What's your favourite prime and why?

My 85mm 1.4 is my most used lens but just recently got the 35mm 1.4 which I can see becoming a favourite as well.Just need the 135mm 1.8 and I will be very happy with the line up of lenses.
 
I've only got the cheaper 50mm f/1.8 which I think is great for the price but I wonder what the difference might be with the f/1.2. I'd also like an 85mm. Who wouldn't!
 
Hi all - been out and about for a few days - very chuffed to see so many responses. The 135mm is definitely going on my wish list! best check out how much it costs... keep those thoughts coming. Thanks. :)
 
Chipper - you can only choose a favourite prime from the type ofwork you do. As you can see, the responses cover every focal length from 600mm through to 24mm. You need to provide a subject matter that you tend to cover before any of these suggestions make any sense whatsoever.

For all round, everyday, on-the-fly shooting or doing people and places I would think a 35mm of some sort would be the most versatile - bloody useless for wildlife though, unless you set up a remote camera and fed stuff in to it or just took wide scenics with wildlife in - to me, they become landscape or scenic shots then rather than wildlife shots in their own right.
 
Lensflare said:
Chipper - you can only choose a favourite prime from the type ofwork you do. As you can see, the responses cover every focal length from 600mm through to 24mm. You need to provide a subject matter that you tend to cover before any of these suggestions make any sense whatsoever.

For all round, everyday, on-the-fly shooting or doing people and places I would think a 35mm of some sort would be the most versatile - bloody useless for wildlife though, unless you set up a remote camera and fed stuff in to it or just took wide scenics with wildlife in - to me, they become landscape or scenic shots then rather than wildlife shots in their own right.
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Yes - I get that. Bit of a butterfly, I think, me. I have a FF and a crop sensor, the 5DII and the 7D... I am also fortunate enough to be able to indulge myself at the moment so have been very interested in seeing what people use and why. Thanks for your interest.
 
My Nikon Ai 50mm f1:1.2 manual focus especially when used with a PK 13 extension tube.
Used on FX or Dx body.
 
I think my favourite has to be my 100 f2.8L macro. Not only is it fantastic for close work it also makes a superb portrait lens too and it's sharp as the proverbial tack.
 
After some initial struggling, the Sigma 35mm 1.4 DG has become my always-on lens. I don't use zooms at all. I only use this 35mm and the Nikon 85mm f1.8 G, and AAMOF I don't really need anything else. I crop a bit sometimes in Lightroom, and that together with my two feet covers my photographic requirements.
 
I only have one lens and it is a 35 1.8 Sony used on APS-C sensor (I keep my photography cheap and simple and a cheap SLR and cheap prime is perfect for my needs giving me great IQ at low cost)

As a one lens user the 35 focal length on crop sensor is perfect for me. See something I want to photograph, raise camera to eye and take shot as the 35 focal length means I get what I was seeing and no need to zoom in or out (walk back or forwards)
 
Easy to answer this one my Sigma 35mm f/1.4 is far and away the sharpest lens I have ever used especially wide open. Amazes me every time I use it especially on my D800.

I have a lot of love for my Sigma 85 f/1.4 as well which is great for portraits but the 35mm blows everything else out of the water.

If I could only have one lens this would be the one.
 
Zeiss 50mm F1.5 C Sonnar T* has some of the best bokeh and has the best 3D colour pop I've ever seen for unprocessed shots. Its also as sharp as my leica lenses and equally built, making it a joy to use.
 
135 L super sharp, amazing bokeh! I find it a very versatile lens.
 
Thanks for all these responses. I have added a Lumix Gx7 to my bag since the show in Birmingham yesterday as the shoulder shows no sign of improving and I was getting too frustrated with not using my kit… hopefully this will get me back out and about. Cheers all.
 
Some really good answers here and a relief to read no one has said my "nifty fifty" !



Sent from my iPad using Talk Photography Forums
 
Another vote for the Nikkor 300mm f/4D AF-S here. ^_^ Fabulously sharp, even with a TC14E on a D7100, and light enough to be comfortable for prolonged handheld use - and affordable without a mortgage, unlike its lengthier kin. =:)
 
As said it depends on what you are shooting at the time
My favourite is the 300 2.8 or if I'm doing macro the sigma 105 and Canon 100L
Some zoom lenses are as good as primes though the Canon 70-200 for example
 
85mm f1.8 is the only prime with the nifty fifty I have. I pair it on the %d mk1. I love the combo. We have a 40d and 17-55IS which would make more sense in many ways to take out, but I often prefer just the 85 Prime and 5d.

The 135 is tempting....never really heard a bad word about it.
 
By far, my favourite prime is my Olympus Zuiko 135 f3.5 :)
 
Dubn83 said:
What do people think of the sigma 30mm 1.4? Thinking of adding it to my line up, either with or a replacement of my nikon 50mm 1.4 as on the nikon d3100 it's to restrictive indoors (plus I've got a sigma 17-70 now)
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I used one on my Canon 20D and I was very happy with it.

The only things I can say against it is that it's a bit... chunky :D and that the focus ring is a bit gritty when focusing manually. Other than those nit-picks I think it's a very good lens.
 
AchimT said:
After some initial struggling, the Sigma 35mm 1.4 DG has become my always-on lens. I don't use zooms at all. I only use this 35mm and the Nikon 85mm f1.8 G, and AAMOF I don't really need anything else. I crop a bit sometimes in Lightroom, and that together with my two feet covers my photographic requirements.
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What was your initial struggle with the Sigma Achim?
 
