So this week I bought a really boring lens for my camera and I'm more excited for it than I think I was even for my new camera. It's probably mostly boring because it's practical instead of fun and new. I bought it to solve a problem and I suspect it will.
I have been trying to get out more with my camera lately. I'm trying to take the camera with me on bike rides and we try to get out in nature with the kids at least for a bit every weekend. But I never quite know what lenses to bring. I usually want to bring my telephoto lens in case there are birds or other wildlife. But in reality I end up using it a lot to take pictures of the kids. It's nice to get a bit farther away to get them playing or doing whatever kids do when they don't realise you're watching. But I also usually want my wide angle lens to be able to take pictures a bit closer up, for example while sitting at a table or doing something together.
The thing is that my wide angle is 10-24mm and my telephoto is 55 -300mm so I'm missing most of the standard range. I used to have lenses for that but they weren't really great and I didn't like them so they usually stayed at home. Instead I've often brought my 40mm prime, which is a great lens and helps between the other two lenses but still a bit narrow for sitting around a table. I would usually bring those three lenses and still miss that middle range.
That's where this new lens comes in. It's the 17-55mm f2.8 from Nikon. It's over 20 years since it launched as I understand it but still costs about 15000 SEK. I got it used for about a fifth of that. It's super heavy and quite large. But is hopefully going to solve the question of what lenses to bring. It's really rare that I use the super wide end between about 10 and 15mm. So if I don't have anything special planed I can hopefully leave the 10-24mm at home. And the 40mm is by far the lightest and smallest, but also most limited. I love it for macro, it can focus crazy close and takes great sharp images as well, but I rarely reach for it otherwise. So maybe I can bring just the new 17-55mm and the 55-300mm. Or even leave the telephoto if I'm packing even lighter.
Even though I'm packing fewer lenses I'm not sure I'm saving any weight, the new one is super heavy. But I am saving on space and right now that feels like my main limit on photo gear. Having so many lenses has made it hard to find good bags. It's meant I use my camera backpack, which is great for that. But it also really sticks out if I'm in town and it's a bit small for also packing lunch or extra kids stuff in nature.
So packing fewer lenses will give me more space on dedicated photo trips and more bag options going on more urban trips. I've only taken one or two test shots at home so far, but I'm really excited for this (kind of boring) lens.
posted 04 Apr 2024