What's your favorite lens?

John Calendo said:

Thanks for asking, parisphotog. I was more interested in your lenses
and what you used them for, but I take from your question that you
have a different favorite for each category of shot. Fair enough.

The common denominator of my photos is the stationary subject.
Statues, vistas, architecture, flowers.

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John Calendo said:

I'm intrigued by bokeh because I live in the north eastern part of
the U.S., which is old and heavily overbuilt. It's difficult to take
a shot without a telegraph pole, street sign, of pedestrian facade
intruding into it, so the bokeh would make much of that disappear.

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John Calendo said:

Because I like HDR, I plan to take more ambitious shots of vistas,

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greatphoto said:

I shoot portraits and I have the 85 1.4 the 70-200 and the 24-70 and
by far I like the 85.
Cheers
Randall

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John Calendo said:

Some of these lenses are as expensive as this
little D700 baby.
Right now, I'm crazy for bokeh and think the Nikon 85mm 1.4 D looks
just right.

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John Calendo said:

I know. I know. This is like when movie magazines used to ask
Tuesday Weld what her favorite color was. Here's the deal. I'm in
love with the D700, but so far, it's a fantasy love. I plan to buy
it, my first DSLR, between now and June.

I've had a lot of experience and fun squeezing what I once thought
were great pictures from the bridge cams (if that's the right word)
like the Coolpix 990, and recently the Sony H50. But now I want to
move up and am faced with the issue of lenses, something I never had
to think about before. Some of these lenses are as expensive as this
little D700 baby. Plus, there seem to be all different flavors,
denoted by letters like G and D and I'd have to go google the rest.

Right now, I'm crazy for bokeh and think the Nikon 85mm 1.4 D looks
just right. I'm tempted to just buy that lens and see where it goes
from there.

Also, and I know a lot of you gunslingers will judged me for this,
I'm a fan of HDR. My attitude is a photo only begins with its
capture by the camera. Post-processing is essential (and again fun,
as I know Photoshop for years now) to help achieve one's -- dare I
say it -- "vision." Anyway, I reject the purism of mere documentary
photo taking. So, anyway, that's who I am, and that's how I approach
photography.

For HDR, I like the braketing lattitude of the D700, yet I'm no fan
of the wide angle lens, with its claustrophobic distortion and
leaning buildings. I understand that the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G is the
killer wide angle at the moment, but the samples I've found online
haven't wowed me. Those leaning buildings, still a nightmare by
Kafka to me.

I'm asking the forum members to tell me about your favorite lens.
Understand, I'm not asking you to pretend you're me, trying to
imagine what I need. I'm only asking for your personal enthusiasms.
Lenses you really enjoy and depend on.

Thanks...J.

--
TELL IT LIKE IT TIS!
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
'Like so many Americans,
she was trying to construct a life
that made sense
from the things she found in gift shops.'
--Kurt Vonnegut
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