Making do with just one lens

[Stu Meech]

If it's not a photographic holiday, but you still want some nice photos to remember your trip by then you could do far worse to just take a 18-200/28-300 etc and be done with it!

 

[Nod]

Or even a decent compact...

 

[Cambtrader]

I find that with 70-200 a lot - Got one as an upgrade to my 70-300, realised I didn't use it much so sold it, got another one a bit later and sold that as didn't use, then a 70-200 f4 as felt I needed a 70-200 again. While it was useful on occasions, it was something I often took out for the sake of it. Annoyingly its these type of lenses that cost the most that get the least use!

Well that's quite a journey, but I've been guilty of this too. Canon 70-200 2.8 quite a while ago (I kept amazing myself with the image quality), but I hardly took it with me. Later on Fuji i had the 55-200 and it was great and a bit lighter, but still not good for every day purposes. Next thing I know I have the 50-140 and it weighs almost as much as the canon and back we are at square one. I'm trying to learn from the experience and limit my new lenses by weight now, no matter what I might think of the image quality...

 

[Toz]

It is VERY LIBERATING to take just one body and one lens, something I have done regularly and continue to do so.
Zooms I found to much like having a bag full of primes ...trying to decide which focal length suited the scene so I sold my one zoom lens!



and they managed by moving their legs ( ie walking closer or further waway fom the subject).
Fair enough that isn't always ideal but nor is faffing around changing lenses, carrying loads of kit or having the (debateable) lesser quality of zoom lens glass rather than primes.

Hey Asha, Its Martin here, we met in Nice at the waterfall when you were out with your large format camera. Not sure how it all works on here but already read a slaging match. Hahaha.

 

[Asha]

Hey Asha, Its Martin here, we met in Nice at the waterfall when you were out with your large format camera. Not sure how it all works on here but already read a slaging match. Hahaha.

It was more of a "slight difference of opinion " shall we say!

Anyway it's good to see you got yourself on here and hope that you stay, post up some of your work, learn from others and indeed help others out.

So, bringing this thread back on topic ......Could you make do with just one lens?

 

[Toz]

It was more of a "slight difference of opinion " shall we say!

Anyway it's good to see you got yourself on here and hope that you stay, post up some of your work, learn from others and indeed help others out.

So, bringing this thread back on topic ......Could you make do with just one lens?

Absolutley, I often veture out with just one lens and simply get ceative with whats on the camera. I shot a birthday party with my 10-22. Client was over the moon and I had alot of fun. It did get a bit close up and personal but everyone was p***ed and loved the attention.

 

[Kei]

I find that with 70-200 a lot - Got one as an upgrade to my 70-300, realised I didn't use it much so sold it, got another one a bit later and sold that as didn't use, then a 70-200 f4 as felt I needed a 70-200 again. While it was useful on occasions, it was something I often took out for the sake of it. Annoyingly its these type of lenses that cost the most that get the least use!

It's interesting seeing the differences between us. I'm almost the opposite as my most used lens is an 80-200mm f2.8. I started out in my early film days with a really old Tamron adaptall 75-250mm then upgraded to a Tamron SP 70-210 f3.5. Once I went to digitaI I got a canon 70-200mm f4 before I eventually moved to nikon and got the 80-200. It's one of those lenses I can't seem to do without, so much so, that I just splurged today and bought a used fuji 50-140.

Weirdly though, I've little love for a mid zoom like a 24-70. I have a few mid zooms but rarely use any of them. (Tamron 24-48, 28-80, 35-80 and a contax 35-70) I'm happier with a nice ultrawide prime to go with the tele zoom, hence the 20mm that I use.