View Full Version : Stupid lens choices
xjjohnno
14-01-2012, 12:26am
Why is it when I go out taking a few pics I see some of the most inappropriate choices of lenses for the environments on offer?
One place that comes to mind is the Queen Victoria Market, workable focal lengths are 100mm and less, so why are so many 70-200mm zooms spotted, same with Melbourne's CBD.
The focal lengths that lens has to offer is not what I'd consider particulary useable unless one has a fetish to take acne or nasal hair pics. Add the mandatory herd of pedestrians getting in the way once the desired pic has been dialled in and things become a total waste of time.
Lets face it, in tight enviroms wider is sweeter for framing and getting that pic, even when out getting those seriously embarrassing candid pics.
mechawombat
14-01-2012, 1:53am
cause most people think that its all about size??
Seriously
My favourite lens for walking about is a 18-105mm or 28-100mm.
Everyone has their own shooting style. Some people prefer wider lenses for street shooting, others like a bit of reach to focus on details. Each to their own.
ricktas
14-01-2012, 9:01am
Depends what your photography interests are. Some like a 200mm lens for street photography, cause they can capture those candid moments with the subject being completely unaware they are having their photo taken. Isolating the subject from the hustle and bustle around them
Others like a wide angle, cause the architecture and overall 'crowd' are what they enjoy capturing.
And others just simply have no idea.
In the end, three of us could go out, one with a 10-20, one with a 50mm and one with a 200mm to a location, and we would all get something unique from our choice of lens. There is no right or wrong, and to think that way could very well be stifling your own creativity.
On a full frame sensor it could make perfect sense.
swifty
14-01-2012, 11:34am
As others have suggested, there's really very little 'wrong' lens choices.
Maybe a 14-24mm for birding might be one or a 800mm mirror lens for indoors events.
But without going to extremes, most lenses work and provides a unique perspective.
But that's not to say there arn't better or more conventional choices for certain subjects. But who wants to be conventional :P
I use the 70-200 both on a full frame and a crop in the city.
Examples of 70-200 on a 7D
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6387090049_e67ba22081.jpg
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6095/6386937737_5c5711b320.jpg
I'm not taking acne or nasal hair pictures. It's all about understanding your FOV and using it to your preference. A longer lens flattens the perspective a little to give emphasis on the background a little more. The first picture in B&W the 70-200 was needed because i was after that intersection it is a bend. I needed the distance to capture the shot straight down the middle. :)
Maybe if you had a 70-200 you'll understand better?
William
14-01-2012, 12:32pm
I've been shooting Landscapes/Seascapes lately with a 120-400, Not conventional , But I like the Image compression it gives , But the main thing is it's different
Ezookiel
14-01-2012, 7:40pm
It's even simpler than that - we can't all afford multiple lenses. I shoot with an 18-200 because it's all I own.
I'm happy to use a lens that's more appropriate if you're happy to shout me a few new ones ;) :P
Though I agree with what's been said above. It might be a difference in what people are seeking to acheive.
wideangle
14-01-2012, 8:33pm
Shooting styles and what people are shooting are as diverse as people themselves, hence you see a 200mm, then around the corner you might see someone shooting with a wide-angle.
fabian628
16-01-2012, 1:02am
I think if you are ust shooting for fun then a long focal length or limited focal range is interesting becuase you take shots you may never take with a super zoom lens. :)
JM Tran
16-01-2012, 1:23am
I've been shooting Landscapes/Seascapes lately with a 120-400, Not conventional , But I like the Image compression it gives , But the main thing is it's different
nice use of compression with tele there William:)
Maybe if you had a 70-200 you'll understand better?
I'm with Keefy on this one. A 70-200 on a FF is a very handy lens and gives a completely different perspective to UWA shots.
I use my old 300 f4. It's a brilliant lens both for landscapes and for streetscapes.
While I probably use wide-angles more in both applications, it's well worth trying an unusual focal length to see the different perspective it gives.
Bennymiata
16-01-2012, 6:09pm
While I have a nice UWA (Tokina 11-17mm F2.8), I also use my 100-400 for landscapes, and have used my UWA for close-ups of flowers to give a different perspective over using a macro lens.
Hell, I've even used my 100-400 to take shots of spiders!
Sometimes, using a lens that many may think inappropriate can give you some wonderful results.
Xebadir
16-01-2012, 9:23pm
As others have suggested, there's really very little 'wrong' lens choices.
Maybe a 14-24mm for birding might be one or a 800mm mirror lens for indoors events.
