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3 Lenses Every Photographer Needs • PhotoTraces


Do you struggle to choose the right lenses? Do
you feel like you’re always in need of another lens? Do you get tired of
hauling around prime lenses in the field?

You’ve come to the right place.

Because in this article, I’m going to tell you
about a way to cover every key focal length with just three lenses:

The holy trinity of lenses.

Holy Trinity of Lenses: The Three Lenses Every Photographer Needs

Now, the holy trinity is designed so that you
cover a huge focal length range–from ultra-wide to telephoto–using just three
lenses.

And if you choose your holy trinity carefully,
you’ll get professional quality glass, combined with the convenience to shoot
pretty much any subject.

Sound good?

Let’s take a look at the holy trinity of
lenses in more detail:

What is the Holy Trinity of
Lenses?

The holy trinity of lenses refers to a three-lens set that covers a huge focal length range. With a holy trinity, you can go from an ultra-wide focal length (starting at 10-16mm) all the way to a long telephoto focal length (200mm).

Note that the holy trinity is also designed to
cover almost every genre of photography.

And the best thing about the holy trinity:

1. Ultra Wide 16-35mm f/2.8 Zoom Lens

You can also use a lens like this for wider
street photography (and the f/2.8 aperture will allow you to shoot even as the
light gets low).

2. Mid-Range 24-70mm f/2.8 Zoom Lens

The next lens in the holy trinity is a midrange zoom, spanning from around 24mm to 70mm. This lens is great for tighter, more intimate landscape and travel photography; it’s also a great walk-around street photography option.

Plus, the f/2.8 aperture will give you a
lovely background bokeh, making this a great portrait lens, and the
corresponding low-light capabilities turn this lens into a great choice for
event photography.

3. Telephoto 70-200mm f/2.8 Zoom Lens

A 70-200mm f/2.8 lens completes the holy
trinity, giving you the ability to shoot tighter portraits and headshots, as
well as compressed landscapes and abstract architecture.

A 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is also a fantastic
option for sports photography, because the f/2.8 aperture allows you to shoot
at fast shutter speeds, while the 70-200mm zoom ensures you can isolate your
subjects while working from the sidelines.

Plus, slap on a 1.4x teleconverter and you’ve
got yourself a decent lens for wildlife shooting.

Holy Trinity of Lenses: 3 Lenses Every Photographer Needs 1

Advantages of the Lens Trinity

If you’re still on the fence about getting a
holy trinity of lenses, then you’ll want to know all about the key benefits
that come from such a kit:

1. Impressive Reach

First, the three holy trinity lenses cover a lot of ground. You get ultra-wide angle focal lengths, all the way out to telephoto- while spanning every focal length in between. You’ll rarely run into situations where you wish you had a different lens.

2. Easy to Extend

And, for situations that require greater
reach, you can extend your 70-200mm f/2.8 using a teleconverter (either a 1.4x
or a 2x option). That way, you can shoot wildlife and birds without needing to
purchase an additional lens.

3. Versatility

Note that the holy trinity uses f/2.8 maximum apertures. This is because the wide aperture allows you to shoot in low light with ease, plus it’ll give you a creamy background bokeh for portraits.

Also, because each of the holy trinity lenses goes to f/2.8, you can use the kit for pretty much any type of photography – from landscape to portrait to wildlife to sports.

Holy Trinity of Lenses: 3 Lenses Every Photographer Needs 2

Disadvantages of the Holy Lens
Trinity

While the holy lens trinity is great for most
applications, it does come with some drawbacks.

1. High Cost

2. Size

Second, the holy trinity is big. Lenses with
an f/2.8 maximum aperture tend to be on the large side, which means that you’re
going to need a lot of space in your bag. On the other hand, if you want to go
from 16mm to 200mm using primes, you’ll need about ten lenses–so you’re saving
on size, in a way.

Note that the large size of f/2.8 lenses can
also be an issue when doing certain types of photography; street photographers,
for instance, may feel uncomfortable working with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, because
the size makes their setup far from inconspicuous.

3. Weight

Third, the holy trinity is heavy. Each f/2.8
lens will be pretty hefty (though note that the combined holy trinity is
lighter than a similarly-versatile prime kit!).

Finally, the holy trinity uses a “just in
case” approach to lens selection. It allows you to cover all focal lengths and
most apertures, but you don’t always need this much flexibility, especially
because flexibility costs in terms of money and size. So you’ll sometimes be
better off working with primes or smaller zooms, rather than the big, expensive
holy trinity.

Holy Trinity of Lenses: 3 Lenses Every Photographer Needs 3

Variation of Holy Lens Trinity

If you think the holy lens trinity is too
expensive, too big, or too heavy, then you have a very viable alternative:

An f/4 lens trinity.

In other words, you can create your trinity
with a 16-35mm f/4 lens, a 24-70mm f/4 lens, and a 70-200mm f/4 lens.

These are lighter, they’re much cheaper, and they can still offer the stellar optics you can get from an f/2.8 lens.

See also: Fujifilm Lens Trinity

You’ll sacrifice, however, when it comes to low light capabilities and bokeh quality. While an f/4 lens is fine for many applications, it won’t get you the shutter speeds you need for low-light sports photography or low-light event photography, nor will it offer the same creamy bokeh as an f/2.8 portrait lens.

Hence, if you go for the f/4 lenses, you get a
trinity–but not a “holy” one!

Fujifilm Lens Trinity

Fujifilm is the only brand that offers the holy trinity of lenses in APS-C format.


