My favorite and most used lenses - and why they are!

When I was presenting at B&H Photo this week, I did one presentation on "The Best Lenses for Different Subjects". During that presentation and my Olympic presentation, I had numerous people ask me what my favorite lenses were, and that lead me to write this blog post.

You will notice that most of my lenses are zooms and not primes. That is because I have always been partial to zooms, and the quality of zoom lenses has increased dramatically over the years, now being on par with prime lenses. I am partial to zoom lenses because I am constantly zooming in and out and reframing my shots before hitting the shutter button.

I am going to list out the lenses I use almost every time I pick up a camera, with explanations of why I rely on those for either the focal length, aperture or both. I am also going to order them by how much I use that particular lens. 

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8

This has been my go-to lens for more than 20 years. It all started with the EF version and I have upgraded to newer models along the way, but the 70-200mm focal length and the wide aperture of 2.8 has made this my favorite of all time. I use the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 lens for most of my individual and family portraits. It is tack sharp from 70mm all the way to 200mm and provides amazing bokeh (quality of blur) behind my subjects.

Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8

When I am photographing receptions and parties, I use three lenses to cover the event. I do use the RF 70-200 lens for all my tight shots, but most of the time I use wider zoom lenses. The Canon RF 15-35mm 2.8 is probably my most used lens at parties, since I am usually walking around the event and close to my subjects. It is wide enough to show them and some of the surrounding scenery, and tack sharp from edge to edge. I find that the wide shots are really popular with my clients, since they show so many of the people who have joined them for their big day. When shooting at 15mm, there is some distortion at the edges of the frame (making those at the edge look wider), but in my opinion, that is acceptable when viewing a very wide shot. Even though I do not photograph a lot of landscapes, this is my favorite lens for landscape photography.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8

The third lens which I rely on for those same events, is the Canon RF 24-70mm 2.8. This lens gives me a fairly wide view around me, but allows me to zoom in a little more and capture portraits of people with little distortion on the edges of the frame. This is also my second most used lens for portraits, in spaces where the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 is too much lens or I want to take a wider shot to show more of the environment.

Canon RF-100-300m f/2.8

I originally got the Canon RF-100-300m f/2.8 lens for my sports photography, primarily for the longer reach and the ability to capture 300mm images at f/2.8. I also love that this lens, which is VERY sharp, is wicked fast in focusing. 

As it turns out, I now rely on this lens for so much more than sports. I use this long, fast zoom lens any time I am shooting a wedding or bar mitzvah from the back of a church or temple. It allows me to zoom in nice and close to my subjects from a distance and, at f/2.8, do so in low light without having to increase my ISO to levels above what I want. 

Even though this lens is big and heavier than the rest of my lenses, I have been taking it on more and more of my photo tours where we are focusing on wildlife. For most of those times, I will bring extenders with me (but more on those in a minute).

Canon RF 7-14mm fisheye

Most people would think of a fisheye lens as a novelty lens and one not used very often, but I find myself reaching for this lens quite often. It is actually my fourth most-used lens at those same parties I described earlier. I really like capturing super wide shots, especially when I am on a stage, just above the dance floor, shooting down over the crowd. It allows me to capture really nice photos, even in tight spaces, and show so much of the environment. Even though I can correct much of the fisheye distortion in Adobe Photoshop, I usually choose not to do that, as I really like the fisheye look.

This same lens was invaluable at the most recent Olympic Games, when I used the Canon RF 7-14mm fisheye for photographing ice hockey and unique views around the city of Milan.

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4

Even though the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 lens is not towards the top of this blog post, this particular lens does get a lot of use. I do not use it at events, since I rely on the Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 lens for those times, but I LOVE this lens as my "walk around" lens. Whenever I travel (and I do often), I take this lens with me. I find that the focal range from 24mm all the way to 105mm is ideal for most street photography. I know that Canon also makes an RF 24-105mm f/2.8 lens, but I actually prefer the size and weight of the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 lens for when I am walking around.

