What lenses do you actually use most?

[dcm]

Seems I prefer my telephotos 2:1 over my normal/wide lenses so far this year. In the past it would have been reversed, but I recently added some longer lenses to my collection. Part of that is what I've been shooting and part is practice/experimentation required to improve my technique.

I think a better question is which lens do you get the most keepers from. I'm a bit behind on post processing, just returned from a vacation with lots of images so that answer will have to wait.

 

[Zeidora]

#1 Zeiss 100 mm Makroplanar (both Contax CY earlier, now ZE)
#2 MPE-65, but that could be skewed because I mainly stack, so one image = stack of 50-150 images.
#3 most likely Zeiss 21 mm CY or ZE.
#4 Zeiss EVO40 XVP: that is a scanning electron microscope with one three-element zoom lens: some 20K images give or take.
#5 Zeiss planapo 0.63x and planapo 1.5x on Zeiss Discovery V12/V20 and Axiocam HRc [Stereomicroscope set-up also quite a bit of z-stacking]

The rest is odd lenses in 35 mm as well as 4x5"

 

[Random Orbits]

LR users, is there a way inside LR to access this information?
OP, about your %exiftools script - is this run on a Mac OSX in the command line platform?

My comment about usage is that one's interests may change per season or per year or per new lens purchase. I am currently running about 80%+ with a single recently purchased macro lens (the terrific Voigtlander 125mm f/2.5 ApoLanthar 1:1 macro) - I am on a wildflower and fungus kick.

Yes, you can do it from the Library module. I usually key CTRL-F, but it should be under View. The link below gives some more direction. You can select metadata and sort based on camera, lens, use, etc. I arrange my pics by year and quarter (subfolder), so I can easily compare how habits change from one year to the next.

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/help/finding-photos-catalog.html

 

[RLPhoto]

1. 135L
2. 50mm f/1.2L
3. 17-40L

That will change in time as I no longer own the 50L nor the 17-40L.

 

[patrickfd]

Canon 24-105 L is my primary lens on a Canon 7d II
Canon 70-300 L is on my Canon 7d

Most times I carry both

I just 20 minutes ago bought the Tamron 70-200 2.8 so we'll see how much I use that once I get it and see how I like it.

www.squadfirephotos.com

 

[pedroesteban]

The 24mm f/1.4L II is my most used lens by far.
The 135 f/2L is in a distant second position.

 

[Deleted member 91053]

For number of shots, my most used lenses are the 600 f4L IS II and the 24-70 f2.8L II. The 600 primarily because that is where the 1DX machine gun is activated most of the time.

I was thinking along the same lines. Possibly the better question is, what lens gives you the most keepers? After all, we take shots to get great results. If you machine gun away with a big white, how many are genuinely top notch images that you would show to others? I probably take most shots with my 500mm II but the keeper rate is far below what I'd get with my Sigma 85mm f1.4 or Canon 16-35 f4.

Makes you wonder.

Isn't that more down to the subjects being shot?
Probably 80-90% of my photography is done with the 800mm F5.6 L IS and a 1DX (in "Machine Gun" mode), my keeper rate is mainly determined by the composition/activity of the subject rather than focus accuracy etc. To me the reason to use high FPS is to catch a moment, this inevitably means there will be quite a number of deletions! When using my 16-35 F4 or 24-70 F2.8 I take very few shots, carefully composed, so the keeper rate is very much higher - it's just the nature of the beast.

 

[Hector1970]

I never thought of looking before.
I think the 10 FPS of the 7D II is distorting it a little

Lens %
Ef 100-400 64.999%
EF100 11.598%
EF 24-105 9.705%
EF 70-200 6.080%
EF 50 1.2 5.350%
TSE-24 1.101%
EF 50 1.4 0.969%
EF 28 1.8 0.189%
EF 18-55 0.005%
Sigma 150-500 0.003%

 

[Hector1970]

Interesting Question. I never checked it out before.
2015 so far looks dominated by the 7D mark II. 10 FPS has alot to answer for.
I think you'd tend to spend more time but taking less landscape photographs.
It looks like I'm getting good value from the 100-400.
I'd say last year the 70-200 would have topped the list.


