Anyone else shoot only primes on DSLR due to Rangefinder photography?

[jordan.dickinson]

Just a thought....

As I have become more and more influenced by rangefinder photography, and the amazingly sharp and fast lenses that Leica, Voigtlander, and Zeiss make for these cameras, my DSLR kit has quickly slimmed itself down to primes only. Currently shooting a Nikon D700 with 35mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4, and 85mm f1.4 with a 135 f2 DC waiting in the wings when money comes around.

I don't know if there is a correlation between the two, but I find that I do my best work now when limited to fixed lenses. I also find that the prime lenses I choose are often smaller than other options I might otherwise have picked, and again, that rangefinder bug seems to have crept into my DSLR bag.

Just thought I'd see if anyone else is having this dilemma/blessing?

 

[tbarker13]

For me, it's just the opposite.
I use a D700, but have only 3 lenses for it.
24-70/2.8, 70-200/2.8 VR and a 50/1.4.
Those two fantastic zooms cover just about everything I could want to do with a DSLR.

I save the primes for my RF kit.

 

[jordan.dickinson]

I have been in quite the conundrum with the lenses you are shooting Tim, and have found that despite my longing for the 24-70mm, and the 70-200mm, they are just too big and unwieldy. Keep in mind that I REALLY REALLY want those lenses, and could probably swing them financially if I felt like parting with some other gear. However, the weight and size of them is an ongoing deterrent for me. I guess I will just have to shoot as I shoot and perhaps my leniency for large lenses will come forth. Glad to hear you are enjoying your kit. It seems the perfect coverage...but still...I debate...

 

[hteasley]

I went the other way. I had a D90, bought my first prime, the excellent 2,8/105 macro, then more primes, and ended up discovering rangefinders suited me more than SLRs.

 

[andredossantos]

As a teen I started and learned the basics with my fathers old Canon gear and those great old FD and FL prime lenses. When I first "went digital" I used zooms and it just never felt natural.

In a sense, diiscovering RF's was sort've a lightbulb moment for me as it brought me back and reminded me of how much I loved prime lenses and how using them gets my creative juices flowing in a way zooms never did.

I contine to only use primes on my SLR and DSLR.

 

[sper]

If I had a digital rangefinder I might get zooms for my DSLR, but the way it is now I have just a Voigtlander 40mm f2 for my 5DII. Would never have made that call if not for my time spent with a Hasselblad, and my Bessa.

The idea of what I consider a fast lens does not start at 2.8.

 

[zumbido]

My first "real" camera (i.e., not fixed focus and/or 110 film) was a Pentax K1000. Picked it up from eBay in the early days of the "film crash", summer 1999, with a bunch of mostly junk lenses and a Zykkor flash. Used the Vivitar 28-80 all the time and loved it. Eventually discovered that--especially wide--it looked like junk compared to cheap primes, and never looked back. I use zooms on digital these days, as many of them are not too shabby, but not "classic" ones on film.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

I've got a boatload of prime lenses for my 5DII and 1DMkIV. They are sharp and much lighter than the 24-70 and 70-200 2.8's. But...I still reach for the 24-70 90 percent of the time. It's extremely sharp and so much more versatile than the primes. The weight is certainly an issue, especially on the 1DMkIV. And I've used primes most of my 50 years in photography. But that zoom is just so dang handy.

 

[wlewisiii]

I learned with a 50 back when zooms were either crap or cost more than I care to remember. I gained a preference for primes that remains - RF, SLR, if I ever get a digital.

 

[andredossantos]

If I had a digital rangefinder I might get zooms for my DSLR, but the way it is now I have just a Voigtlander 40mm f2 for my 5DII.

I love that little lens and its usually stuck onto the front of my 5DII as well. 40mm may be the perfect all around focal length.

 

[Keith]

I must admit using rangfinders has got me so used to the fixed focal length style of shooting that I only have primes for my recently purchased D700.

I will get a zoom for it eventually though! 😀

 

[Harry Lime]

I only shoot primes on my SLR bodies. I don't even own a zoom...

I have a Nikkor 2/35, but do not use it a lot, because the quality is not that great.
Some day it will be replaced with a Zeiss ZF.

I have a pile of 50's. Many Nikkors and a Zeiss ZF 1.4/50, which is very good.

I primarily shoot the 50mm on the Nikkors and the 35's on the M-bodies.

I also have a Nikkor H.C 1.8/85, which I have been playing around with recently. Interesting focal length... It doesn't really feel like a long lens. For one thing it doesn't flatten the image as much.

 

[gdmcclintock]

Although the 24-105L lens produces excellent results with the Canon 5DII, I love how the Zeiss lenses render the world with that camera. When I use the Canon, I usually choose the 35mm Distagon or the 50mm Planar.

 

[tbarker13]

I have been in quite the conundrum with the lenses you are shooting Tim, and have found that despite my longing for the 24-70mm, and the 70-200mm, they are just too big and unwieldy. Keep in mind that I REALLY REALLY want those lenses, and could probably swing them financially if I felt like parting with some other gear. However, the weight and size of them is an ongoing deterrent for me. I guess I will just have to shoot as I shoot and perhaps my leniency for large lenses will come forth. Glad to hear you are enjoying your kit. It seems the perfect coverage...but still...I debate...

Yeah, if it weren't for my rangefinder stuff, I don't know if I'd have those zooms. They aren't small. Then again, the D700 with a battery pack isn't exactly compact.
I just sort of accept that my DSLR kit will be unwieldy. But the results are worth it.

 

[swoop]

I did when I had my Canon kit until it was stolen. I just became comfortable working with primes. And they're faster than zooms.

 

[lewis44]

All Primes on my D2Xs. 24,35,50 & 85mm AF Lenses. I also use 28 50 & 135mm MF Ais Lenses. Just in case, I keep a F3 around.

 

[shootodog]

me! me! 50/1.8 and 28/2

 

[semordnilap]

I think about getting a decent zoom for nikon, but never wind up getting one–there's always a more interesting older nikkor or rf lens. Now, for example, I'm tempted by the cv 58/1.4.

 

[regularchickens]

I stuck to primes before I got into rangefinders. Zooms are against my religion.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I stuck to primes before I got into rangefinders. Zooms are against my religion.

Same here. I shot all primes with the Olympus OM system cameras that I got started with at age 8 and have never used zooms on any of my camera systems.