Canon RF 100-500mm

This is not a lens I use for photographing events, but I use this lens for most of my other photography, including wildlife, sports and even long lens portraiture when I am traveling. There are numerous things that I love about this lens:

1.  The focal range from 100-500mm is perfect for sports and wildlife photography, when you don't know how close you will be to the subjects.

2. It is relatively small and light (compared to my Canon RF-100-300m f/2.8) and easy to handhold. There are times when I use this lens for more than 10 hours at a time, and it is very manageable for me. I also like that I can lift it quickly to catch fast action, which is not the case with my larger zoom lens. This lens goes on almost every photo tour with me, since I need to keep my carry on size and weight to a minimum. 

3. It is a very sharp lens all the way from 100mm to 500mm.

4. This lens lets me focus so close to my subject that, when combining this fact with the 500mm reach, allows me to photograph even the smallest critters and make it look like I used a macro lens.

I don't love the fact that the Canon RF 100-500mm ends at f/7.1, but for the previous reasons I have given, I put that aside and rely on the lens quite often.

Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 

I consider this lens my "specialty lens" and only break it out when I want to shoot images at a really wide aperture, like f1/.2. The final results are really beautiful with incredible bokeh and narrow depth of field, while keeping my subject tack sharp. I use it sporadically, and love the final results. There are many times when 85mm is too much reach and I may switch this out for an RF 50mm f/1.2 lens in the near future. Regardless of the focal length, I do love having an f/1.2 lens in my bag. 

Canon Extender RF 1.4x and Canon Extender RF 2x

 

For most of my photography career I have not been a big proponent of using extenders, but that has changed since getting the Canon RF-100-300m f/2.8 lens. As I mentioned before, I love this big lens, with the ability to shoot at f/2.8 all the way from 100mm to 300mm, but there are many times when I need more than 300mm reach. For those times, I grab either the Canon Extender RF 1.4x or the Canon Extender RF 2x to give me greater focal length. With the 1.4x on the big lens, I am able to shoot from 140mm to 420mm at f/4, and with the 2x I can shoot from 200mm to 600mm at f/5.6. This has yielded some really beautiful photos in Costa Rica and I look forward to using it in the Pantanal of Brazil in 3 weeks and in Tanzania on Safari in Jan / Feb 2027.

Canon RF 100mm macro lens

Last, but not least, is my Canon RF 100mm macro lens. This is the least used lens in my arsenal, but not because of a lack of quality or functionality. This lens is used mainly for weddings, when I am capturing images of the rings and other small details, and also for my trip to Costa Rica when we are photographing the small tree frogs and insects. As I mentioned with the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, I am now using that lens for a majority of my close-up photography in Costa Rica, which lessens the need to bring this macro lens with me. A little less weight in my bag. 

There you go...now you know my most used lenses and how I use them. I hope that this will help you decide what might work best for you in each photo scenario that you might encounter.

I mentioned that many of these lenses are used on my photography tours. Check out the photo tours page on my website to see the exciting locations where I will be teaching in the future. Remember, you can try any of these lenses at no cost (thanks to Canon) when you join me on a trip.

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• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Africa, Iceland and more.

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

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The B&H BILD Show: An amazing and VERY BUSY photo show!

The B&H BILD show is now over and is was an amazing time for everyone who attended. Having done countless photos shows over the last 20 years, this was the busiest show I have seen in more than a decade.

I showed up for the first day and there was a line to enter the show, and it stretched for many blocks. Honestly, for the last 10 years I have seen the photo shows slowly shrink in size, but that changed this time around.  I am going to guess that there were 30,000 attendees across the 2 days.

I took this photo on the second day, when the crowds were not as busy as Day 1, but it was still packed.

On the first day of the show I made booth appearances at ProGrade Digital, who make the best memory cards and readers...

