2 or 3 lens kit?

[miha]

A three lens kit? That's easy

Leica r4 with 50 f/2
Canon a-1 with 50 f/1,4
Nikon d700 with 50 f/1,8

 

[etn]

I used to go with two lenses and find it not effective. One lens is better. Three, you don't know what you are doing.

Or alternatively, with three lenses you are able to shift gears and photograph in a really wide variety of situations.

I agree with you Matt, but (more often than I would like to admit it) I found myself in a situation where I spent more time changing lenses than taking pictures, decided it was no fun, and ended up leaving two of the 3 lenses in the bag the entire day - back to square one. Nowadays I generally take only one lens with me, usually 50mm in small format, 120 or 60 or 80mm in medium format, depending on the mood of the day.

 

[etn]

A three lens kit? That's easy

Leica r4 with 50 f/2
Canon a-1 with 50 f/1,4
Nikon d700 with 50 f/1,8

Love that one

 

[Frank53]

I don’t like changing lenses. Most of the time you will have the wrong lens on your camera and when you changed it, the subject is gone or changed, or you want to change the lens back. It’s killing your creativity.
Take one camera, one lens (Rolleiflex) or take 2 bodies, normal and wide (Olympus OM or Contax Iia and IIIa in my case with 50 and 21 or 24) beside that, why not use a good zoom. Do you really see the difference using a fast film?
Regards,
Frank

 

[petrk]

I used to go with two lenses and find it not effective. One lens is better. Three, you don't know what you are doing.

+1

 

[RLangham]

I think that you should know what you're going to do. If you're not going to do any portraits or any difficult shots of faraway objects, you probably don't need anything wider than 50mm. If you're not trying to shoot big landscapes or groups of people from a restricted perspective, you probably don't need anything wider than 50mm either.

Generally, as long as your freedom of movement within the space is good, you can do a lot with just a normal. A lot of people have done a lot with just a Leica and the kit Elmar, or a Speed Graphic and just the Optar. Fixed lens cameras are still very much usable too.

So generally, I don't take a kit. When I do it generally been 35-50-135 as other people have said, or 28-35-50. Substitute a 40mm for any of the 50's, to much the same effect. And those are basically the focal lengths I own, aside from a few zooms I hardly use.

 

[BradS]

I used to go with two lenses and find it not effective. One lens is better. Three, you don't know what you are doing.

if you’re just going out for a few hours then yeah, I agree one lens one body but if I’m out on the road for two or three weeks, I’ll take two bodies and two or three lenses. I don’t use any zooms at all, ever.....well, except the thrift store p&s

 

[macfred]

+1

+ 2
--
For me it's a two lens kit - one for viewing another for taking ...

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Just out of interest, what focal lengths would you all carry as either a 2 lens or 3 lens kit and why? No cheating, zooms are not allowed!

What film format? That is a crucial specification.

 

[RLangham]

What film format? That is a crucial specification.

I imagine everyone's free to specify for themselves. As it is, we're in the 35mm subforum so most people are naturally talking full frame. I've just realized, in fact, that the only cameras I've ever owned more than one lens for are all 35mm, not counting weird experiments with enlarger lenses on a Speed Graphic.

 

[darkosaric]

Nikon: 50 and 105, Leica: 50 and 90.

 

[BradS]

What film format? That is a crucial specification.

well, the thread is in the 35mm area....so, I guess 35mm.

 

[RLangham]

Nikon: 50 and 105, Leica: 50 and 90.

Both Elmars on the Leica? That's apt to be a classy set of hardware.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

if you’re just going out for a few hours then yeah, I agree one lens one body but if I’m out on the road for two or three weeks, I’ll take two bodies and two or three lenses. I don’t use any zooms at all, ever.....well, except the thrift store p&s

I started to photograph with one camera and one lens. Where I was it was total norm for tens of millions people. Looking back I see absolutely no limitation been applied. We photographed what is most interesting and valuable. Moments of live.
Somehow, even after buying, selling consumerism came, I'm still able to manage how I started in photography.
I went on more than two weeks trips many times with just one camera, one lens. It is more productive than two camera, two lenses.
Of course, I don't take cameras which are sitting in the drawers among dozens of others. I use same camera, lens I use daily.
Then it is absolutely no difference. You go out just as you go out everywhere.
I'm not vacation, weekends only voyager. I have camera with single lens on me every time I go out.
I also see zero value in tele lens. Tried it many times, it gives unnatural images to me. I'm not even 50, but 35 and wider.
With this focal lengths, I must come close, be part of happening, be engaged, socializing or just hike longer to get to the spot.
Very different style comparing to keep on switching lenses, cameras. High style .

