What's your "go to" lens or focal length?

[Horatio]

Does it depend on the subject? Optics? The camera? Whether one is traveling?

I'm still trying to figure mine out. (It was 50mm for a long time, because I could only afford one lens!) I have more zooms than primes.

 

[MattKing]

35mm for 135 film - my Zuiko 35mm f/2 actually
For 645, it is my 55mm f/2.8 Mamiya Sekor N
For 6x7, it was my 65mm Mamiya Sekor C.
You can probably see a trend .

 

[Bronson Dugnutt]

The widest and fastest with the closest focus that will cover 35mm. 35mm f/2 AF-D or 28mm f/2.8 AI-S in my case depending on subject matter.

Edit: Actually I shoot my 35mm f/1.4 a lot, but since its non-AI, I only mount it on my nikkormat and 1 system bodies. It'll eventually see use on a Z body after I catch that leprechaun.

 

[faberryman]

I’d be hard pressed to say. If I could only take one lens with me, I’d opt for a wide to normal zoom.

 

[PonySoldier1887]

135mm f5.6 Fujinon W on Wista 45SP. I prefer the older, single-coated lenses for their palette and this version covers 5x7 so I have plenty of coverage in a lens which folds in the camera. Previously I used the 165mm f6.8 Angulon because of the smooth "creamy" tonality and when I stumbled upon the Fujinon because I couldn't find a 135mm WF Ektar I quickly found that the shorter focal length worked great (for me). Sorry I missed the 35mm caveat here. On 35mm my choice is a 28mm f2.8 Nikkor AI-S for the wider angle.
Joel

 

[BradS]

@Horatio What do you mean by, "go to"? Most used? default? Favorite? Something else?

 

[gone]

An 85-90 lens w/ great bokeh wide open, excellent close up ability that's close to micro, sharp as a tack wide open, and fits my Nikon cameras. I've been shooting this focal length for decades, and so far have only found 2 lenses that meet that criteria. The Leica R 90 Summicron and the Leica R Elmarit w/ adapters. The 85 1.8 FD Canon is close. Not sure about the minimum close up distance, but that's a moot point since it will not go on a Nikon.

 

[Horatio]

@Horatio What do you mean by, "go to"? Most used? default? Favorite? Something else?

Favorite or most used.

 

[BradS]

it just depends.
I do not have a favorite focal length but the focal length I use depends upon the situation, subject matter, and environment.
Walking around in an urban environment, most used focal length is 24 or 28mm.
In a rural environment or in nature, 50mm
for people pictures...50mm, 105mm and 135mm
I guess this is why they make interchangeable lens cameras...one has freedom to choose what ever best suits the needs, desires of the photographer and situation.

 

[Auer]

Focal lenth is less important to me, but I do like compact zooms in the 24-135 range for 35mm.

Also have really learned to like a SMC Pentax-FA 645 45-85mm I have on a Pentax 645N

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

For most formats, I prefer something slightly longer than normal, ie something in the 70-85mm range. I can still include environment with it if I want, or I can get tight and make a decent portrait and blow out the background with shallow depth-of-field. If I'm doing some kind of documentary project, or travel, then something in the medium-wide to normal range. I've done some of my best work with an 80mm on my Rolleiflex, the 38mm wide on the Lomo LCA-120, and the 90mm on the Lomo Belair X-6/12.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I'd generally consider a "normal" lens, at or a little longer than the frame diagonal, my "go to" focal length. On 35mm full frame, 50 mm is my choice if I have a choice (several of my 35mm rangefinders have shorter lenses, from 40-45 mm, but they're not interchangeable). On my M42 bodies, Nikkormat(s), and Kiev 4, 50 mm is the lens that's there unless I have a specific need for something else (can't back up enough or need to control perspective). On larger film, the same goes -- on my RB67 the 90mm is the one that lives on the body, while on my 4x5s, by preference, it's 150 mm.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Depends which 35mm SLR it is. .
On EOS I prefer wide zooms. On F I prefer wide primes.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Main reason I bought a Nikon 25-50 f4. Well that and I love old Nikon MF glass.

 

[Saganich]

Summicron 35 v4 and Summicron 50 DR 95% of the time.

 

[Pioneer]

Typically my favorite, or go to, is whatever happens to be normal for the format. For a 35mm camera that is typically a 50mm lens.

However I have been shooting exclusively with a little 35mm lens for the past month and intend to continue using it until I either figure out what it is good for, or get so disgusted with my results I toss it out a window at 75mph.

Right now I am still on the disgusted side of the scale but I know that it is very hard to overcome 40 years of habit so I intend to give it more time.

 

[removed account4]

Favorite or most used.

50mm

 

[Paul Howell]

For travel 35 to 70 F4 Minolta A mount.
For landscapes 50mm 1.4, Sigma, Minolta A, Konica AR, Pentax M42
For indoor sports 200 2.8 Minolta A
For outdoor sports 400 F4 Minolta A
Wildlife 70 to 300 4.5 to 5.6 Minolta A

 

[tomkatf]

Nikkor 28/2...

 

[images39]

Nikkor 45mm 2.8 pancake (for 35mm)

Dale

 

[narsuitus]

For my film cameras that have an interchangeable lens feature, these are my "go to" lenses:

Nikon 35mm SLR
35mm f/1.4 Nikkor prime
or
28-70mm f/2.8 Nikkor zoom

Leica 35mm rangefinder
35mm f/1.4 Zeiss Distagon

Contax 35mm rangefinder
45mm f/2 Zeiss Planar

Pentax 35mm SLR
50mm f/1.4 Super Takumar (8-element)

RB67 medium format SLR
90mm f/3.8 Mamiya-Sekor

4x5 inch monorail view camera
135mm f/5.6 Fujinon

My "go to" lenses are the lenses I select when I am shooting general subjects with only one-camera and one-lens. My "go to" lenses allow me to capture about 40% of the images I need to capture.

 

[Chan Tran]

I use my 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 Nikkor AF-S (first version without VR) just because I have it. I do use the 50mm f/1.4 often too.

 

[cullah]

135mm f5.6 Fujinon W on Wista 45SP. I prefer the older, single-coated lenses for their palette and this version covers 5x7 so I have plenty of coverage in a lens which folds in the camera. Previously I used the 165mm f6.8 Angulon because of the smooth "creamy" tonality and when I stumbled upon the Fujinon because I couldn't find a 135mm WF Ektar I quickly found that the shorter focal length worked great (for me). Sorry I missed the 35mm caveat here. On 35mm my choice is a 28mm f2.8 Nikkor AI-S for the wider angle.
Joel

75 voightlander /f1.8 for my leica. very sweet lens. very sharp, too

 

[Disconnekt]

Tamron 28-75mm for my Pentax ZX-L. As much as I liked shooting primes, there was times where I needed something a bit wider than 35mm and a bit longer than 55mm.

Still have a 35mm & 50mm for my Sears TLS for when feel like sticking with one focal length.

 

[Wallendo]

I usually shoot a 50mm f1.4 lens, although I try to keep a wider lens 24mm, 28mm or 35mm and an 85mm lens available.