Lens %
Ef 100-400 63.014%
EF100 11.244%
EF 24-105 9.409%
EF 70-200 5.894%
EF 50 1.2 5.187%
EF 17-40 3.054%
TSE-24 1.067%
EF 50 1.4 0.939%
EF 28 1.8 0.184%
EF 18-55 0.005%
Sigma 150-500 0.003%

 

[pj1974]

I don't have LR stats on my lens use (most of my photos don't go through LR) - but here is my list of lenses, and how I use them on my Canon 7D.
I won’t even guess on the %, but I put in order of my educated guess at how much I have used them in total (first = most frequent, last = least frequent)
• Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (general purpose zoom / usual 1 lens travel option, events)
• Canon EF 70-300mm L f/4-5.6 IS USM (telezoom most often used for wildlife & birds, sometimes outdoor sports)
• Sigma AF 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DC HSM (ultra [ultra!] wide angle zoom – for landscapes, architecture & occasional scenery fun)
• Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro (macros [duh!] and occasionally products, shallow dof)
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM (portraits low light, playing with shallow dof, indoor events. Have only had this lens about 2 months)

Regards, Paul 8)

 

[Maximilian]

I am too lazy to run any statistics but out intuitively I'd say top three are

24-105L about 40%
100-400L about 25%
100L Macro about 10%

 

[Bernd Stuht]

I have to look at the Statistic´s - has got DPP also an Statistic ?

Most used Lens is for sure the 24-70 f2.8 L II

But as an Amateur i am playing with my Gear and a new Lens will be used much more for a While.

My "early Years" in Photografics was influenced by medium Telezoom, switched to Digital several Years ago i
noticed the normal Focal Range becomes much more interesting for me ( because i am getting old ? :'( )

So i become a new Owner of an 100-400 II - to feel a bit younger 8) .

All my Lenses have there Usage - depending of what i want to catch on my Sensor.

Greetings

Bernd

 

[Dick]

Quite interesting that zooms seem to be the main lenses for most people. Personally I use my primes the most: these days the 24L2 dominates followed by the 85L2. The only zoom I actually use is the 8-15L fisheye and it is rarely used since I don't want to over use a fisheye or it gets boring. Been traveling for a few weeks now and only the two mentioned primes have been used.

 

[JPAZ]

While this should be easy, over time, trends and equipment changes. For example, change to FF in 2012 and subsequent changes in my arsenal since then. Also, usage depends on the situation, but here goes:

>24-70 f/2.8 ii (replaced the 24-105 which replaced the 15-85 which replaced the 17-85) : 50 %
>70-200 f/2.8 ii (or the f/4IS when I travel) : 20%
>17-40 (which replaced the 10-22) : 15%


And the rest is a mix of anything with a 300 /2.8, 100-400 (now 100-400 ii), 100 macro, 40 2.8 and 50 1.4

 

[photon]

It would be interesting to me if there was a way to compare most used along with favorite/best shots.

What I mean is say for example your standard zoom is used for 70% of your shots and your 85L is used for 10%...

..what percentages of those numbers would be images you want to sell/showcase/or are just your favorites.

Maybe I only shot 100 images with the 85L, but 80 of them are some of my favorites vs 10,000 shots with a normal zoom and 100 of them are favorites.

I didn't want to use "keepers" because that doesn't necessarily mean its your stand out work just because it got the job done.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

This is a really good example as to why asking for a lens recommendation without carefully specifying exactly what you need it for, will give so many different answers. We all have our favorite lens based on our usage.

 

[nc0b]

On trips to Easter Island, Machu Picchu & Alaska where I had to keep weight and bulk under control: 24-105mm on 6D & 70-200mm f/4 on 60D. 400mm f/5.6 on 6D for wildlife in that order. Indoor events 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II on 6D.

 

[Boromir883]

~ 110.000 shots within the last 3 years -statistics look like:

43% EF 70-200/2.8 L IS USM II
27% EF 400/2.8 L IS USM
14% EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
7% EF 24-105/4 L IS USM
4% EF 85/1.2 L IS USM II
5% Zeiss Planar 50mm/1.2 ; EF 100/2.8 IS USM, EF 16-35/2.8 II ; EF-S 10-22mm