...and DataColor who make the best color calibrators. It was really fun to share my experiences with everyone who came by their booths.

Speaking of fun, on the first evening of the show there was a NYC City Cruise sponsored by Canon. We had way too much fun on this boat, with great old friends, news friends, and an open bar! That's trouble! :)

The next morning I woke up and got ready for my presentation. My voice was a little shot from the night before, but after a good cup of hot coffee and some water I was ready to go!

It was really fun to present to a packed room with standing room only. I would like to thank all of you who attended the presentation.

I talked for 45 minutes about what it was like to photograph the Olympics for Team USA, and showed many of my favorite photos.

Laura was nice enough to capture images of me up on stage...

...and it was fun to see so many social media posts from the audience after the presentation.

This was a first - as someone asked me to sign their DataColor Spyder Pro. 

People have asked me if this presentation is available online. As of now, it is not, but I do believe that B&H is going to post it very soon. Keep an eye open for that to happen.

Now I am flying home from New York to repack and head out to South America for the Peru and Galapagos photo tours!

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Alaska and more.

• You can purchase Jeff Cable Photography images from my new fine art site at: https://fineart.jeffcable.com/

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
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Purchase prints and support an amazing charity!

I have contributed a print to support NYC SALT's mission to help raise funds to ensure that high school students at NYC Salt continue to receive college guidance and creative development during this pandemic time where the students are isolated and at even more of a disadvantage.

My image for sale at the NYC SALT print event

Please visit https://printsbysalt.com/ to support the cause and browse many of the beautiful prints by professional artists.

NYC salt uses a camera as a tool to build futures. The program combines art education, college preparation, 1:1 mentorship, career exploration, internships, and job placement. It’s a one-stop resource for our students who are immigrants, from low-income families and primarily young women of color who dream to enter the creative industry in NYC. 

It is truly a great cause!!


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Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
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If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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A CES recap - and a slightly scary look into our future?

I just got back from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and I have had a couple of days to process everything that I saw there. I also took my 21 year old daughter with me, so it was interesting to get her perspective as well.

Let me start by saying that I have always liked the CES show since I am a gadget guy at heart. I could do without the large crowds, endless lines, and being charged double prices for everything at Starbucks in the hotel, but I guess that is part of the experience.

This year, like most other years, the big electronics companies were showing off their bigger and higher resolution televisions. Just when people are getting familiar with 4K TVs, all the big companies were showing their upcoming 8K screens. And along with those new higher resolution sets, they were also showing off the OLED technology. The video above shows what I felt was the most impressive booth at the show, with LG proudly displaying this mass of OLED screens. Click on the video above to get the full experience.

Canon was not showing off any new DSLR or mirrorless cameras, but did have this Canon EOS R and Canon RF 28-70mm lens laser-cut in half. That was pretty cool to see.

What made this year slightly different for me was that I left that show without seeing one thing that I just had to have. In past years, I always came across at least one cool new piece of technology that had me drooling.

What I found most interesting about this year's show was the abundance of products being designed because the technology exists, not so much that we all need it. Let me explain that a little bit. We saw all types of appliances for the home which had integrated high-def screens and voice commands. We saw pet feeders which allow you to communicate and reward your pet from afar. There were wearable devices for just about everything, some interesting and some just ridiculous. But, as my friend Steve Wozniak says, "products should be designed because we need them, not just because they can be built."

Walking around the South Hall of the show, we came across this prototype of a flying car, and everyone was stopping to look at the vehicle and watch the company's video. It wasn't until we walked away that my daughter turned to me and said "Isn't that basically the helicopter that we already have today?" And she was exactly right.

I took my daughter into the North Hall so that she could see all the automobile exhibits. Amazingly, what used to be a large and loud hall full of car audio and car navigation systems was now a quiet hall full of technology for autonomous driving.

