NikonGear'23
Gear Talk => Lens Talk => Topic started by: OCD on January 12, 2017, 03:13:45
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Hello everybody, I really like the "Rorslett Rule."
So....if you're grabbing your three favorite prime lenses...what are they? And for this topic....they need to adhere with the Rorslett Rule (or come reasonably close...we don't want to get too crazy with rules - for instance I like to use the 24mm/35mm/85mm f/1.8G's with my Nikon D750 - yeah...I know).
Just for fun! And okay...include the camera you would use with those 3 lenses.
: )
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Bjørn Rørslett
"The permutations probably are endless. Consider carefully any upcoming trip to decide what to bring and why a given lens should be in that kit. Never ever take everything with you. That only leads to a mess."
So true ;D
It all depends on what, and how, I intend to shoot (or have no idea ;) ) . I have MF sets for each camera as well as AF sets. Am I flying or travelling by car. I rarely shoot less than two cameras. I am more likely to shoot MF on the Df and Sony more than my other cameras. I normally take 2 or three lenses for each body and spread the FLs between the bodies.
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My current three favorite primes are AF-S 20/1.8G ED, AF 60/2.8 Micro and AF-S 105/2.8G ED VR Micro which I use for Normal and Close-up photography but not macro. All are Nikkor lenses.
Dave Hartman
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Zeiss 25/2, Summicron R 50/2 or Voigt 58/1.4, Nikkor 105/2.5 AI
if size & weight matter even more, then even less : Voigt 40/2 and Nikkor 105/2.5 AIS
And even less... I did whole trips with just one, but that depends on the mood. Tamron 45/1.8 may become the answer; in fact, anything between 40 and 58mm FL. 35mm is too wide for my taste for general shooting, even taking a reasonable amount of cropping.
AF Zooms limited to event shooting, in which case they add lots of value
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I usually try to keep to one or two lenses - what I think I need + a backup in case I'm wrong, but if I need to pick three right now it would be nikkor 18mm/3.5, 35/1.4, 105/2.5 on Df. I have nothing in the area between 55 and 105.
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AF-lenses: 24/1.4G, 58/1.4G and 105/1.4E (300/4.0E as a close 4th)
MF-lenses: 20/3.5 UD, 35/1.4 N and 105/2.5 PC (all factory AI-d and chipped)
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I'm all amazement the self-evident can be designated a 'Rule' and even more so that said Rule has my name attached to it ....
Basically it's about having specific tools for distinct tasks.
When I commenced photography many moons ago the setup was 24/2.8, 55/3.5 Micro, and the 105/2.5 Nikkors on an Nikon F, later F2. The "small" kit was 35/2 and 85/1.8 + an extension tube. Were I to require reach, the 200/4 came in handy in either alternative.
Permutations of that basic scheme is still in my mind when I arrange the gear for a given trip or assignment.
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I'm all amazement the self-evident can be designated a 'Rule' and even more so that said Rule has my name attached to it ....
Basically it's about having specific tools for distinct tasks.
When I commenced photography many moons ago the setup was 24/2.8, 55/3.5 Micro, and the 105/2.5 Nikkors on an Nikon F, later F2. The "small" kit was 35/2 and 85/1.8 + an extension tube. Were I to require reach, the 200/4 came in handy in either alternative.
Permutations of that basic scheme is still in my mind when I arrange the gear for a given trip or assignment.
this is almost the same as what I am using :o :o :o
it's a common sense choice ::)
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I'm all amazement the self-evident can be designated a 'Rule' and even more so that said Rule has my name attached to it ....
Basically it's about having specific tools for distinct tasks.
When I commenced photography many moons ago the setup was 24/2.8, 55/3.5 Micro, and the 105/2.5 Nikkors on an Nikon F, later F2. The "small" kit was 35/2 and 85/1.8 + an extension tube. Were I to require reach, the 200/4 came in handy in either alternative.
Permutations of that basic scheme is still in my mind when I arrange the gear for a given trip or assignment.
I consider myself an amateur but then I maybe in the right track if a basic gear set will be the basis. Am using a 20mm 1.8G, 50mm 1.2ai-s or 1.8G and 105mm 2DC. Although, paired with a dx body. If needed it is supplemented/replaced with a 70 (or 80) - 200 f4 zoom on the long end. For the wide end, a 11-16 f2.8.