Initial testing showed either a front focus in close range, or a back focus in mid-range, depending on which settings I chose in the USB dock. And somewhere between 12 and 14 meters, the lens would never focus perfectly. I also found the AF to be not 100% reliable in other ranges, but in 12-14m it never focussed perfectly.

I sent the lens to Sigma service. They updated the software, and told me to do the fine-tuning using their USB-dock. I did that but to no avail. So I returned the lens to Amazon (I'm still grateful to them, I explained everything and they took it back without problem) and got another specimen, which showed the same symptoms, but decidely less pronounced than the first one.

I decided to accept the front focus in close range as I never really use the lens there (it's in the range of around 1.20 or 1.50 meters), and adjusted the lens accordingly in the USB dock. Since the probs were a lot less pronounced in this specimen and I liked the images a lot when the focus was right, I decided to keep it, stopped 'testing', and went on to normal use.

I never use the lens in the range where the AF would produce a front focus, so the focussing works well for me, except sometimes when targets are moving towards me fast I don't get perfect results (but still a for me sufficiently good rate). And that slight fuzziness in the 12-14m range hasn't affected any of my images at all.

I have not gone back to testing to see if I can still reproduce that unsharpness in that range. I don't think I made a mistake during the testing, I think the way I use the lens, that slight unsharpness in that range simply does not matter as it was too insignificant to be easily detected in real life images. Or maybe when adjusting the lens in the USB dock the final time, it also went away.

Edit - Maybe I should add that a few days ago I took a close-up picture of a small twig protruding from the surface of a lake, and that twig was tack-sharp. So I really don't know whether in my testing I did something consistently wrong, I really don't know what to think. But the lens works like a charm for me now.
 
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apart from the 200 f/2 that I can't afford to buy and have been lusting over for years, the Sigma 35mm f1.4. I've had the Nikon 24mm + 35 f/1.4 (which I sold once I'd tested the Sigma) and the Sigma is an astoundingly good lens - it simply blows the more expensive Nikon versions so far out of the water in all aspects its just ridiculous.
 
Currently my Tamron 90mm 2.8 Macro, its very sharp and great for Macro and Portrait and can get some really nice bokeh. However really like my 50mm 1.8 such a great lens for the price.
 
AchimT said:
Initial testing showed either a front focus in close range, or a back focus in mid-range, depending on which settings I chose in the USB dock. And somewhere between 12 and 14 meters, the lens would never focus perfectly. I also found the AF to be not 100% reliable in other ranges, but in 12-14m it never focussed perfectly.

I sent the lens to Sigma service. They updated the software, and told me to do the fine-tuning using their USB-dock. I did that but to no avail. So I returned the lens to Amazon (I'm still grateful to them, I explained everything and they took it back without problem) and got another specimen, which showed the same symptoms, but decidely less pronounced than the first one.

I decided to accept the front focus in close range as I never really use the lens there (it's in the range of around 1.20 or 1.50 meters), and adjusted the lens accordingly in the USB dock. Since the probs were a lot less pronounced in this specimen and I liked the images a lot when the focus was right, I decided to keep it, stopped 'testing', and went on to normal use.

I never use the lens in the range where the AF would produce a front focus, so the focussing works well for me, except sometimes when targets are moving towards me fast I don't get perfect results (but still a for me sufficiently good rate). And that slight fuzziness in the 12-14m range hasn't affected any of my images at all.

I have not gone back to testing to see if I can still reproduce that unsharpness in that range. I don't think I made a mistake during the testing, I think the way I use the lens, that slight unsharpness in that range simply does not matter as it was too insignificant to be easily detected in real life images. Or maybe when adjusting the lens in the USB dock the final time, it also went away.

Edit - Maybe I should add that a few days ago I took a close-up picture of a small twig protruding from the surface of a lake, and that twig was tack-sharp. So I really don't know whether in my testing I did something consistently wrong, I really don't know what to think. But the lens works like a charm for me now.
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Hope to be buying one in the next couple of weeks, so hope I get lucky with a good copy. Will get the USB dock just in case though. Thanks for explaining mate :)
 
And another vote for the 135 f2, just love it! Don't think I've ever taken a shot that I've not been happy with.

Pushing hard for the title of The Greeks favourite prime is my 200 f2.8
Not much in it between the two lenses, just the range.
 
Speedy136 said:
Hope to be buying one in the next couple of weeks, so hope I get lucky with a good copy. Will get the USB dock just in case though. Thanks for explaining mate :)
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You're welcome.

The comments at Amazon seem to indicate that the vast majority of buyers get a good copy the first time around, so I guess your chances are good.

The USB dock is a bit of a mixed bag for me. It allows more detailed adjustments than the camera's internal adjustment, and it is inexpensive. But IMHO the distribution of the ranges you can adjust is not optimal. IIRC for this lens it offers 3 adjustment ranges between 0 and approx. 4 - 5 feet, and then one more adjustment range for all the rest above 5 ft, which does not meet the requirements as I encountered them.

But I'd still buy it again. It's just comfortable to be able to adjust the lens at the computer, it does offer more detailed adjustments than the camera, and it allows you to update the lens software too.
 
The 400 and 800 at The Photography Show were amazing ( and a wish since the price was so much) but you could try them out for yourself at such an event with lots of expert advice.
 
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