What is Your Desert Island Lens?

December 18, 2010 @ 7:02PM

What is Your Desert Island Lens?

By Jack Reznicki

I’m often asked as a professional, what is my favorite lens. Well, that all depends, day or night shooting, in studio or on location, traveling, sports, portrait, landscapes? Ah, but what if you were stuck on a desert island with just one lens and only one lens. That's different than a favorite lens. What would you pick as your “desert island lens”, a lens that would be your one and only lens to shoot with?

For me that lens has changed over the years, depending on the available technology, such as film or digital, and which way I was seeing the world at the time. Sometime I see wide angle and sometimes I see mostly telephoto. Sometimes I take in a wide vista and sometime I take in portions of a scene.

For a period of time my desert island lens was the Canon 85mm f/1.2. Loved it. Still do. It was wonderful for shooting at night in low light levels. A great portrait lens. But with the advent of high ISO shooting, I don’t use it as much. In the days when ISO was measured as ASA (for us old-timers) getting 400 was as good as we could get and get good results. Oh, there was Agfa 1000, but you got wonderful golf ball sized grain. I knew some photographers who would push it to an unheard of 2000 to get a stylized, pointillism look. But now in the days of 3200 ISOs looking better than our old 400 ISOs, and speeds going into the hundred thousand range (unbelievable), a really fast lens isn’t as critical as it once was.

So what lens does it for me today, what lens is my favorite desert island lens? It’s the Canon 24 to 105mm f/4L IS USM. Sharp as a tack. And the IS means image stabilization which to me is second only to auto focus as my favorite lens technology improvements. Now it does distort a bit at 24mm, but with software from Canon or even in Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Lightroom, my computer corrects that barrel and pincushion effect automatically.

Other things I like about the 24-105 is that it’s not a big honking lens that scares people. I like shooting people and it’s not an intimidating bazooka to put into someone’s face. When you photograph people on the street, that you don’t know, it’s best not to look intimidating with 3 cameras and a “photo vest”. I want to look like an everyday tourist. It is smaller than one of my other previous desert island lenses, the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8. That was my studio workhorse lens for photographing kids for years until I got my 24-105mm.

So what’s your “desert island lens”?

Comments

Todd MacMillan

1 year ago

How big is the island? I would need to know more about the island. LOL

Otherwise: Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Jack Reznicki

1 year ago

LOL. Great question. Let's assume bigger than your standard cartoon desert island with one palm tree but smaller than your Hollywood standard Swiss Family Robinson desert Island utopia.
Let's say the Tom Hanks "Castaways" desert island variety.
You could shoot landscapes and even portraits of Wilson.

Todd MacMillan

1 year ago

I will stick my original answer. However, as you know, there is no one right lens. Know your subject, know your style.

Haje Jan Kamps

Pixiq Expert

1 year ago

For me - 50mm f/1.4. It's an absolute peach, and I love it!

Jack Reznicki

1 year ago

Ah, the 50mm. The most under-rated of lenses. Ya know, that would be my backup desert island lens.

woosang

1 year ago

OO I would say my Canon 24 to 105mm f/4L IS USM as you have. But if I can sneak another.. my sigma (yes) 30m f 1.4.... It does fabulous portrait shots on a cropped fram sensor..

Felix Cobos

1 year ago

Olympus ZD 12-60 SWD

Cunserone

1 year ago

I can survive just fine with just a prime lens, not a zoom. When the boat sinks, I'm grabbin' my 20mm lens.

It's good for panoramas and shooting the rescue boat framed between your feet after waking from a beach snooze. I like it for in-tight portrait shooting of my rescuers and fo making island-caught fish look really big when held close to the camera.

I can use the inverted naked "20" to easily focus the sun's rays into a pinpoint to start a fire in tree bark kindling for cooking the fish. Yum! Nothing better than a rectilinear-cooked Rockfish.

--GG

Liam P Burke

1 year ago

EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens

Maybe its just becuase I am a beginner but I love that lens....

ChasVS

10 months ago

For me, the Canon EF-S 18-200mm is my Desert Island lens.
It is my around town lens today on my 7D.

If I was on the island with my 5Dmkii, it would be the EF 24-105 L.

keekimaru

6 months ago

Review : Canon EF-S 60mm Lens

This was one of the first lenses that I purchased with my Rebel XT. Now after taking several thousand pictures with it I can honestly say it was well worth the cost. I very rarely have any unsharp pictures with this lens unless it is my own fault by trying to use too slow of a shutter speed without a tripod.

I also have the 180mm f/3.5L Macro Lens, which costs about 3 times more than this lens, and although it is very clear and the extra reach is nice at times especially since it can be used with both the 1.4X and 2X TC's, it is very difficult to use inside without a tripod. The 60mm can be handheld if needed with very good results even if you have to bump your ISO up a little to do so.

I have also used this lens for both inside and outside portrait work with very nice results.

All-in-all, given it's small size and light weight I very rarely leave this lens behind when I go out because you never know when you might see a great macro shot.

All I bought at the price $429 dollars from website amazon.

Or you may access information from this link.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007WK8KS/tipfla-20

I think Canon EF-S 60mm Lens where everyone must have. I believe you will get a very good experience like me.