How did you pick the focal lengths for your set ups?

[GarageBoy]

I'd like to get a nice 3 lens set down (wide, normalish, tele)

Normal's easy- pick a 50, but what to complement it with?
On the long end- do I go 85 AND 135 or split the difference and run with the 105?

Same on the wide- do I go 24/35 or 28?

Short of carrying everything (which is totally unecessary) how did you pick your "looks"?

 

[back alley]

after years of using all types of gear, lenses, focal lengths etc…
my choice is 24/35/85 in full frame standard…in my case 16/23/56.

it's how i see things best.

 

[Rodchenko]

For my SLR, the 35mm is the usual lens I use, but I do have a 50 fwiw. I'd like an 85mm, but can't run to it at the moment, so use zooms to cover the longer lengths.

 

[Spanik]

Old habits I suppose. My kit is similar to back alley's: 24/35/85 but then in 6x4.5 as 35/55/150.

Often I trow in another lens because I think it might be useful at the place I'll be visiting. Like a shift or macro or longer or fish-eye.

 

[taemo]

it depends on where im going and what im looking to shoot

travel landscape combo is 21/35/90
travel urban combo is 28/50/90 or 135

if there's wildlife/zoo then i might bring the 200

 

[NicoM]

By trying a a lot of lenses, keeping what I liked and selling the rest. My all time favorite lens has been the Canon 17-40, shooting mostly at the 17mm and 40mm ends.

 

[Vics]

On my FM2n I've settled on 2.8/24-1.8/50-2.5/105, but I almost always leave the 105 at home.
EDIT: John Shaw's idea of starting at 24mm and going up in "rough doubles" until you reach your carrying capacity. 24/50/105/200/400. My carrying capacity is one camera/one lens.

 

[kuvvy]

Having had a few different lenses in the past I'm now going back to just two. At least after I put my Samyang 8mm up for sale. My Xpro will have just 18mm(28mm) and 35(53mm).

Paul

 

[Dwig]

...
travel landscape combo is 21/35/90
...

That's a very "classic Leica" kit. Back in the day (read: before the universal zoom) my SLR kit (Nikon) was pretty much the same, 20 f/3.5 / 35 f/1.4 / 105 f/4 Micro.

 

[nobbylon]

On film,
It depends on manufacturer!
For Leicaflex I use 35/50 Summicrons, a 60 macro elmarit and a 90 Elmarit, as I believe these are the best lenses, picked by reading reviews and trying a lot of different lenses.
For Nikon it's 28/50/105 for the same reason as above. 28 AIS, 50AI AND 105AI. I sometimes use my 85/1.4 on film too.
Digital Nikon it's 24-70, 70-200 a 50 and the 85.

 

[Addy101]

Depends on a lot of things.
Cheapest for most manual SLR's: 28mm, 50mm, 135mm
Classic: 24mm, 50mm, 100mm
Classic with a twist WA: 20mm, 35mm, 85mm
Classic with a twist Tele: 35mm, 85mm, 200mm

Just choose the lenses you like. Recently I noticed I prefer 28mm over 35mm, making the classic 2-lens set-up (35, 85) having a big gap between 28 and 85 - how to solve that, adding 50mm for convenience or just forget the gap and at a WA or Tele depending on the situation, maybe? Anyway, your the only one who can decide what fits you!

 

[one90guy]

Started in 1968 and still have not settled on anything but 28mm and 50mm. I switch between 105mm and 135mm and several zooms.

David

 

[Lauffray]

Trying different things, it's difficult to say why but once I got my 35mm I knew it was the lens I was looking for. I sold the rest and have been using pretty much that same lens since

 

[Godfrey]

Considering 35mm full frame format: 24/50/90 is my standard. Right now. Sometimes I like more or less space between focal lengths, wider or longer as a bias. How did I come to that? By trying a lot of different lenses, over time, and seeing what worked for what I like to shoot.

Same goes for 6x6, APS-C or FourThirds format, although the ultimate setup varies based on what's available and how I like a lens FoV on the format specifically.

G

 

[YYV_146]

For me I like the 75mm FOV as a "normal" view instead of 50, and complement it with a 35 or 21mm.

Personally I feel that unless your work is demand-driven, these focal lengths are close enough that working with one or another is mostly a personal choice issue. The interesting -ness of an image depends rather little on whether you use a 75 or 50 or 28/35. But you may particularly like one focal length, and to find that out you'll need to play around a little...

 

[Roger Hicks]

By trying a a lot of lenses, keeping what I liked and selling the rest.

Yep.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Coopersounds]

I prefer 28mm, 50mm and 135mm, but I will often sneak a 35-105mm in my bag for the 'just in case' bits.

 

[Pablito]

There's this modern invention called a zoom lens (used to be called "zoomar")

:-0

 

[michaelwj]

/snip/
EDIT: John Shaw's idea of starting at 24mm and going up in "rough doubles" until you reach your carrying capacity. 24/50/105/200/400. My carrying capacity is one camera/one lens.

This.
Start at the wide or most loved, and double or half until your done. This is easy on an SLR, 24/50/105, or 18/35/85 would be it for Nikon.
On a RF however, I'd fudge the maths for framelines.

Michael

EDIT: on the other hand pick three lenses, one for people, one for places, one for dramatic effect. And nuts to any formula.

 

[ChrisLivsey]

Normal's easy- pick a 50, but what to complement it with?

No it's not !!

50 is rarely "right", either too long or too short, yes you can shoot everything with it but it's usually a compromise. For me a 40mm is "right" I tend to a 35mm FOV by eye but if its a one lens kit the 40mm can do it all.
Starting with a 40mm you can go a bit wider to 24mm for the wide end than a boring 28/35mm that everyone shoots and get a "real" wide effect compared to a 28mm or even go to a 21mm then 85mm/105mm becomes the tele, doubling as a portrait lens instead of a usually weighty and ungainly 135mm which is another usually "wrong" lens, more often just too long, for portraits, and not long enough for a "proper" tele effect. For four lenses add a 200mm a "proper" tele.

So 21/24 40 85/105 add 200mm if your back's OK and bag's big enough.

Not a boring predictable kit and real character choices in the lenses in those groups.