Post your ideal prime lineup!

JohnBee · 01-24-2010, 01:38 AM

I've been trying to build the perfect prime collection for several months now and I've encountered a few head scratchers on issues of what focal ranges to go with. So I wanted to ask if anyone else would care to share their ideal prime collections to help shed light on matters.

My current collection looks as such:

15mm
28mm
35mm
50mm
58mm
85mm
100mm
135mm

And of course some of these(ie. 28 and 58mm's) come with what we'd call a ridiculous amount of copies. But they all seem to have something special about them and so... what does one do in such cases?

I look forward to your input also!

simico · 01-24-2010, 02:21 AM

I'm mainly a zoom guy

, but if I wanted to use primes only then I'd buy 21 Ltd, 35 or 40 Ltd (can't decide between these two), 70 Ltd. These 3 and the 100mm macro I already have, would cover 98% of my shooting.

thomascdk · 01-24-2010, 03:55 AM

15/3.5
50/1.2
135/2.5
200/2.5

These four take me a long way.

freewheeler · 01-24-2010, 04:09 AM

My line up consists of (16-45) 28,35,50,58,85,100,135
I could by happy with "only" 21, 43 and 77 Ltd's too I suppose.....
For these 8 lenses I paid euro 915, the 3 Ltd's would be...a bit more expensive.

Last edited by freewheeler; 01-24-2010 at 04:14 AM.

sterretje · 01-24-2010, 04:14 AM

The dream setup:

A non-existing (as far as I know) 18mm/2.8, the FA31 (perfect standard lens on APS-c) and the FA77. Possibly a 50mm macro between the 31mm and 77mm.

For telework (wildlife) I will stick with a zoom.

axl · 01-24-2010, 04:15 AM

I'm getting to my ideal line up.
It would be 15/14 (12 or 10 if it existed no FE) 18/20, 24 31, 43, 55, 77.
I do have 135 at the moment, but despite being excellent lens I think I'll be selling as soon as I will find nice wide prime. 77ltd would be nice, but since I rarely shoot above 50 it can wait. My middle section is complete though I wouldn't mind swapping the K series 24 for A cousin. And I'm thinkig of getting FA20, just ain't sure if it's not too close to 24. Oh well we'll see...

BR
Peter

rover · 01-24-2010, 04:28 AM

A 20/2.8
31 LTD
43 LTD
77 LTD

I am good to go with these.

joakimfors · 01-24-2010, 04:40 AM

I'm working on a DA 15, DA 35, DA 70 collection… only missing the DA 15 now.

Blaze · 01-24-2010, 04:40 AM

Current prime line-up:
Tokina 24/2.8 (not bad for the price (~20$), but flare kills it)
FA 35/2 (favorite lens, but 31mm would be a better FL)
Super Tak 50/1.4 (great lens, but the FL is weird on APS-C, 58mm would be better)
Tair 135/2.8 (heavy and only 1.2 min.focus)
DA 70/2.4 incoming (hopefully this week

)

Ideal line-up:
14-16mm for UWA (DA 15/4 or a fish-eye)
20-24mm WA (CZ 20/4, CZ 20/2.8, DA 21/3.2, FA 20/2.8, CZ 24/2.8 or Voigt 20/3.5)
30-35mm fast normal (FA 31/1.8 or FA 35/2)
70-90mm short tele/portrait (DA 70/2.4, FA 77/1.8, Voigt 90/3.5 or a nice fast 85mm)
plus a longer tele/portrait/macro would be nice (voigt 125/2.5 or FA 200/4 ).

40mm and 43mm are too long for a normal lens IMHO (fighting LBA here

)

Jimfear · 01-24-2010, 04:46 AM

Always fun to dream!

K/A 15mm/3.5
A 20mm/2.8
K 28mm/2
K 35/3.5
K 50/1.2
A* 85mm/1.4
A* 135mm/1.8
K 200mm/2.5

This is the slimmed down version. The full version can be found on Dimitrov's K-mount page

JohnBee · 01-24-2010, 04:59 AM

Can anyone comment on the validity of the 35mm over that of the 28?
This has been one of my biggest issues as I can't honestly think of an advantage between the two.

Zav · 01-24-2010, 05:01 AM

Originally posted by sterretje

The dream setup:

A non-existing (as far as I know) 18mm/2.8, the FA31 (perfect standard lens on APS-c) and the FA77. Possibly a 50mm macro between the 31mm and 77mm.

For telework (wildlife) I will stick with a zoom.

There is a Zeiss 18 f2,8.

Nesster · 01-24-2010, 05:25 AM

Here's all I need:

wlachan · 01-24-2010, 05:40 AM

When I was still shooting film, FA*24, FA43 & FA77 were ideal for my need. I could fit more lenses into my bag but usually ended up less practical. I haven't quite found my ideal combo with APS-C though.

apemen · 01-24-2010, 05:49 AM

I've got
15mm, 21mm Ltds.
Sigma 30mm
40mm, 70mm Ltds.
Tamron 90mm macro
Pentax 200mm

I need a 135mm and a 400mm, then I'm done : )

01-24-2010, 01:38 AM	#1
JohnBee Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Newrfoundland Photos: Albums Posts: 4,667	Post your ideal prime lineup! I've been trying to build the perfect prime collection for several months now and I've encountered a few head scratchers on issues of what focal ranges to go with. So I wanted to ask if anyone else would care to share their ideal prime collections to help shed light on matters. My current collection looks as such: 15mm 28mm 35mm 50mm 58mm 85mm 100mm 135mm And of course some of these(ie. 28 and 58mm's) come with what we'd call a ridiculous amount of copies. But they all seem to have something special about them and so... what does one do in such cases? I look forward to your input also!