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This may be laziness on my part or adaptation but currently I only own 1 prime: 50 g 1.4 -and a couple rodenstocks but that´s another story :)-
Even if it is out off the premises of the post or just bending it a little my basic set is the boring
24-70 and
80-200. ed
Because I have 3 options I will add either 14-24, the 50 or a rodenstock as fancy strokes.
There are plans to add a 85 1.4D -crossing my fingers- and to update the longer zoom with the 70-200 vrII
That´s it.
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So....if you're grabbing your three favorite prime lenses...what are they?
For nature hikes, to have all my bases covered, I always go with 2 bodies, 4 lenses.
Body 1 = the D500 with the 300mm f/2.8 VR II glued to it, which is carried on a RRS tripod over my shoulder (+/- the 2x TC III);
Body 2 = the D810 with the Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 macro at the ready, which is carried on a holster at my hip (http://www.cottoncarrier.com/collections/camera-vests/products/ccs-camera-vest-2);
(The 28mm f/2.8 AI-S is carried in a pouch, for wides, via interchange on my D810, as is the 50mm f/1.2 AI-S for portraits.)
Since I have to narrow it down to 3 lenses, here is my logic:
There is no way I would part with the 300mm + 2x TCIII on a nature hike. Its quality and flexibility make it mandatory for wildlife shooting.
There is no way I would part with the Voigtländer 125mm macro, as the ability to shoot macro on a nature hike is mandatory.
There is no way I would part with some kind of wide, or ultra-wide, on a hike for landscape. The 28mm AI-S is generally my go-to.
(The similar 20mm AI-S is sometimes substituted, but I prefer the handling and quality of the 28mm. I also have the 15mm AI-S, as an ultra-wide, but the flare is troublesome, the focus throw is a joke, plus the resulting image sharpness is less than the 28mm IMO)
Interestingly, for butterflies and such, I don't use my Voigtländer macro much anymore, since I can get virtually the same results with the 300mm VR II, with the added benefit of AF, and from farther away so as not to scare the subject. However, for stationary flowers, or still arthropods, where true 1:1 is necessary, and where I have the time to really compose, the Voigtländer macro, and its wonderful focus throw, are a joy to use. The ability to slowly and subtly focus are immersive.
I generally bring the AI-S 50mm f/1.2 for portrait shots, but since I have to be limited to 3 here, the 50mm could stay home and the Voigtländer could be used for portraits.
Jack
PS: For family get-togethers, or street shooting (where I don't need either a telephoto or a macro), I only bring 2 lenses in a small shoulder bag: the 50mm AI-S on my D810 with the 28mm AI-S available if I need a wide. I use this bag (http://highonleather.com/products/handmade-leather-camera-bag) for light carry; it's pretty nice.
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I would go for Zeiss 21/2.8, Zeiss 50 Makro and 105 2.5 Ai. A fairly compact kit even with the D810. For more compactness a Df or maybe an F-mount mirrorless (hey, I can hope, can't I?)
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On the Scotland NikonGear event I was shooting 6mm, 10.5mm and 16mm and it fit's the Rørslett Rule of doubling the focal length pretty closely :o
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I concur with Erik's findings :D
My favorite kit would be 10.5/2.8, 20/1.8, 45P, and 135DC.
Extremely light and versatile on any format as long as it's full frame! :D
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In the early days, my travel kit was AI 20/3.5, AIS 55/2.8 micro and AIS 135/2.8. The spread is a bit more than the 2x ratio between lenses, but it enabled me to cover almost any situation - wide, standard, tele and macro. I find around 135-150mm is about as long as I can comfortably hand-hold (no VR). It is possible to hand-hold longer if the shutter speed is fast enough, but it's gets progressively harder to frame and focus accurately without some sort of support.
My ultra compact light-weight kit was AI 20/3.5, AIS 50/1.8 (Japan model) and E 100/2.8.
I usually shoot with some variation on this combination ...
