[davidmanze]

 Hi guys, 

 

     This is a lens site right! We love our glass right!

 

 Most of us (especially us olders) have gone through a series of cameras (film and otherwise) with their associated lenses, finally we find ourselves where we are now, with digital camera bodies which are moderately short lived due to modern day advances, and their associated lenses which recently have upped their game.

 

  Thus we find ourselves with our current glass, which are our favourites?

 

I have never had anything like what I have now in my continuously evolving collection!

 

My favorites in Pentax are;

                          An oldie...  and now little used in the PK mount, the 'Tamron 17-50mm F2.8, this little low price lens has proved to produce unendingly tack sharp images at all focal lengths. 

 

  The Sigma 50-150mm F2.8, another workhorse of  lens reliably very sharp!

 

However, those days have passed back to Nikon again, (I had the Nikon F years ago);

 My latest favourites are,

                                      It may be no surprise; the AFS 500mm ED IF F4D, really the only pro lens I've ever owned, an amazing lens, built like a tank, sharp sharp, with blistering AF. This is what I shoot the most these days!

 Straight off the bat the; Samyang 14mm F2.8, I haven't had it a week! I know this lens is very special, frankly it's almost faultless!

 The Tamron 150-600mm is the lens that has given me the most keepers, it's just so usable, not ubber sharp, but it opened up a new world, where I was struggling to find a new direction, nature!

 

 I won't mention others because the quality of my  collection is mediocre compared with what is available now and will be in the future, needless to say these are my featured lenses.

 

 Please tell us what is your current beloved glass and what you love about it!

[goran h]

Some of my favourites

 

Stone age: Leica Summicron-M 50 f2 and Leica Elmarit-M 90 f2.8

 

Middle age: Pentax K30 and K85 and later Pentax 35 f2 Al and 100 f2.8 macro

 

Some time ago: Pentax pancakes 21 f3.2 + 70 f2.4 and Tamron 70-200 f2.8

 

Just now: Fuji 23 f1.4 (fantastic all-rounder), Oly 12-40 f2.8 + 75 f1.8 (great combo), Pana 20 f1.7 (for street)

 

In the future: maybe Fuji 56 f1.2 

[obican]

My favorite lenses that I actually own:

Canon FDn 50/1.4: Been using since I've started. Not the best lens, not the sharpest, not the smoothest bokeh. But it gets the job done and it is reliable and enjoyable. Used it on film, used it on digital. Simply gets the job done.

 

Minolta AF 200/2.8 APO G HS: It's like that friend who you see only once or twice every year but every second you spend together is golden. I sometimes think of selling it. Then I go out and take a few photos and it goes back to the shelf until the next time I feel like it. This is probably the lens still keeping me in Minolta A-Mount.

 

Carl Zeiss Planar 80/2.8 C T*: The one on almost every old Hasselblad. So good with no particular weakness, it might even cure your GAS.

 

Honorable mention:

Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35/2.4: Recommended by some guy in a small store in Budapest. Asked him if it was sharp, he said "Oh yeah, trust me. It's brutally sharp". Very impressive all arounder. Bokeh is a bit on the ugly side but has that great Zeiss Pop. Why only honorable mention, then? Because I don't really like 35mm lenses.

 

Favorite lenses that I don't own, but use quite often:

 

My girlfriend's silver Helios 44-2 58/2: 13 blades of awesome. It's the one with the swirling bokeh. It has a very beautiful rendering, especially on film. Don't think of it as a special effects lens neither, it gets really sharp when stopped down.

 

My boss's Canon EF 11-24: A must have for interior architecture. I really enjoy working with that lens, gives you images no other lens can provide.

 

My boss's Canon EF 85/1.2: Pretty much every single time I loan this lens, I add a few pretty shots to my portfolio folder.

 

Fujifilm's 16/1.4, 14/2.8, 56/1.2, 10-24/4, 55-200/3.5-4.5, and quite recently, 90/2 and 100-400: I used them quite a few times at Fujifilm Street Photogrpahy Workshops that I've attended. I'll probably switch to Fuji eventually because of all those beauties. All I really want is a X-E3 and a 33/1.0 or a slightly better 35/1.4.

 

Honorable mention:

Fujifilm's 27/2.8: It's a gem. Why isn't it in the list above? Because my compositional skills are not that good that I can consistently turn up with good images with this lens. It is so sharp, every mistake you do will show up. You can't cheat into using shallow DOF neither because there isn't one. Get better or get out.

