, the question means next to nothing.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:10 am
50mm on a DX – or 75mm
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:10 am
I just got the 17-40L and love it! I ve using it a lot at 17mm. So to answer the question 17mm
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:11 am
I love all of my Nikon lenses: 24mm f/2.8; 35-70mm f/2.8; 80-200mm f/2.8; 150mm macro f/2.8 and 500mm f/4.0. I happen to use the 35-70mm more. My favorite is the 500mm, I guess because “bigger is better”!
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:12 am
I find that I use a variety fo lenses. I use a 18-dd about 30% of the time then I use a 55ie00 about 20%of the time and the balance is shot with a50 F1.4. variety
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:18 am
No guessing here, as last year I downloaded a nifty little program that analizes all of the images currently on my hard drives and tells me what the average, and most often used focal length is. Over six thousand images, and the average focal length was 70 MM !
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:24 am
I charted my shots for a month to determine if a 35mm lens was a good fit for me or not. I found by doing the chart my shots are always shot at both extremes of Nikon’s super zoom 18-200mmVR.
With out a doubt the 35mm was a good fit. It’s my primary lens now. I’ m shooting wide, and telephoto primes now, and very happy.
It’s a sound practice to chart your focal length to determine where you like to shoot because when you’re using a zoom you don’t often realize what focal length you actually shoot at.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:13 am
The range on my Canon G10 is 28-140 mm. Favorite focal length?-I love them all!
October 23rd, 2009 at 5:07 am
I use a 50mm 1.8 98% of the time. I have a D300 so the conversion I beleive is equivalent to about 70mm? Since it is getting colder here and I need to shoot more indoors I am looking at investing in a 35mm prime. I find the 50mm to close. I take mostly portraits of my children though and it helps to be as far away as possible : )
October 23rd, 2009 at 5:35 am
I recently picked up a Pentax 50mm 1.4 and OMG I LOVE IT !
The kit lens that I got with my K10d leaves me wanting better consistant sharpness.
Sometimes it is real sharp other times …. but the 50 just rocks! So now I am looking to go for either an aftermarket zoom or more fixed. I really like the sharpness of the fixed so perhaps a 20 mm 2.8
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:45 am
For me it’s my 85mm f/1.8. I don’t know that I would even want to step up to the L. The 1.8 has fantastic performance and is nice and compact.
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:18 am
Simply put, I have many photographic abilities. Therefore I’d have to say that my faviorite focal length totally depends on what I’m doing.
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:53 am
The 2 lenses that I use the most are the 24-70 and my 50 1.4. And my favorite focal lengths are somewhere between 50 and 70!
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:56 am
Darren, everybody else,
I’m going to have to bend the rules a bit.
Saturday I shot about 400 frames of a DJ concert/contest that night.
But nearly everyday before for the past three months, my 50mm 1.4D has ridden on my D90. Simply said, I’m a 50mm shooter.
I love the low aperture value and that not having a focal range forces me to work to get the shots I want. It’s like driving a manual-transmission car; you put more effort into getting results.
~ Prime ~
October 23rd, 2009 at 8:01 am
That is a fun question – thanks for asking. I never would have gone into the metadata to look!
I have a Canon 5D Mk II with the kit 24-105 on the camera most of the time, and it looks like I am in love with 65mm. Close seconds are 85mm, 105mm and 24mm.
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:32 am
Nikon DX 55-200, mostly at 200mm. photo’s of flowers and butterfly/bees that just aren’t real happy when you get in their face. The cows were a fair distance off across a barbed-wire fence and I wanted individual animals, not the group – they just don’t want to pose properly either.
although, I’ll tell you. I don’t pay it much attention, which is the reason I use the 55-200mm. I work primarily on composition and use the mm from where I can take the picture comfortably. I’m not into crawling through mud or (if you live here in Florida) sandspurs to get a good shot. (wimpy I know. when I was a lot younger, we walked barefoot anywhere.)
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:15 pm
My walking-around lenses are my Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS.
After a severe case of lens envy for a friend’s 85mm L I purchased the WAY less expensive 85mm f/1.8. Yes, it’s not as fast and yes, it’s not L glass, but the image quality is almost that of the L version, you can carry it around without needing to visit a charipractor, and you spent $2000 less for it all.
Darren, if you are agonizing over the 85mm L you should also consider the f/1.8.
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
If you need a reason NOT to buy the 1.2L and to get the 1.8 instead, read this.
October 24th, 2009 at 1:35 am
My favorite focal length for nature photography is the 1500 mm that I get from my Nikon telescope when I use it with a Nikon D300 camera body as a digiscope. See sample image.
October 24th, 2009 at 1:45 am
I mainly use my Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Compact Macro lens for pretty much everything since I got it in Sept. I recently shot a Senior Portrait session with it and what phenomenal pictures it took. (Sorry nothing on-line from that shoot yet). Of course the effective focal length on my camera is more like 96mm…but still a great lens to carry around. Oh yeah, I’m also very impressed with the Macro capabilities of it also!
October 24th, 2009 at 4:08 am
Like silverzz & rob a, I often shoot at 50mm. A lot of that has to do with being currently limited to an 18-55mm kit lens and 50mm does seem to be the “sweet spot” somehow.
I am new to DSLR and photography and have learned a lot from DPS and by the examples of other participants on Flickr.
October 24th, 2009 at 8:02 am
I went and looked at some photos I took with my other lens and I was shooting pretty much split between 45mm or 18mm, those pictures are the exception, really, as I’ve been shooting mostly at 50mm with my Canon 50mm f/1.8 that I LOVE. I hardly take it off of my camera.
Like mentioned by DKR-Prime above, the 50mm really makes you work for the shot. I have learned so much more in regards to photo composition by using that lens. Also, if you’re using that to get shots you may not normally use a 50mm for, you can get some very interesting and creative angles and crops.
October 24th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I like 50mm. which is useful because I have a 50mm prime lens. I find that I can do almost anything with it.
October 24th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Looking at my photos I seem to be in the 30 mm range.
Jim
October 24th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Actually, since your current lense is an f/4, you’d be able to get clearer, sharper images with the f/1.2. Since the 80-85mm is yoiur ’sweet spot’ this is GREAT justification for getting the new lens!!!
October 25th, 2009 at 4:53 am
I have 18-55 mm and 70-300 mm lenses and i prefer to use the 2nd one. I like to focus just on one item and everything arround is blurred.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Canon 50mm f/1.4 my favorite <3
With my canon EOS 450D :)
October 26th, 2009 at 9:25 am
50mm f1.4 all the way. Lightweight and really usable in many cases. I also have the mythical 135mm f2L, but in a crop body maybe it’s too long for portraits. I do most portraiture photo :D
October 26th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Recently I have been using the 35mm f1.8 I love the sharp images and great low light photos. I was previously using the 50mm f1.8 but it does not autofocus on my D40 but still is a great lens that I use if I know autofocus will not be necessary.
Before I purchased to the prime lenses I used the 18-55 kit lens. I looked through a lot of my older photos and found that most of them were in a focal lenght of 30-55 so I guess the two primes were a good choice.
October 27th, 2009 at 1:37 am
50mm Macro…
October 29th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Recently I’ve been shooting a P&S but by far my favorite lens for my DSLRs is my 200 f/2.8L.
November 1st, 2009 at 12:12 pm
50mm hands down
November 13th, 2009 at 3:48 am
35mm on my D300 or 50mm on my F100 film camera.
Love the normal lens
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