most of us own a few lenses...

Thanks Rob, that makes sense

I envy you in a way, I still haven't solved the "lens that matches the way I see" problem, at least not in the small format. 28 has perspective/magnification issues, 50 is too narrow, 40 is a good jack of both trades, but master of none... I keep going back and forth between those three.

Maybe I should wear glasses too :D
 
Doug said:
My lenses have formed a union and negotiated a "fair use" doctrine. Egalitarianism has been compromised though by a mid-pack voting cabal in the 35-50 range...
Click to expand...

Mine have a union like this too :) All I need is a wide and a tele, and a normal for fun.

Roland.
 
When using 35mm SLRs and while shooting most events I'll have two bodies (F4 & F5) and will mostly be using the 180mm, 85mm & 35mm..also in my pocket will be a 50mm and a 24mm that will sometimes get used...
My favorite lens would be the Nikon 180mm AF...it comes with the crinkle paint finish and I've worn the crinkle finish smooth from using it so much...I can do a lot with the first three lenses mentioned...it's interesting to see which lenses you do use most of the time...
I had to learn to like the 85mm...when I first got it I thought I would use it a lot but for the longest time it stayed in my pocket...lately I'll start with the 180 & 85 and then go from there...
 
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On my Leica, all I have is ZM 50mm f/1.5 now. But with my Panasonic G1, I use the O/14/42 ED more than the P/20mm... But, I also use the 135mm on my G1 more and more., My Favorite (s).....

The ZM 50 f/1.5 of course on the M5,
The O/14/42 ED and 135mm f/2.8 Q Nikkor on the Pany G1
I do shoot with the P/20mm when I just want a great indoor combo, and a fast street combo.
 
For range finder system the minimum I will bring is 28/2.8 and 50/2. Very often I will bring along also 21/1.8 and 85/2. Depending on situation sometimes the 15/2.8 goes along.

If I only want to bring one lens then it will be 35/2 or 40/2.8.

For SLR system it is 28/2.8, 50/1.4 and 135/2.8. Sometimes the 135/2.8 is replaced by 100/2.8 macro or 135/2. The rest get little use: 16/2.8 fisheye, 18/4, 180/2.8, 300/4 and 500/5.6.
 
28 & 50 on M8, or 40 cron from time to time, mostly for walking around when I don't want to carry a bag.

I'll shoot the cv 15 from time to time as well, but not as often as the others.
 
35 Biogon 2.8 and a 50 1.8 on my Nikon. The 35 gets much more use cause it's on my M6, I'm newer to this length than 50, but I think I like it more :p
 
Well, "what FL do I use most" is the question that bothers me every time I buy a new lens.
Today my lens line looks like this: 28-35-40-50-50-50-75.
Looking at the previous line I should be a 50mm man and I used to be it untill recently..
Twice I tried to move to 35mm for general shooting. My first attempt with preasph summicron failed - I stayed a 50 mm shooter. But a couple of months ago after reading forums and watching flikr I made myself believe the 35 mm f2 Biogon ZM to be the greatest lens on this Planet. So I bought one. Tried it.. and it is already the sixth roll of my being a 35 mm FL guy!
So.. I think I ruther choose the lens then the FL.

The least used is 28 mm FL. Too wide for me.
The most suitable for everything is 40 mm FL - could do all the job with 40mm alone.
The one used oftener than I could imagine when was buying it is 75 mm.
 
21mm elmarit is normally on the M7 with motor
35mm asph is normally on the M9
50mm lux is normally on the M3

I have a couple of other lenses that see daylight on an intermittent basis
 
I tried 35 and 40 for a one-lens kit at different times in the past, but I keep coming back to 28 & 50. I get lazy about lens changes and often shoot sequences with one lens, though I have the other available. Admittedly I simply *like* my 28 and 50 more than any of my other lenses... just solid, smooth, and a joy to use.

If the RF genie gave me three wishes, one of them would be a 21-24-28 Tri-Ultron. Having to work with just the 28 makes me more disciplined about composition, though.
 
I have a favorite 50. I have a lot more lenses than that, but only 50 of them would classify as favorites.
 
I have a decent sized collection of Nikon rangefinder (5 lenses) and F-mount (7 lenses) lenses, but seems to use the 3.5 f/3.5 and 8.5 f/2 for RF and 35 f/2 for F-mount the most
 
1 lens - 35/1.7 Ultron 99% of the time.

I do have a pristine Jupiter 8 that now stays on my Canon P.
 
They get pretty even use. If I had a really good 35mm that would be the one, but as my Summaron needs a clean out (sharp, but flares badly) it's not a great universal lens. The Summicron DR gets used a bit less than I would expect because of its size and weight; if the light is good the Elmar red scale does the job (except close focus) just as well.
 
I mostly use my 35mm and 50mm lenses, but also use 28mm and 21mm often enough that I usually carry them along at least they are in my car. Jim
 
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