[toni-a]

Previous favorites: Sigma 20mm f1.8 gave me  a lot of keepers great low light performance

actual favorites: Canon 17-55f2.8 IS, never disappoints always gets the job done

manual focus 8mmf3.5 fisheye, ideal lens that makes the difference in weddings  and parties

Canon 50mm f1.4: frequently failing AF motor, however it's just excellent, gave me plenty of great prints.most of the prints in my house came from this lens

Canon 100mm f2.8 macro, practically weaknesses free, a decent performer in each and every optical aspect

[Klaus]

Voigtlander APO Lanthar 125mm f/2.5

Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R APD

Fujinon XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR

Canon TS-E 17mm f/4 L

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 USM L II

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L IS

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 USM L IS II

Olympus Zuiko 12-60mm f/2.8-4 SWD

Leica 14-150mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH OIS

Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm f/1.8

Pentax DA 70mm f/2.4

Nikkor AF-S 14-28mm f/2.8 ED

Zeiss ZA 135mm f/1.8

[JJ_SO]

What was the question?

 

 

Please tell us what is your current beloved glass and what you love about it!

 

Good, I don't make a list what I liked in the past or what I could like again.

 

Currently I use a lot a Zeiss Touit 12/2.8 on a Fuji, it's more versatile than I thought. Very good sharpness, sometimes I have it with me in an exhibition because it gives decent reproductions after straightening the lines, I can go pretty close. I like it's natural look, even when every close to a subject it takes a long time until I see the typical ultra wide perspective distortions.

 

It's not as supersharp as the Sigma dp 0 with it's 14/4 lens, but that one sucks in heavy front light which a Zeiss just don't. And it's very easily underestimated by others, sometimes I had the impression when I asked for permission to take pictures in an exhibition, the person just was quickly looking at and thinking "what kind of reproductions could this thing do? no problem...".

 

Together with a 35/2 or the 56/1.2 is very often the only lens I take with me on a walk or on a cycle trip.

 



 



 

[thxbb12]

• Fuji 35mm f/1.4: rendering, sharpness wide-open, very compact
  
• Fuji 56mm f/1.2: rendering, bokeh wide-open
  
• Olympus m.zuiko 12-40 f/2.8: sharpest zoom I've ever used, pseudo-macro
  

[Brightcolours]

 

Nikkor AF-S 14-28mm f/2.8 ED

 

You should auction off that lens and make a bundle 

[Studor13]

For a couple of years back in 2005/6 my favourite lens was also my only lens, 18-70mm Nikkor.

 

Today, lenses are like trousers. I just put on what is needed for the day.

 

 

 

 

[davidmanze]

My favorite lenses that I actually own:

Canon FDn 50/1.4: Been using since I've started. Not the best lens, not the sharpest, not the smoothest bokeh. But it gets the job done and it is reliable and enjoyable. Used it on film, used it on digital. Simply gets the job done.

 

Minolta AF 200/2.8 APO G HS: It's like that friend who you see only once or twice every year but every second you spend together is golden. I sometimes think of selling it. Then I go out and take a few photos and it goes back to the shelf until the next time I feel like it. This is probably the lens still keeping me in Minolta A-Mount.

 

Carl Zeiss Planar 80/2.8 C T*: The one on almost every old Hasselblad. So good with no particular weakness, it might even cure your GAS.

 

Honorable mention:

Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35/2.4: Recommended by some guy in a small store in Budapest. Asked him if it was sharp, he said "Oh yeah, trust me. It's brutally sharp". Very impressive all arounder. Bokeh is a bit on the ugly side but has that great Zeiss Pop. Why only honorable mention, then? Because I don't really like 35mm lenses.

 

Favorite lenses that I don't own, but use quite often:

 

My girlfriend's silver Helios 44-2 58/2: 13 blades of awesome. It's the one with the swirling bokeh. It has a very beautiful rendering, especially on film. Don't think of it as a special effects lens neither, it gets really sharp when stopped down.

 

My boss's Canon EF 11-24: A must have for interior architecture. I really enjoy working with that lens, gives you images no other lens can provide.

 

My boss's Canon EF 85/1.2: Pretty much every single time I loan this lens, I add a few pretty shots to my portfolio folder.

 

Fujifilm's 16/1.4, 14/2.8, 56/1.2, 10-24/4, 55-200/3.5-4.5, and quite recently, 90/2 and 100-400: I used them quite a few times at Fujifilm Street Photogrpahy Workshops that I've attended. I'll probably switch to Fuji eventually because of all those beauties. All I really want is a X-E3 and a 33/1.0 or a slightly better 35/1.4.

 

Honorable mention:

Fujifilm's 27/2.8: It's a gem. Why isn't it in the list above? Because my compositional skills are not that good that I can consistently turn up with good images with this lens. It is so sharp, every mistake you do will show up. You can't cheat into using shallow DOF neither because there isn't one. Get better or get out.

+1 for the Helios 44-2 though mines an eight blader!