Can I Be Successful With Just One Lens?
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This is my “one” lens, the Canon 28-300 L
If you know yourself and you know what you like to photograph, the answer is yes. I expect that sellers and manufacturers hate me at this point but I’m not here to make them happy. I’m offering input to help you.
It is a truism that the more gear that you have, the less useful each piece seems to become. It’s goofy but proven every day. The result is a heavier bag, more option paralysis, more expense and more time spent faffing about than making images.
Henri Cartier-Bresson shot with one lens almost his entire life. So did Alfred Eisenstadt. If these acknowledged great photographers could do so, why can’t you?
The idea of zoom with your feet has become increasingly unpopular so perhaps you are not prepared to shoot everything with a full frame 50mm of adequate lens speed as Mr. Bresson did. Your bag of expensive, heavy and optically fast lenses will not make you a better photographer, but it will make you tired and potentially tiresome if you photograph with others.
I was working with a friend doing a location scouting exercise the other day. I was there to make an assessment of how to light the location and to determine the state of the existing light. It was a bad place with super high ceilings, dimly lit and a different colour temperature for each of the existing lights. The colour temperature range between the existing lights was over 800K, so not practically usable. In order to make judgements about potential light positions and striking where the large group that the client wanted photographed would be, my friend had brought one camera and one lens. Some of you may be cringing at this point but her decision was perfect.
My friend’s Nikon 28-300 Sadly discontinued by Nikon, they are still available new from some stores and in the used channel
When I went photographing in Nevada and at the Grand Canyon, I took one lens because weight and space were issues. I was very happy with my results.
On my trip through Nevada and California, I took two lenses and used one of them for a count of perhaps 20 keepers in the course of a one week trip. All the other shots were made with one lens.
My point, is that yes, if you know what you like to shoot, you can absolutely be successful with just one lens.
A big concern for some people is lens speed, defined by the maximum aperture. If I said that the maximum aperture on a lens was f/5.6 some folks would say it was a bad choice without asking anything about my use cases. My cameras are older, but their higher ISO performance is excellent, even when considering that my desired output is a BIG print. I’ve never lost an image due to lens speed. I always carry an off camera flash, and if on a trip always have a lightweight travel tripod. For me that’s easier than a big bag of glass and candidly, it’s easier for most people.
In my case and in the case of my friend mentioned earlier, our one lens is a 28-300 full frame lens. I am presently on Canon DSLRs and she is shooting Nikon. My lens is larger and heavier than hers so I envy her the more compact size, but both lenses are tack drivers when used properly. I heard lots of tales of how unsharp these lenses were, told mostly be people who had never seen one, yet alone used in production. When I was shooting Olympus as part of a long term review, as much as I liked all their lenses, the go to was often the 14-150 which is the same angle of view range as a full frame 28-300.
Olympus’ 14-150 II lens
Your needs may not need that much telephoto, or that wide an angle, and that’s what I mean by knowing yourself and what you tend to shoot. I tend to go with what attracts my eye and I find that a lens like this gives the best odds of getting the shot without having to carry a big bag of glass.
Consider yourself, not what other people do and you too may find that one lens to always carry.
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I'm Ross Chevalier, thanks for reading, watching and listening and until next time, peace.