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01-24-2010, 02:21 AM	#2
simico Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Budapest Posts: 821	I'm mainly a zoom guy , but if I wanted to use primes only then I'd buy 21 Ltd, 35 or 40 Ltd (can't decide between these two), 70 Ltd. These 3 and the 100mm macro I already have, would cover 98% of my shooting.

01-24-2010, 03:55 AM	#3
thomascdk Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 258	15/3.5 50/1.2 135/2.5 200/2.5 These four take me a long way.

01-24-2010, 04:09 AM	#4
freewheeler Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: amsterdam Posts: 130	My line up consists of (16-45) 28,35,50,58,85,100,135 I could by happy with "only" 21, 43 and 77 Ltd's too I suppose..... For these 8 lenses I paid euro 915, the 3 Ltd's would be...a bit more expensive. Last edited by freewheeler; 01-24-2010 at 04:14 AM.

01-24-2010, 04:14 AM	#5
sterretje Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Roodepoort, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,561	The dream setup: A non-existing (as far as I know) 18mm/2.8, the FA31 (perfect standard lens on APS-c) and the FA77. Possibly a 50mm macro between the 31mm and 77mm. For telework (wildlife) I will stick with a zoom.

01-24-2010, 04:15 AM	#6
axl Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Nove Zamky, Slovakia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,183	I'm getting to my ideal line up. It would be 15/14 (12 or 10 if it existed no FE) 18/20, 24 31, 43, 55, 77. I do have 135 at the moment, but despite being excellent lens I think I'll be selling as soon as I will find nice wide prime. 77ltd would be nice, but since I rarely shoot above 50 it can wait. My middle section is complete though I wouldn't mind swapping the K series 24 for A cousin. And I'm thinkig of getting FA20, just ain't sure if it's not too close to 24. Oh well we'll see... BR Peter

01-24-2010, 04:28 AM	#7
rover Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 149	A 20/2.8 31 LTD 43 LTD 77 LTD I am good to go with these.

01-24-2010, 04:40 AM	#8
joakimfors Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lund, Sweden Posts: 237	I'm working on a DA 15, DA 35, DA 70 collection… only missing the DA 15 now.

01-24-2010, 04:40 AM	#9
Blaze Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Israel Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 124	Current prime line-up: Tokina 24/2.8 (not bad for the price (~20$), but flare kills it) FA 35/2 (favorite lens, but 31mm would be a better FL) Super Tak 50/1.4 (great lens, but the FL is weird on APS-C, 58mm would be better) Tair 135/2.8 (heavy and only 1.2 min.focus) DA 70/2.4 incoming (hopefully this week ) Ideal line-up: 14-16mm for UWA (DA 15/4 or a fish-eye) 20-24mm WA (CZ 20/4, CZ 20/2.8, DA 21/3.2, FA 20/2.8, CZ 24/2.8 or Voigt 20/3.5) 30-35mm fast normal (FA 31/1.8 or FA 35/2) 70-90mm short tele/portrait (DA 70/2.4, FA 77/1.8, Voigt 90/3.5 or a nice fast 85mm) plus a longer tele/portrait/macro would be nice (voigt 125/2.5 or FA 200/4 ). 40mm and 43mm are too long for a normal lens IMHO (fighting LBA here )

01-24-2010, 04:46 AM	#10
Jimfear Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Uppsala, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 576	Always fun to dream! K/A 15mm/3.5 A 20mm/2.8 K 28mm/2 K 35/3.5 K 50/1.2 A* 85mm/1.4 A* 135mm/1.8 K 200mm/2.5 This is the slimmed down version. The full version can be found on Dimitrov's K-mount page

01-24-2010, 04:59 AM	#11
JohnBee Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Newrfoundland Photos: Albums Posts: 4,667 Original Poster	Can anyone comment on the validity of the 35mm over that of the 28? This has been one of my biggest issues as I can't honestly think of an advantage between the two.

01-24-2010, 05:01 AM	#12
Zav Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,371	Originally posted by sterretje The dream setup: A non-existing (as far as I know) 18mm/2.8, the FA31 (perfect standard lens on APS-c) and the FA77. Possibly a 50mm macro between the 31mm and 77mm. For telework (wildlife) I will stick with a zoom. There is a Zeiss 18 f2,8.

01-24-2010, 05:25 AM	#13
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072	Here's all I need:

01-24-2010, 05:40 AM	#14
wlachan Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Canada Photos: Albums Posts: 2,625	When I was still shooting film, FA*24, FA43 & FA77 were ideal for my need. I could fit more lenses into my bag but usually ended up less practical. I haven't quite found my ideal combo with APS-C though.

01-24-2010, 05:49 AM	#15
apemen Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Ankara, TURKEY Posts: 181	I've got 15mm, 21mm Ltds. Sigma 30mm 40mm, 70mm Ltds. Tamron 90mm macro Pentax 200mm I need a 135mm and a 400mm, then I'm done : )