A little research on shooting range - please help!

Cato

On a non-photog forum I'm a member of, we've gotten into a little bit of a debate over what lens focal length is most useful. It's regarding fixed-lens P&S cameras, so there's no chance to change the built-in lens.

So, I'd like to ask you kind and accomplished picture-takers, what focal length range do you find most useful?

Some examples:

Wider than 28mm
28mm-70mm
70mm-150mm
150mm-300mm
Longer than 300mm
Thank you for participating!!! :barb

dlplumer

My walk around lens is 18-85.

bandgeekndb

I find myself loving the 18-55 that came with my D40 for just about everything.

Although, if I could afford it, I'd love the flexibility of the 18-200 from Nikon. Past 200, the only thing I'd use it for is nature or sports, which are specialties, not the norm for me.

I do find myself missing the wide end when I have my 55-200 on the camera, and vice versa, but I can't afford the 18-200 right now. Maybe if I sell the other 2 in the future, but oh well.

swintonphoto

I find the 35mm equivalent range of 28mm to 100mm is where I shoot about 80% of my images. This translates into different focal lengths for different crop cameras. However, I feel limited without being able to go as wide as 28mm, and without being able to go out to 100mm.

So, my 4/3 lens that I use the most is the 14-54mm. On the 2x crop factor it works very well reaching the 35mm equivalent range of 28-108mm.

jasonstone

I have 18-200mm (35mm equiv 27-300mm) and use most of the range although could probably live with 18-135mm (27-200mm)

I couldn't live without wide angle but likewise I couldn't live without telezoom

ziggy53

In 35mm equivalent, my most used range is in the 28-80mm range and my most used apertures are f2.8 - f5.6.

I did find a way to adapt some nice Nikon converter lenses to my FujiFim FinePix F30 to give it the equivalent to:

24mm approx. FOV at wide end using the Nikon WC-E63
A little over 200mm approx. FOV at tele end using the Nikon TC-E2

I'd rather not go into detail about how I use the converter lenses because I'm not really happy about the way it works physically, but optically I like the results.

To summarize, I guess I'm saying that the range from 24mm to 200mm FOV in 35mm equivalence is what seems to make me happiest. (I also had that on the Minolta DiMage A2 using an accessory WA lens, the ACW-100.)

geospatial_junkie

I like my 5mm-600mm lens as my walk around....

Seriously though, I find myself using my 24-70mm most of the time.

Photoskipper

Most use 24-105 for 5D FF and 18-200 for my 300D (1.6 crop)

Consider the range of 35 to 100 will be the most useful range for everyday use

jdryan3

Cato wrote:

So, I'd like to ask you kind and accomplished picture-takers, what focal length range do you find most useful?

Easy enough! How about the the focal length that best captures the image I want, without having to over crop

What is my favorite general purpose lens? I carry the 24-70m f/2.8 on my 5D as the walkaround setup. I also carry or will put on the 70-200 as my primary lens depending upon the circumstances. Favorite prime AND my favorite low-light? 35 f/1.4.

ian408

I guess the answer depends on what I'm shooting. If it's surf, then between 300-500 is a good choice.
But if I'm doing the landscape thing, something in the 24-105 ish range covers a lot of stuff.

Tee Why

In 35mm film format, which most are used to, a "normal" zoom is commonly used for general purpose shooting.
They tend to range from 28-100 or so. Canon has several in this range including a 24-70, 28-90 IIRC, 28-105, 28-135, and 24-105.

Cato

Thank you for all the responses!

ian408

Cato wrote:

Thank you for all the responses!

No problem

I'll add that it's more about how you fill the frame with what you have. Marc M. mentioned this and I thought it was very appropriate in response to a question about the best lens to use for a given subject.
Especially when you have a good zoom to do it with.