Best of the best lens

[kiwi]

Money being no object, what do you think is the very best lens for your brand camera for you ? And why ?

[jjphoto]

I use Canon bodies so I can use a vast range of lenses such as Zeiss, Leica R, Olympus, Contax Zeiss, Mamiya M645, Hasselblad etc etc lenses. The list is very very long. There is no such thing as a single best lens as it depends entirely on your purpose and personal taste as lens rendering is subjective. Some love Zeiss for 3D, I don't, so my taste will differ to others tastes but this doesn't make a lens any better or worse. Sharpness isn't everything to me but some people demand absolute sharpness in the corners (I don't even look in the corners). I like smooth Bokeh, but funky/harsh bokeh can add to an image too. There are so many factors and reasons to like or dislike a lens.

I'm very fond of the leica R 180/2.0 (for excellent min focusing distance of 1.5m, sharpness wide open, fast and accurate focusing (manual) and smoothness of Bokeh) and Leica R 28/2.8 (current, not the older versions, for it's amazing sharpness across the frame) which I use on Canon bodies. The R 28/2.8 might be the best of it's kind aside from the likes of the Leica M 28/2.8 ASPH but that can't be used on Canon bodies anyway.

The Canon 24-70 Zoom is a great lens and is certainly my 'go-to' lens for work.

JJ

[jim]

Nikon 50 f1.8. Fast enough for nearly anything, ultra sharp, low distortion, very light.

Focal length maybe not ideal for everything, but still very useful.

[Kym]

What am I shooting?

General. then one of the limited pancake primes maybe 35mm f/2.8 DA Limited
Birds, Pentax 600/4 FA* special order
Macro, Sigma 105 or Tamron 90 f/2.8 (also for Portraits)
Landscapes, Sigma 10-20
and a Nifty 50 (50/1.7)

[ving]

mp-e65mm

600/4 af-s

hmm... that new 85/1.4 af-s sounds sweet too...

[MattC]

http://www.zeiss.com/c12567a8003b58b...2571e100393a1b
I am sure I could find an adapter on ebay.

[Xebadir]

Im going to take the allrounder option.
50 F1.8D. Sometimes the simplest things in life are oft the best.

[Kym]

http://www.zeiss.com/c12567a8003b58b...2571e100393a1b
I am sure I could find an adapter on ebay.

Yeah, just make sure it's one without the flange

I could afford the lens (in my dreams) but how do I explain the tripod to Nel?

[wattsgallery]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...mm_f_5_6L.html

[Xenedis]

Money being no object, what do you think is the very best lens for your brand camera for you ? And why ?

There is no best lens.

My 300/2.8 is pretty bloody hopeless at wide shots, and my 16-35/2.8 is quite useless for tightly-framed images of subjects a considerable distance away.

My lenses have different applications, so they are all the best lenses for the purposes for which I use them.

I've covered it here:

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...06&postcount=6

[jim]

...my 16-35/2.8 is quite useless for tightly-framed images of subjects a considerable distance away.

Crop!

[kiwi]

Ok, just to clarify, the ONE best lens, it obviously has to first be the best for it's purpose

For the record, not that I have one, but nikon 200 f/2 is my choice

[mikew09]

Canon 7-200 L f2.8 IS USM - This is a very good fit for my 50D. I do a lot of shooting requiring some medium reach, fast an useful in low light - horse events. Is also ausleful lens for portrait work.

But at over 3 grand, who can afford one?

[gje38752]

I can only say what is best for me, after a lot of investigation I settled on a Cannon 15/85. a good walk around lens, wide enough for most circumstances, likewise for the length. Produces good quality results on my 50D

[knumbnutz]

Nikon 24-70 2.8 a great lens with all the right properties, sharp, fast and good bokeh.
If i could only choose one, this would be it.
Cheers Neil

[mrDooba]

Canon 800mm f/5.6
One can never have too many millimeters when chasing birds.

[RaoulIsidro]

Money being no object, what do you think is the very best lens for your brand camera for you ? And why ?

For my Canon: 24-70mm f2.8 because it feels so right for modelling assingments and everything else.
For my Nikon: 135mm f2 DC (defocus control) because only Nikon can do this.

[Cage]

No brainer for me.

Pentax 600/4 FA* special order (do they still make them Kym?)

Then I could look those far away little birdies in the eye.

Kevin

[BLWNHR]

Money being no object, what do you think is the very best lens for your brand camera for you ? And why ?

Well I can afford (and own) lenses which cover from 10mm to 200mm. The next step is a lens to cover up to around 400mm. A 400 2.8 would be grand, but I do prefer the flexibility of a zoom. So my 'best of the best' lens would be a 200-400 f/4. This is considerably out of my price range at present, but maybe one day I'll have one.

Is that what you were meaning Kiwi?

[kiwi]

Indeed