- Sigma APO 70-300mm
- Nikon 55-200mm VR
- Nikon 18-70mm
- Nikon 55mm 3.5 macro
- Nikon 50mm 1.8
- Nikon 85mm 1.8
Hardly use the 70-300 - not long enough for real long shots, doesn't focus close enough for portraits, macro is only at the long end. Very slow. Bought it as it had such good reviews, but I didn't really think it through.
Took the 55-200 to Wales and forced myself to leave it on the camera for a few days, as I just wasn't getting the use from it that I thought I would. It turned out lots of very sharp images, and really persuaded me that zooms have their uses. The VR really does make a difference in low light. I'm going to use it a lot more.
18-70 doesn't get the use it did since I bought the primes, but still useful.
55mm macro is superb, even though it doesn't even meter with my D50, but that's not really a problem for me when shooting macro stuff.
50mm and 85mm I use for about 90% of my photography. Really fast for low light - a real plus during our dark winters. Very light, so I can take my camera with me when I go to client visits in London. Very small, so I don't look like a 'terrorist' when I take pictures around the city - the 85mm is the 35mm equivalent of a 135, but is smaller than my kit lens. I like having so much control over depth of field using primes - with zooms, I find I have to go to the longer end in order to get narrow DOF. Also, primes give such a bright viewfinder image.
However, primes are luxury used by amateurs like me - if I were a professional, I doubt if I'd have the time to keep switching lenses without missing shots.
Chris Seary
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