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I'm still tending to use fast zoom lenses rather than primes for casual photography, which I've been defining all along as without tripod. This tends to be social events or quick shots while on the move.
For "serious" photographic expeditions I tend to use larger formats and primes, a tripod, and live-view focusing, but since this gear is based out of a vehicle I can carry more lenses so I don't follow Rorslett's rule. I might have several lenses in a single broadly similar focal length range, each lens with particular attributes, and several broad ranges of focal lengths. But there is also the option that I might go out on foot with just a few lenses selected from the overall group.
When at home, I do occasionally go out with just one prime, usually a normal or short telephoto, to challenge myself. And when recording indoor social events I like to use my A6000 with 12mm and fast 24mm lenses (maybe a fast 50mm as well), a combo which follows the rule nicely and functions quite well for this work.
My recent experience in the Sierra Nevada (see my Yosemite thread) called my assumptions and habits into question, as I ended up using my lightweight small-format zoom kit (intended for quick shots to record the trip) for serious work for hours at a time while my full-frame camera with nice primes sat almost unused. The one time I actually used the full-frame camera, perspective and framing required use of the zoom I had on hand.
The usual knocks on zooms are that they don't force discipline like primes do and the photographer ends up zooming instead of carefully choosing a perspective. I'm mindful of this and generally choose perspective before touching the zoom ring. The advantage of zooms is that one can choose both perspective and framing; being relegated to "foot zooming" means your perspective may not always be what you really want. And of course for nature photographers foot zooming often just can't be done, especially in rugged country.
Nevertheless, on that trip I ended doing a great deal of cropping in post, despite my efforts to get the shots framed well when I took them. One task I have is to go back and estimate effective focal lengths after cropping, and see what focal lengths would have worked up front if I'd done a more insightful job of composition in the field.
Another factor is that my DX shooting tends towards zooms due to a shortage of good autofocus primes in the wider focal lengths, and awkward focal lengths for autofocus primes beyond normal. Maybe I'm trying too hard to not waste pixels, by seldom trying manual focus when I'm not using a tripod. I am looking forward to eventually having a Df or Df2 and going out with manual focus primes to do what I used to do a long time ago.
All that said, my photography is in flux. The past few years have consisted of trying to break up decades-old lazy patterns and relearn the craft. My assumptions and concepts of how I go about photography have been changing and will change some more. Thus, I'm not at any sort of end point or even a medium-term equilibrium. My impending retirement will bring increased opportunities to try out different gear that I already own and challenge myself in new ways. I'm confident this will include more work with primes.
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24mm and 105mm f2.5 desert island lenses and a thousand fully charged batteries!! :D
If I had my old FM-2 just a thousand rolls of film..
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Better have a solar panel powered generator. Charged batteries die off when stored so have to be recharged. and what about power for processing :D
The 24 + 105 combination with the odd 55 Micro thrown into the kit was my normal set up for many years.
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Last vacation I took with me
16/2.8 AFD for ultra wide angle (+ fisheye hemi and defishing later and FX/DX quasi zoom with D800)
28/1.8 AFS
85/1.4 AFD
and in a small pocket the pancake nikkor 50/1.8 with Dandelion chip
some of the other 30 lenses I didn't even use last year
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For my D800:
16/3.5 AI
45/2.8 AI-P
105/2.5 AI-S
For my A7RII:
15/4.5 CV
35/2.8 Sony
135/3.4 APO Telyt
Bjorn is right - taking all my lenses leads to a mess and too many lens changes. I've pretty much banished zooms from my FX kits these days (I need to liquidate them all . . .).
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For my D800:
16/3.5 AI
45/2.8 AI-P
105/2.5 AI-S
For my A7RII:
15/4.5 CV
35/2.8 Sony
135/3.4 APO Telyt
Bjorn is right - taking all my lenses leads to a mess and too many lens changes. I've pretty much banished zooms from my FX kits these days (I need to liquidate them all . . .).
I have a small handful of zooms including a Tokina 70-200mm f2.8 Pro that works for events and has a good image quality but hardly use it.
I bring my 200mm f4 Nikkor, 105mm f2.5 Ais, 24mm and 35mm. I may start using the AF 60 micro D and start calibrating my eye and composition to it.