Lens Swapping (Relentlessly)

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rabaroo

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One I guess maybe more for the newbies/amateurs but do you ever get into a situation when out and about of relentless lens swapping!?

I have an 18-55 kit lens which I've kinda fallen out of favour with, so prefer not to use it; favouring my 28-105 instead.... However even with that which has good range I find myself "feeling" limited by it and switching back to the 18-55 to get a shot, then changing back to the preferred lens....

Not a massive problem as I'm pretty fast now at switching lenses, just a pain keeping going inside the bag all the time...

does anyone else get into this type of situation, or do you prefer to just stick with what you have on the camera and compromise in terms of a) composition or b) not getting the shot to save the hassle???
 
Not really, I got a DSLR so that I could have the right lens for the right situation, not have to compromise! So yes, it's a bit of a hassle, and it annoys the hell out of anyone that you're with, but it's going to get the best results in the long run! I'll always try to see what I can get with the lens that's on the camera, but I do have to switch over a fair bit!

Chris
 
I've tended to use two camera bodies, at the moment one has the macro lens the other has a telephoto. It's the way I've worked for many years and prefer it that way.
 
chris321 said:
Not really, I got a DSLR so that I could have the right lens for the right situation, not have to compromise! So yes, it's a bit of a hassle, and it annoys the hell out of anyone that you're with, but it's going to get the best results in the long run! I'll always try to see what I can get with the lens that's on the camera, but I do have to switch over a fair bit!

Chris
Click to expand...

Thats my point I guess.... my wife is very understanding about the lens swapping and its almost become a running joke as invariably I never have the one I want on!, but for other people I can see it'd be a pain!

I dont actually mind swapping the lenses (Within reason!), was just wondering whether I should just work with what I've got or keep going with the switching.....

anyway the 18-55 is on a limited life-span now and will be replaced with a wider lens, so that'll give a bit more of a clear-cut swap rather than the current situation where the two lenses overlap each other
 
Is there a specific reason why you are swapping?

Is it to go wider? Or another reason?

Look at that reason and see if there is a single lens that will to the job of the two you keep switching between consider getting it.
Personally I find 28mm not to be wide enough, so I went with the 17-85 lens as a compromise (But a good one)
 
It does take time to be able to get comfortable with the right lens for the day...I have taken to only taking a maximum of two lenses when I'm out for a non photography day, that way I don't risk upset because of my ferreting around in the camera bag ;)

However, I have found that the 24-70 range seems to be about right for me...I only really want for something longer if I want to do some candids as I really dislike getting in peoples faces with the camera.

Cheers,
James
 
RichardtheSane said:
Is there a specific reason why you are swapping?

Is it to go wider? Or another reason?

Look at that reason and see if there is a single lens that will to the job of the two you keep switching between consider getting it.
Personally I find 28mm not to be wide enough, so I went with the 17-85 lens as a compromise (But a good one)
Click to expand...


its to go wider really.... i started out with the 18-55 but that wasnt long enough, so i went for a 55-250 to give the extra reach...... then i found that even with that combo i was switching a lot as 55 wasnt long enough, so i'd have to switch to the 55-250, but then with that on 55 wasnt wide enough to do anything with... so i'd switch back :bonk:

so from there i got the 28-105 which i thought would be a good generic/walk about type lens - which it is really, but the 10mm from 18-28 (now that i'm used to 18mm from the kit lens) makes all the difference.....

I will be looking for a new wide lens in the future, up to now ive been targetting a 10-20 or something like that, but perhaps thats TOO WIDE? - now I have a good tripod and for really wide landscapes I could do panoramas and stitch numerous pics together which would avoid the wide lens distortion issue!? - so perhaps something starting at 16/17 up to something around 80 or 100 would suit me best????

i dont really know!?:bat:
 
I'm always swapping lenses, mainly because I don't use zooms.

In 35mm I usually take out 28mm, 50mm and 135mm and in medium format it's usually 50mm, 90mm and 180mm.

Sometimes though, I will limit myself to just one lens.



Steve.
 
i was guilty of this too.

i inherited 12 Leica primes and spent a couple of months "NEVER" having the right lens on and changing, changing back and generally not taking any photos.

For day to day clickyness i take one lens and figure out how to make it work best for me.

For specific events i take all the toys and get there early so i can plan my lens use.
 
still only using my Kit lens as I havn't even upgraded to a nifty fifty yet.. this is mostly because i dont feel too limited by the kit, especially with the summer light coming in i find myself doing less dusk shots where the low aperture would be a problem. thinking about it, you may find that if you restrict yourself to a 50mm you will be forced to think about how that lens will work for your photography, and start making compositions based around the 50mm and what it can do. Alot of people do this as a way of improving their photography.
 
I keep my kit lens just for use as a wide angle if ever I need it. I leave the 30mm on most of the time and zoom with my feet, just because it give the best quality photographs. The recent good weather allowed me to put my cheapie 55-200 Tamron on and stop it down to get nice sharp photos of our new puppy thought which was nice.

So, yeah I change lenses a fair bit when I'm out walking I suppose. Doesn't bother me other than dust getting in.
 
As with Steve Smith, if you think that you're limited when using Zooms, try it out with just Primes...

I was out in Covent Garden & Regents Park at the weekend for the first time with my new lens lineup 35mm, 100mm macro, 200mm (left the 50mm & 85mm at home) and although I changed lenses a few times, I had made the decision to spend most of the time with the 200mm in play, so it was probably less changes than you'd anticipate.

I was actually out with the intention of doing some street/candid shots, so the 200mm was perfect for that. Come to think of it I don't think I put the 100mm on at all - just the 200 and the 35.
 
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