what lenses did you use most in 2016?

[schwett]

2016 saw a bunch of lenses go and a bunch of lenses come. old stalwarts like the 200-400 and 80-400 left, and in came new beauties like the 105 f/1.4, 19 f/4 pc-e, and others.

while doing some year end housekeeping (i like to start each year with my memory cards empty, batteries full, drives backed up, keywords culled, etc) i noticed that almost 80% of my images were shot with just six lenses, and 50% with just three! not a single macro lens was used in a "keeper" this year, which is curious. the chart below shows the metadata for the 781 images which achieved "keeper" status in 2016. it was also an unusual year in that the 24mm pc-e didn't get much use. we'll see if the 19mm finds itself in the bag as often as i hope. the 105 f/1.4 showed up quite a lot for a lens which only recently appeared.

the statistics make me question whether having multiple wide/normal zooms is useful for me - perhaps some member of the 16-35, 24-70, and 24-120 should find a new home to make room for something more interesting. i have a strict policy these days of one in, one out....



what did you guys shoot with most? any surprises?

[elsa hoffmann]

Interesting pie chart. Way more than 50% (maybe even 70%) of my images were taken with the 200-500 : which is  very surprising since I have only had a long lens for the past year. Since acquiring this lens - my photography focus has shifted - and that I didn't expect AT ALL.

I did less studio work in 2016 - not only because I was lazy  , or because I didn't want to - but because the work was less, I am too expensive, and money is tight. So all studio lenses has little usage. This year I will make an effort to change that.

btw thanks for this - it got me thinking about things that needed to be thought about.

[Kim Pilegaard]

Very interesting statistics! Maybe there is a tendency that newly acquired lenses get more use?

[John Geerts]

Very interesting indeed. It seems very logical that newly acquired lenses see a lot of use.

[Frank Fremerey]

I use no statistics / book keeping kind of software, but I can say from day-to-day experience  that in the field I used this year the

1.4/24G
1.4/35 Ai-S
1.8/85G
1.4/105G
4/300PF

All these on the D600 and D500.

My former "most used" optics like the 1.4/50, 1.8/50 and 2.8/60 Micro are next to completely idle as the D3 is.

In the Studio I use the 4/200 micro Ai-S and the Sinar with the 5.6/120 No 48 Schneider Apo Digitar.

For constrution work documentation I will use the D3 again because she can produce signed shots that can be verified and are accepted as valid proof in German courts.

[Jacques]

For the bulk of 2016 my three lens outfit consisted of 35 f1.4g, 58 f1.4g and 85 f1.4g, the 58 was used for approx 90% of my images, September saw the arrival of the 105 F1.4, at present I am alternating between the 105 and the 58 on the camera and the other in my bag. It has to be mentioned that I am retired and have the luxury of being able  to  please myself  about what I do during the day.

[Akira]

Since I had purchased D750 on February 29, my most used lens has been the nimble humble AF-S 50/1.8G.  A couple of months ago, I purchased Ai-P 45mm f2.8 pancake, and have been switching between these.

For the (hopefully) artistic closeups, I use Nikkor-O 55mm f1.2 a.k.a. CRT-Nikkor.

[chambeshi]

Ai-P 45mm f2.8 pancake

This little lens grows on one; even though its focus ring is so narrow. The black model of this 45mm AI-P seems to be rare in europe, and overpriced.

[Jakov Minić]

I agree that new acquisitions tend to overshadow the old and trusted work horses
There are two halves of 2016. In the first half I was using a Df and in the second the D750.
Similarly, I used the 8mm fish-eye in the first half which was later replaced by the 10.5. Then it was the 17-35/2.8 that was replaced by the 20/1.8. And finally the 85/1.4 was replaced by the 135DC.
The 45P is one of my all time favorites, probably not used that much, but I thoroughly enjoy it whenever I do

Not that I plan on getting rid of my lenses, but there are plenty that are not used at all and I might start getting rid of them like:
28/2.0
28/3.5
200/4.0
105/2.5

[MFloyd]

Out of the little over 10'000 images which were retained (a multiple of this in clicks, but I dont have the stats) in the Lightroom (Lr)  catalog, during 2016, about 28% were taken with the 300mm f/2.8 VRII (*), followed by 26% with the 28-300mm f/4.5-5.6, and 15% with the 16-35mm f/4 (all Nikkor lenses).  The high percentage of 300mm pictures is attributable to the fact that I've spend most of my summer time on car racing circuits.  About 78% of he pictures have been taken with the Nikon D5, the remainder with he D4s (sold in february 2016), the D610, but also 8% with smartphones (iPhone 6, and 6sPlus).

(*) out of the 300mm f/2.8 VRII, 1/3 of these pictures (10% in absolute) were taken at 600mm, with the TC-20E III, or a mere 10% in absolute.

Statistics like these, are only a few click away by applying the provided filters on the Lr Catalog

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Hard-learned experiences over the years have shown me that one's lenses come and go in vogue. A particular lens for some period may rise to favourite position then to be eclipsed by others. If one is to sell a lens once it is perceived to be little used, the need to buy it again later never fails to manifest itself. Trust me, been there too many times !!

My best advice is to keep any lens (unless one is in dire financial straits and think in short-term improvement), but to be careful not to buy more lenses on a whim. I try my utmost to follow that advice myself, but am only human ...

[Frank Fremerey]

Hard-learned experiences over the years have shown me that one's lenses come and go in vogue. A particular lens for some period may rise to favourite position then to be eclipsed by others. If one is to sell a lens once it is perceived to be little used, the need to buy it again later never fails to manifest itself. Trust me, been there too many times !!

My best advice is to keep any lens (unless one is in dire financial straits and think in short-term improvement), but to be careful not to buy more lenses on a whim. I try my utmost to follow that advice myself, but am only human ...

I bought and sold many lenses in my life and the only lens I regret to have sold is the 2.0/24 Ai which was small light and a rare very good sample of the lens I got from the original buyer who rarely used it. It has some very crazy bokeh wide open in the league of the older 1.4/35 or 1.2/55 and is perfectly sharp and clear at f/4

[armando_m]

Interesting exercise, my highest rated images since 2014
I printed 12 ... to make an agenda that I gave as a gift

[Wally]

@Schwett, which software / exif reader did you use for the pie chart? Thanks.

[schwett]

interesting replies from all. it seems many of us would be satisfied by a couple primes and a zoom. as hard as it was to part with, i'm glad I sold the 200-400. better someone use it than it sit in my drawer, and the 200-500 seems destined, at least for now, for more clicks. new gear definitely gets used more, for better or worse! I think one of my goals this year will be to reacquaint myself with some of my old favorites.

the heavy use of the 20 1.8 is in part because it's the lens I use for aerial/drone work. I still haven't quite mastered that lens on the ground.

re: the data, just looked at the statistics in bridge under "lens" with my 2016 smart collection selected. the chart came from excel. nothing fancy!