Over the last few months, I’ve often had to decide which lens to take along on trip or to field photo shoots. Looks like the winner is the 90mm tilt-shift. I take most of my photos with it. I sometimes combine it with 12mm or 25mm extension tubes to get closer focus, but not very often. So the second most commonly used lens is the 100mm macro. When that isn’t long enough, usually when I have to contend with a small backdrop, 200mm comes out. These three lenses account for over 90% of my photos. As a result, I am really looking forward to the eventual acquisition of the 70-200.
The second tier are the low-light choices, 85/1.8 and 35/2. Usually, I’d rather add light than use super-wide apertures. 24-70 is the lens of choice for snapshots and video work.
45mm tilt-shift and 300mm are in the last group, used very rarely. These two provide effects I cannot get otherwise, so I keep them in the line-up.
17-40 is currently on loan to a friend. For my use, faster 24-70 obsoleted it.
With the 90mm angle of view being preferred, it was no surprise that the Panasonic G2 was almost always used with the 45mm lens rather than the 20. That kit was gifted away. If I ever get another 4/3 system, 20-45-75 on something like GH3 would likely be the choice. Articulated LCD and fast AF (as opposed to the slow AF in DSLR “live view”) makes it preferable for travel.
Holy cow, I just googled “Tilt-Shift” lenses. I thought I was breaking into the high-dollar stuff with fast f2.8 fixed lenses, thinking that the f2.8 telephotos require a bank loan. At $1,200-1,400 for the 90mm version, looks like I’m way behind the power curve in my Nikon pro photography kit. I can see great possibilities with such lenses and Creative Suite 6, though…
Oleg, given that you mostly do person/product portraits I’m surprised you even use a tilt-shift, much less would carry that as a primary lens! Can you explain why, or better yet show some examples of how, you use the tilt/shift functionality?