Over the years, zoom lenses have evolved into certain “useful” focal lengths. 28-80, 35-70, 28-70, 24-70, 28-105, 24-120…

Basically the theory is, it’s GOOD to have a mid-range lens that can cover both wide angles AND telephoto at the same time.

This may be great for photojournalism, and I’m sure that many pros are totally happy with their 24-70 2.8… (At least Nikon pros are LOVING theirs. Resolves perfectly even on 24 megapixels, unlike a certain “L” 24-70…)

But I digress. Most generic event photographers like that focal range; that’s my point.

However, I shoot some pretty odd-ball types of photography, and let me tell you- sometimes, especially when you’re shooting from a fixed distance and can’t get any closer OR back up, …you just wish you could have different focal ranges. So I’m going to theorize…

(Just for simplicity’s sake, we’ll talk ONLY about pro-grade, f/2.8 zooms)

Instead of the progression on the wide end of mid-range zooms, what if we went back to 35mm and worked on the telephoto end? Would you buy a 35-120mm 2.8? It could go perfectly with a 17-35 2.8…

Or how about breaking away from the current telephoto standard of 70-200mm… Would you buy a (full-frame) 50-150 2.8? And then, moving backwards from there, what if you could buy a 20-50 2.8?

SO, different people have different shooting styles. Not to mention the different shooting conditions! Oh, and throw in different sensor sizes too, while you’re at it. This is largely what prompted me to wonder what it would be like to have these different range lenses- I work with DX, so I have an abundance of lenses to chose from in both camps- I can use the 17-55 if I want a 25-80mm equivalent, or I can use a 24-70 on DX and get about 35-105…

…And a lot of the time, yeah, I just love the “standard” focal ranges. But every now and then, both when shooting events AND portraits, …I find myself changing lenses way too often, wishing I had a mythical 35-120 2.8, or a 50-150… (in full-frame, that is…)

…O well. Just an idle ponder. I know that Nikon has FAR more work to do in their lens department before they even dream of doing something this crazy!

=Matt=