But without going to extremes, most lenses work and provides a unique perspective.
But that's not to say there arn't better or more conventional choices for certain subjects. But who wants to be conventional :P
I dunno, do you want to ask this guy why I was using a 14-24?
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8774/whynophotos.jpg
I'm not a street photography type of person (personally I think its what gets us into trouble with the photo police, and certainly has some stalker like tendencies ;)), but I believe any lens can be used for any shot you want to take - the limit is your imagination. There are alot of properties to various lenses that are attractive if you are wanting to accomplish something in particular - I am a wide angle nut but sometimes I yearn for that compression from a 70-200 (soon my pretties...soon) to do something a little different. Its up to the photographer, and nothing should be considered right or wrong until you have seen what they are actually shooting and how they are doing it. If everyone followed the same pattern it would be boring as hell.
andrewvid
16-01-2012, 10:03pm
as many others have said, everyone has their unique way of doing things, after all everyone sees photography in different ways, some like landscapes, portraits and so on. There is no rule about what type of lens you should use for that type of place/landscape etc.. and it's not until you (not as in you directly, as in everyone) start experimenting and see what other types of shots you can get, some shots may not appeal as much to your own personal liking and some will.
I must say, even myself sometimes i wonder.. i'm probably not using the right lens at all.. but i still take the shots and see what comes up and as ezookiel said, not all of us can afford these expensive items and after all not all of us are professionals or extreme hobbyists :)
ameerat42
16-01-2012, 10:11pm
...Why is it when I go out taking a few pics I see some of the most inappropriate choices of lenses for the environments on offer?
One place that comes to mind is the Queen Victoria Market, workable focal lengths are 100mm and less, so why are so many 70-200mm zooms spotted, same with Melbourne's CBD.
The focal lengths that lens has to offer is not what I'd consider particulary useable unless one has a fetish to take acne or nasal hair pics. Add the mandatory herd of pedestrians getting in the way once the desired pic has been dialled in and things become a total waste of time.
Lets face it, in tight enviroms wider is sweeter for framing and getting that pic, even when out getting those seriously embarrassing candid pics...
xjjohnno. I hate to be blunt, mate, but I'm missing your point. What you have said consists of two opening "begged questions" (and a bonus if you count the title itself) and then two assertions. You've put this thread into F/stop, but perhaps Out Of Focus would have been nearer the mark. In fact, I don't know where it should really go, as we do not have a dedicated "Rant" forum.
No doubt something is untoward in your perception of photography-land, but what is it? OK, I'll volunteer for a "BEX and a good lie down", and I hope it'll all be clearer tomorrow.
H(A)mm!
Xebadir: Birding at 16mm...what an excellent photo to illustrate your point!
reaction
19-01-2012, 12:02pm
I guess if you see ppl using weird expensive lenses somewhere they're obviously getting some pics out of it.
Then I'd rather wonder what creative angle they're getting that I've never considered than dismiss them as having the 'wrong' lens.
otoh I'm still not sure how to correctly bounce flash off the sky after seeing it many times.
Ezookiel
19-01-2012, 1:18pm
.... otoh I'm still not sure how to correctly bounce flash off the sky after seeing it many times.
LOL. I've made that mistake several times when bouncing off the ceiling, and then without thinking turning the camera to portrait orientation for a few quick shots, and fire the flash into a big empty room, or down a hallway, or on one occasion, off the shirt of the person beside me, which strangely enough actually resulted in the photo having quite a cool looking coloured light coming from the side, which kind of gave the pic a funky look. It wasn't really keepable, but still looked pretty cool.
LOL. I've made that mistake several times when bouncing off the ceiling, and then without thinking turning the camera to portrait orientation for a few quick shots, and fire the flash into a big empty room, or down a hallway, or on one occasion, off the shirt of the person beside me, which strangely enough actually resulted in the photo having quite a cool looking coloured light coming from the side, which kind of gave the pic a funky look. It wasn't really keepable, but still looked pretty cool.
Guilty as well! Sometimes the moment just gets the best of us eh? :P
William
19-01-2012, 6:42pm
:umm: I see the OP has'nt come back to comment on our many replys :D
He hasn't come back at all, the OP was his most recent post.
You bullies have chased him away.
