It really is hard for me to pick my favorite lenses. All of them have a special place in my heart somewhere, but there are definitely a few of them that I love more than the others. This has been a fun series to dive in a little bit more, and share my favorites of my favorites, and why! You can see more of this series here!

Uno: What I Couldn’t Live Without
Dos: American Sniper
Tres: Details, Details, Details
Quatro: Caution: Wide Load
Cinco: It’s Pretty Nifty

Lens Love | Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8

Now I know I’m definitely not the first photographer that has this lens as one of their favorites. My 70-200 f/2.8 is right up there with my 85: like neck and neck. It is versatile. The bokeh is amazing, and you really can’t go wrong with it’s compression. The ONLY thing that I have an issue with on a long wedding day is how heavy it is. If they could find a way to make an amazing lens like the 70-200, but cut it’s weight by about half, they’d be billionaires.

My 70-200 is my go to lens when it comes to shoot wedding ceremonies. I love that I am able to zoom in to important details, but also remain inconspicuous throughout, and not have to be up in people’s faces and being a distraction. It helps so much to have that extra reach, and I just love the way the images look when I’m shooting around 200. Though I do love it for ceremonies, I also love it for portrait sessions. It really helps pop your subject off the background giving you pleasing-to-the-eyes images. It’s just amazing. And quick! I could keep gushing out this guy for days. It’s just that amazing.

There are other photographers out there who swear by their off brand 70-200 lenses. Before I made the purchase of mine, I rented both the Tamron and the Sigma, and I found that the Nikon was worth the extra money. It was fast. It didn’t hunt for focus, and it still worked well in low light, so much that I was willing to fork out the extra money for the name brand. But, to each his/her own!

Cons

Like I mentioned above, I really do love this lens, but I don’t love how heavy it is. I have tried to shoot weddings with it all day, only to end up with a sore wrist, and a sore back, and pain shooting up my arm from prior carpal tunnel issues, so that’s not fun. I’ve been limiting the amount of time I use it on long wedding days. I also don’t like where the switches for the focal zone and VR are. I find myself switching the focal zone from Full to 5m-infinity which makes me ABSOLUTELY INSANE! I’ll be in the middle of a session and realize that my images aren’t as sharp as normal and 99% of the time it’s because I’ve flipped that switch. Not a deal breaker, but definitely annoying. Luckily, I know I do this, and so I make a conscious effort not to.

All in all, this lens really is a dream. I love the compression. Love the bokeh. The price tag is a little steep, but I think it’s SO so worth it!