Photography Gear: My Lenses

Having been asked recently what lenses I used with my Sony cameras I compiled a list and thought about whether I needed all these lenses. Here’s what I came up with. Note that my cameras have APS-C sensors so the focal lengths need multiplying by 1.5 for the full frame/35mm equivalent

Sony 18-135mm f3.5-5.6        My most used lens, sometimes the only one I take on walks, due to the      

                                            wide focal range.

Sony 10-20mm f4                  The second lens I take on walks - for wide angle shots.

Sigma 18-50 f2.8                   My newest lens, an alternative to the 18-135mm - less reach  but                                             better in low light.

Sony 11mm f1.8                    The third lens I often take on overnight trips, for night shots and       

                                            astrophotography.

Sony 70-350mm f4.5 - f6.3      For wildlife, 525mm 35mm equivalent at long end! Quite heavy so                                             local use and occasional day walks. 

Sony 30mm f3.5 Macro          Mostly used for photographing slides on a lightbox.

Sony 50mm f1.8                    Portraits & sometimes low light shots of gear and other items. My               

                                            only full frame lens – it works fine.

Sony 35mm f1.8                    Low light lens - often used for gear photos and on evening walks.

Sony 55-210mm f4.5-f6.3        My oldest lens (2010), much lighter but less reach and poorer      

                                            quality images than 70-350mm.

 

Sony 16-50mm f3.5-5.6          Tiny & ultralight kit lens that came with the a6000 camera in 2014.

                                            My main lens for a few years but poor quality compared to 18-135 and   

                                            18-50 lenses.

The last two are the only lenses I could easily dispense with.

I’m not thinking of any new lenses this year as I bought three last year – the 11mm, 10-20mm, and 18-50mm, the first two to replace a 12mm and a 10-18mm, which I sold. The only lens I’d really like doesn’t exist and probably never will – an 18-135 f2.8 that doesn’t weigh much more than the f3.5-5.6 one. Oh, and it would be nice if it was 16-135! 

That said, a macro lens with a longer focal length would be nice. 30mm can be hard to work with. Maybe ........