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Ideal lens lineup

V

vato

Hello,

i know there's no ideal lens lineup and that it all depends on what photography you are in. Anyway, i'm planning to enlarge my Zuiko lens collection and am asking which lenses would be the best for a complete range. I'm mainly interested in B/W street and documentary photography.

Thank you.
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Dear V....
Many experienced users, will say that the 35mm would be a necessary lens.

Others will say no hard and fast rules.

I would suggest you use what you have now and shoot as much as possible and observe the majority of situations in which you need a certain focal length. That shld be your answer.

If you wish to adopt the safe route, then 35mm won't hurt you since you are missing that focal length. Try to buy the fastest lens U can afford.

Have U considered using a rangefinder camera for such shooting ? Its less intimidating to your subjects.

Rgds
TMLee
 
My most used lenses are:
28mm/2.8
50mm/2 Macro
100mm/2
For street shots I some times use 24mm. For big animals I always use 200mm and 300mm. I do have 37-70mm and 75-150mm zooms, but I prefer to use prime lenses.
 
TMLee:

Suggesting a Leica M-System???
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I don't do only documentary photography, so a SLR works well, for me. And, as you know, the OM cameras are not so big and intimidating, confronting them with an EOS-1 with BP...

Thanks.}
 
It is one of the great photography myths that one needs to use any particular type of camera to do either documentary or street work. Eugene Richards, perhaps THE living American documentary photographer, uses an OM3 - just so he can use the 21 f2 - and a beatup Canon F1. And neither of them are quiet, although the Oly is small.

What is important is the behavior of the photographer, not the camera. I've been using an E1 with zoom for street work and documentary work, and have no more problem with it than I did with my Leica Ms. If a photographer knows how to make him or herself part of the background, how not to stickout like the proverbial sore thumb, it's possible to shoot with a big DSLR, a small DSLR, or anything else.

B. D.
 
“… i'm planning to enlarge my Zuiko lens collection.â€

Why are you enlarging your Zuiko lens collection?

Are you doing it because you are a collector or in your shooting, do you find the need for a focal length you do not have?

Based on the lenses you have and the type of shooting you are doing, your current lenses should meet your needs. You may even have more lenses than you need. For ex&le, why do you have a 75-150 f4 and a Vivitar 75-200 f4.5? Do you really need them both?

On the other hand, if I were in your position, I would give serious consideration to a 90mm f2.5 macro lens. This would help me take better close-ups and portraits for my “B/W street and documentary photography.“

If you are a collector, it doesn’t really matter. Get the best Zuiko lenses you can find for the lowest price.
 
Just got round to reading this topic, so this is a bit late, but for what it's worth, if I could only keep three lenses they would be -
21mm/f2.0, 35mm/f2.0 and 85mm/f2.0.
Unless you have a specific requirement for long lenses (for sports etc.) in my opinion these three lenses can handle just about everything else.
 
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