My Zoom Lens
Updated: Nov 17, 2020
On the left, would be my only 3 prime lens, Sony G Master 16- 35mm f2.8, Sony G Master 24-70mm f2.8 and Tamron 70-180mm f2.8.
All these zoom lens could actually be a all in 1 lens if you are used to it. I shall explain more below individually.
Why Tamron in my Sony settings? I don't really use the 70-180mm so often (Sony version would be Sony G Master 70-200mm f2.8), but the price is 50% less than Sony, so I opted for Tamron instead of Sony. In fact, the 20mm does not make significant differences, there are so many good reviews from many YouTube videos example DPreview.com, Jarod Polin's and Manny Ortiz
Let's start with Sony G Master 16-35mm f2.8. I would say that this is a all rounder lens, from landscape (no distortion), street and also portrait photography. This is 1 of my favorite lens to bring along when I travel. Below are some of the photos I took with this lens. I only did very minor touch up on the photos, I prefer my photos to be as original possible.
Next, let's talk about the majority favorite all rounder lens Sony G Master 24-70mm f2.8. This lens can also do landscape, street and portrait too. The difference would be the 24mm is not as wide as the 16mm, for some people, it is wide enough, again, back to personal preference. The range is double of the 16-35mm, so to say, you are able to take tighter shots. Another advantage for this lens would be able to take a more natural street photographs. You may stand farther from the people to take the shot but if you were to use 16-35mm, you might need to go very close to the subject, maybe you will need to interact with the people so they will allow you to take the shots. Have a look at the sample shots.
Last but not least, a very useful lens but I don't really use it often due to the weight and size. It's the Tamron 70-180mm f2.8. I will use this if I plan to go to a place where the subject is far/ hard to reach. If you look at the following photos, they are from butterfly farm, bird park, zoo and 1 of it is the Terracotta warriors in China. The subjects are hard to reach, for example, the spider shot, it was high up between trees in the butterfly farm, there is no way I could climb up the trees to take the shot. Another example would be the Terracotta warriors, it was forbidden to go near to it as they are precious history relics, on top of that, there were so many tourists, this was the best lens to use at that point of time.
But, please don't get me wrong. There are also people use this for street photography or portrait using this lens, it comes back to your photography style, but with the weight and size, it's not a day use lens for me.
You may have a look at the reviews did by the few popular YouTube sensation i.e Jarod Polins, Manny Ortiz, Matt Granger and DPreview. Enjoy the photos!