VM took just one Leica on long trip with her, she used nothing but single TLR for years at home town. Victror Kolar used one Leica, one lens across Canada for years. I see nothing wrong, nothing missing in their pictures. Do you know what Karsh didn't have spares with him? Are his portraits bad?

 

[AndyH]

I used to go with two lenses and find it not effective. One lens is better. Three, you don't know what you are doing.

When shooting 35mm I tend to bring along a moderate telephoto, because cropping and enlarging a portion of the image loses too much resolution. but I tend to avoid them in larger formats. However I do like a wide angle shot, and often will put a WA on my SLRs or Hasselblad as the primary lens when I go out. There is no way to duplicate the perspective in near/far compositions.

While I've come to accept the quality of today's DSLR zooms, the "best" film era zoom I ever owned was the awful Nikkor 43-86, and I don't own a single zoom for any of my film cameras.

It's often fun and challenging to go out with only a single "normal" lens, but if you're going to encounter a variety of subjects, a variety of focal lengths allows much more creativity IMHO.

Andy

 

[darkosaric]

Actually I enjoy more in changing different cameras and lenses of the same focal length, than using different focal lenses. So using one day Summar, then using Elmar, then Nikkor, then back to Summicron, but all 50mm. Not once I went on a business trip with Leica 50mm lens, and Nikon 50mm lens as a backup body. I have like 20-30 different 50mm lenses. If I can choose only one beside 50mm that is a must have - that would be 105mm f2.5 Nikkor, I don't know what is this lens, some magical power it has for sure .

 

[cjbecker]

Already posted my 2 or 3 lens kit, but if we are not following the op criteria, I am typically a one lens kind of photographer. Its always a normal lens, in 35mm, if i know there will be enough light, (all i shoot in 35mm is E100 slide film) I will carry a 55 macro, if low light 50 1.4. But for other formats, I used a rolleicord with the 75mm all around the world, and much preferred the one normal lens, my brain will just see in that view and it makes shooting so much easier, faster, and more enjoyable. For 4x5 its either a 127 or a 150. Lean more towards the 150, but the 127 gives a little more depth of field, making it easer for hand held use.

 

[Helios 1984]

I usually carry a 50 and my 135 or 200.

 

[removed account4]

Hi xtolsniffer:

A 50mm lens and maybe a 100mm but probably not.

 

[tomkatf]

Using your limitations, Nikkors... 28/2, 50/1.2, 105/2.5. For complete kit add 20/2.8 and 70-210/2.8.

 

[blockend]

Generally, one lens kit:
50% 35mm, 40% 50mm 10% 28mm or 24mm

2 lens kit:
50mm and 28mm

 

[Paul Howell]

If traveling light 35mm 28, 50 and 100, for wildlife, 200, 400 and 600, if in my SUV might take 20mm to 400, I keep most lens in a cooler with foam cut outs. Other times a fixed lens rangefinder or Kowa SLR with fixed 50mm.

 

[LeftCoastKid]

For the Nikons: 28, 50 (add 105 for the three-lens kit).
For the Leicas: 28, 50 (add the 90mm Summicron in the very rare instances I carry a three lens kit)

 

[xtolsniffer]

A really interesting set of responses there everyone, thanks for those. My reason for asking, aside from just interest, is that I'm cutting down on the amount of 35mm gear I carry around with me, mainly because I also now use a Mamiya TLR for monochrome so I need to cut back on the 35 mm gear to accommodate it - plus I also now don't use a spare 35 mm body for black and white. I've more or less got myself down to 24-35-55. I've never really got on with short telephoto, and the 55mm is a macro, so to me that's about as much telephoto as I use plus it's macro so that ticks two boxes. The 35mm is really my standard lens, great all-rounder and ideal for family and locations (point and shoot mode really though you can get some lovely shots too). The 24mm is there for landscape and restricted space interiors. I have considered slimming down even more to 50mm and 28mm, but as I don't own a 28mm (aside from a nice but prone to flare Tamron apaptall one with a different filter thread to my other lenses), I'm not sure that combination will work - there is too much of a jump from 50-24 I find for just a two lens kit.

 

[narsuitus]

What is wrong with 24-35 as a two lens kit?