William
19-01-2012, 7:29pm
:) We did'nt chase him away Jim, We just stated our points on why Lens choice is a personal thing , There is no set rule that I know of, If there is , Rules are meant to broken in the world of Photography for Art's sake IMO , If you stop experimenting you get stale and lose interest , As we've pointed out , You can use many a lens for all different kinds of shots , Maybe not there intended use , But what the heck , I just would have liked to get a response back from the original poster on the subject ;)
Mark L
19-01-2012, 10:34pm
:) ...., I just would have liked to get a response back from the original poster on the subject ;)
Sometimes life can just get in the way. Who knows!
Anyway, as Ezookiel said, some need to use what they've got.
Another bird photo, taken at 28 mm.
84400
Not wide enough. Chopped off the tail.
I choose lenses for the perspective they offer, not because they are the "correct" lens. What a stupid concept. There are no hard and fast rules. A short focal length in a market is a convenient lens, I say. It makes the job too easy... and there's no chance of spying something interesting further off and zooming in on it - we all know how hard candid street photography (particularly of people) is these days.
Frankly, if I want to take my 70-200 into a market, I will. If I want to do portraiture with my 11-16mm wide angle, I will. If I want to take pictures of clouds with my 85mm, I will. And poop on anyone who tells me I am wrong. ;)
70-200 also has great DOF isolation rather than the UWA lens you/they may tend to use, Subjest isolation I guess.. Also some people just think it looks cool, Why do all the rich kids drive top of the line cars, because they can afford for mummy and daddy to buy them what they want.
Bennymiata
21-01-2012, 9:33pm
70-200 also has great DOF isolation rather than the UWA lens you/they may tend to use, Subjest isolation I guess.. Also some people just think it looks cool, Why do all the rich kids drive top of the line cars, because they can afford for mummy and daddy to buy them what they want.
And most people who have a flash car have no idea of how to drive it properly.
And most people who have a flash car have no idea of how to drive it properly.
Ain't that the truth Benny...
A bit like the camera gear mummy and daddy brought for them with their tripple platimum CC. LOL
Lifes tuff for some.
donnnnnny
22-01-2012, 3:29pm
My studio lens of choice is my Carl Zeiss Planer 85mm f1.4.
although manual focus when working with models it is excellent, if i am chassing kiddies i use the 24-85mmm AF-D and the 40mm f1.4 d
donnnnnny
22-01-2012, 3:30pm
Agreee
arthurking83
23-01-2012, 8:14am
I choose lenses for the perspective they offer, not because they are the "correct" lens. What a stupid concept. There are no hard and fast rules. ......
Completely agree.
As everyone else has said .... each person has a different perspective of what they want to capture and how to go about it, hence what lenses are appropriate or not.
Some people use a macro lens for landscape photography and others use a super ultra wide angle lens for macro photography!
I think that using a wider angle lens for tight situations is a form of laziness! Using a longer focal length forces the photographer to think harder about what it is they want to capture.
We all do it to varying degrees .... 'oh! too tight .. must get the wide angle lens out!'
Steve Axford
23-01-2012, 10:00am
When I take street photos I choose the lens I will use and then try to "think" that lens. Each lens has different characteristics and will take different shots. Sometimes I might choose and ultra-wide (often my 14mm) and then I will need to think wide. On other occasions I will choose the 50mm and then I will have to think 50mm, or the 135mm and then it is closeup. Each can produce superb results, but each will be different. I don't use zooms as I find them too complicated (I find it hard to think multiple focal lengths at the same time), and never the same quality.
exwintech
23-01-2012, 10:52am
While this thread is DSLRs, as more here seem to have those than P&S - you do get the same thing at the P&S level.
That is - for street photography, folk can be using shorter zoom P&S - Canon S100 or G-Series - or a "DSLR-shape" bridge-zoom with 24mm-720mm range. Which might be as compromised at the Wide end as it is at the Long end - but if your 24-30mm range has a bit of distortion - that's what the RAW correction option is for...
It's a shame the midrange P&S compacts have gone with the no-viewfinder trend - the S100 style of device makes a nice street camera - but the lack of viewfinder makes such a no-go for folk who are older and/or not quite as steady as the younger folk. That profits come before putting an EVF in a Nikon S9100 for $385.00, or a Canon S100 for $469.00, is indeed a shame.
A G-Series at $569.00, or P7100 for $529.00, isn't in everyone's budget... So to get an EVF - and more than 5x-7x reach - they'll tend towards the bridge-zooms. And some strange looks in streets and malls.
Having an EVF doesn't mean that it "has to be" used - or even a 'proper' viewfinder with DSLRs. I've twice seen folk - about-30s males - using a DSLR via the LiveView, holding the camera out in front like a midrange P&S....
Regards, Dave.
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