Fujinon XF8-16mmF2.8

ULTRA WIDE ZOOM LENS

Filter: none, Min Focus Distance: 10″/25cm, Weight: 1.8lb / 805g, Dim: 3.5 x 4.8″ / 88 x 122 mm


Fujinon 16-55mmF2.8

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 77mm, Min Focus Distance: 12″/30cm, Weight: 1.4lb / 650g, Dim: 3.3 x 4.2″ / 83 x 105 mm


Fujinon 50-140mmF2.8

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 72mm, Min Focus Distance: 3.3’/1m, Weight: 2.2lb / 995g, Dim: 3.3 x 7″ / 83 x 176 mm

Fujifilm “unholy” f/4 lens trinity:


Fujinon 10-24mm f/4

ULTRA WIDE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 72mm, Min Focus Distance: 9.5″/24cm, Weight: 15oz / 410g, Dim: 3 x 3.4″ / 78 x 87 mm


Fujinon 16-80mm f/4

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 72mm, Min Focus Distance: 1.2″/35m, Weight: 16oz / 440g, Dim: 3.1 x 3.5″ / 78 x 89 mm


Fujinon 50-200mm f/3.5-4.8

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 69mm, Min Focus Distance: 3.6’/1m, Weight: 20oz / 580g, Dim: 3 x 4.7″ / 75 x 118 mm

Canon Lens Trinity


Canon 16–35mm f/2.8L

ULTRA WIDE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 82mm, Min Focus Distance: 11’/28cm, Weight: 28oz / 790g, Dim: 3.5 x 5″ / 85 x 127 mm


Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 82mm, Min Focus Distance: 1.3’/38cm, Weight: 1.8lb / 800g, Dim: 3.5 x 4.5″ / 86 x 113 mm


Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter:77mm, Min Focus Distance: 4’/1.2m, Weight: 3.3lb / 1480g, Dim: 3.5 x 7.8″ / 89 x 199 mm

Canon “unholy” f/4 lens trinity:


Canon 16–35mm f/4L

ULTRA WIDE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 77mm, Min Focus Distance: 11″/28cm, Weight: 1.3lb / 615g, Dim: 3.3 x 4.4″ / 83 x 112mm


Canon 24-70mm f/4L

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 77mm, Min Focus Distance: 7.9″/20cm, Weight: 1.3lb / 600g, Dim: 3.3 x 3.7″ / 83 x 93mm


Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 72mm, Min Focus Distance: 2.3’/1m, Weight: 1.8lb / 780g, Dim: 3.2 x 6.9″ / 80 x 176mm

Nikon Lens Trinity


Nikon 14–24mm f/2.8

ULTRA WIDE ZOOM LENS

Filter: none, Min Focus Distance: 11″/28cm, Weight: 2.2lb / 999g, Dim: 3.9 x 5.2″ / 98 x 132mm


Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 82mm, Min Focus Distance: 1.6’/38cm, Weight: 2.4lb / 1070g, Dim: 3.5 x 6.1″ / 88 x 155mm


Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 77mm, Min Focus Distance: 3.6’/1.1m, Weight: 3.2lb / 1430g, Dim: 3.5 x 8″ / 89 x 200mm

Nikon “unholy” f/4 lens trinity:


Nikon 16–35mm f/4L

ULTRA WIDE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 77mm, Min Focus Distance: 11″/29cm, Weight: 1.5lb / 680g, Dim: 3.2 x 4.9″ / 82 x 126mm


Nikon 24-85mm F/3.5-4.5G VR

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 72mm, Min Focus Distance: 1.3’/38cm, Weight: 1lb / 465g, Dim: 3.1 x 3.2″ / 78 x 82mm


Nikon 70-200mm f/4 VR

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 67mm, Min Focus Distance: 3.3’/1m, Weight: 1.9lb / 880g, Dim: 3.1 x 7″ / 78 x 179mm

Sony Lens Trinity


Sony 16–35mm f/2.8 GM

ULTRA WIDE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 82mm, Min Focus Distance: 11″/28cm, Weight: 1.5lb / 680g, Dim: 35 x 4.8″ / 89 x 122mm


Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM OSS

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 82mm, Min Focus Distance: 1.25’/38cm, Weight: 1.95lb / 888g, Dim: 3.5 x 5.4″ / 88 x 135mm


Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 77mm, Min Focus Distance: 3.2’/1m, Weight: 3.3lb / 1.5kg, Dim: 3.5 x 7.9″ / 88 x 200mm

Sony “unholy” f/4 lens trinity:


Sony 16–35mm f/4 OSS

ULTRA WIDE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 72mm, Min Focus Distance: 11″/28cm, Weight: 18oz / 520g, Dim: 3.1 x 3.9″ / 78 x 99mm


Sony 24-70mm f/4 OSS

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 67mm, Min Focus Distance: 1.3’/40cm, Weight: 15oz / 430g, Dim: 3 x 3.7″ / 73 x 95mm


Sony 70-200mm f/4 G OSS

MID RANGE ZOOM LENS

Filter: 72mm, Min Focus Distance: 34″/1m, Weight: 1.9lb / 870g, Dim: 3.1 x 7″ / 80 x 175mm

Conclusion

Now that you’ve finished this article, you
should know all about the holy lens trinity–and whether it makes sense for
your own shooting style.

If you’re looking for a great way to cover
lots of ground, the holy trinity is a fantastic option. But if you’re in need
of smaller or cheaper lenses, the f/4 trinity is a viable choice.

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