I am in the process of creating galleries of my photos. It is taking longer than expected, especially since I am trying to categorize them according to lens used. To that end, here is a list of lenses that I use. This is difficult since in Lightroom where I keep my image library, manual lenses don’t register so I have to try and remember each image and what camera and lens I was using!
My first digital camera, many moon ago, is the Olympus E-410: lightweight with great image quality, I still carry this camera as a backup! I bought the camera and the two kit lenses for my trip to Tofino with my buddy Darren.
40-150mm Olympus
14-42mm Olympus
Not bad for kit lenses and a great solid camera for the beginner to digital photography.
And then along came Panasonic and their GH2. Wow! The introduction of the micro four/thirds system changed the photo landscape and with the video hack by Vitaly Kiselev, this camera will go down in camera history as a game changer with its incredible near-broadcast quality video.
For the m4/3 system I bought the camera and kit lens, the Panasonic 14-140 mm. A great kit lens that is super for video and stills. This was the only lens that I needed on my Paris trip in late 2011.
When I returned to Europe in early 2012 I knew that I wanted a lens to do museum photos. For that I bought the Leica 25mm 1.4. Incredible lens! This lens stays on my camera almost all the time. Exceptional in low light!
And since it is a m4/3 system, I purchased quite a few adapters and went hunting for legacy lenses on the interTube. These include:
Pentax 50mm 1.8
Pentax 28mm 2.8
Minolta 135mm 2.8
Minolta 28mm 2.8
Canon 50mm 1.8
Nikon 50mm 1.4
The grand total for these lenses was about $250!
Each of these lenses has their own particularities, the Nikon eats light for breakfast, spectacular lens! The Pentax seems soft but ethereal and is incredible for setting a mood for landscapes and I use the Canon for street shots due to its character.
I started reading and looking at more and more images and decided that macro was an area that I was looking to explore. I found a used copy of the well reviewed Sigma 70-200mm 4.0-5.6 and find this as my go to lens when I head out for some macro shooting. I do want the Olympus 60mm macro but am in no rush since the Sigma serves me well!
And finally, every time I want to have fun I use my Holga 25mm pinhole camera. Great vignetting and wonderful character.
All the while I ponder whether or not full frame is in my future. Boy that Nikon D800 sure is nice, eh? Or even the Canon 5DIII 🙂
Nevertheless, here is my obligatory lens wishlist:
Portrait lens: Rokinon 85mm F1.4 or the Zeiss Planar here.
Macro: Olympus 60mm F2.8
Telephoto: Panasonic 100-300 F4-5.6
I will be creating categories for each lens and hope to be able to do reviews with examples for each lens. More to come!