We saw lots and lots of autonomous vehicles that were more like pods than cars, and each of them promising the driverless experience with large screens surrounding the inside of the vehicle. As I looked into these, I thought "I guess people will spend even more time in front of screens in the future and never again look outside a car window." That scares me a bit.

All in all, the show was interesting, but left me wondering what percentage of these product concepts would hit the market and stick. I guess only time will tell.

Oh, and speaking of technology, I took all the photos and videos that you see here with the tiny little DJI Osmo Pocket. This is a pretty cool little toy that I will be taking with me to Africa tomorrow. As we walked back to our hotel on the last day of the show, I saw this reflection shot, raised the Osmo over the wall and grabbed this shot. Not too shabby for a tiny little thing.

If you were one of the 200,000 people at the CES show, I would love to know your thoughts about what you saw.

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Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
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If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
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Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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Presenting for Tiffen at the CES Show in Las Vegas - and a surprise guest!

For the last 3 days, I have been lucky enough to present for Tiffen at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. I have been using their filters since the beginning of my photography career, and really appreciate their quality.

For the first time ever, I brought my daughter along for this trip and she got to experience the craziness of 200,000 people in Las Vegas. Also, since she is now 21, she got to experience LV as an adult, with a limited amount of drinking and gambling. She was also nice enough to take some photos of me presenting my Olympic images in the Tiffen booth.

I brought along the new DJI Osmo Pocket, which she used to capture the photos (The second one is in panoramic mode).

The crowds were great at all three presentations, with the last one being this morning at 11am. As I was presenting today, I saw a familiar face in the audience. But since I was presenting, it did not occur to me who it was.

It wasn't until I was done that the Tiffen staff told me that Katie Couric was there watching the presentation. Having seen Katie at numerous Olympic Games, and always admired her work, I was excited that she would take the time to stop and watch the show.

I sent her a message thanking her for stopping by and she told me how much she liked my photos.  That made my week.

Well...I am now done presenting at the show, and looking forward to tonight's hockey game here with my home team (San Jose Sharks) playing against Las Vegas. Then it is home tomorrow, just in time to pack for my trip to Tanzania.

Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
__________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

__________________________________________________________________________ 

UCSF Hospital Prom - You want to be inspired?

If you have followed the blog for the last couple of years, you may remember previous blog posts from the UCSF Children's Hospital Prom. I volunteer to photograph this event each year, not only to give back, but to be inspired by these amazing kids.

This prom is for all the kids who can not attend their school proms, usually due to them having low immune systems or other limiting factors. They may be currently in the hospital for treatment, or it is possible that they were treated and are in remission. Either way, it is a chance for these kids who face very difficult challenges to forget about those difficulties and have a great night of fun. My own daughter has been treated at UCSF, for her Crohn's Disease, and is a testament to their quality of care. They take great care of her, and I try to reciprocate with what I do best!

It is pretty amazing the way that so many of the hospital staff and other volunteers pitch in to convert a small auditorium into a prom venue.

I took this first shot to show the room before all the kids arrived.

Most everything is donated for this event, from the outfits to the corsages. I took this shot straight over the table to show the abundance of donated flowers.

I asked one of the volunteers to hold up a bouquet so that I could get a detail shot of the flowers with all the others diffused in the background.

For the second year in a row, a bunch of the San Francisco 49ers participated in the prom, taking turns escorting the kids into the dance.

The kids are always so excited to meet the players and have their pictures taken with them.

This young man even brought a notebook for autographs.

There is a lot of negative press about players in the NFL, but it is moments like this when my faith in them is restored.

The parents are not allowed to enter the prom. Just the kids and the support staff. I heard numerous parents who worried about their kids being "left alone", but the hospital had plenty of staff members to stay with those that needed additional support.

I just love the spirit of these kids. Even though many of them are in wheelchairs, connected to IV poles or connected to other devices, they have huge smiles and no problem hitting the dance floor.

One young man was attending the prom while connected to his IV pole. I was walking by and saw that the nurses had decorated it to make it more festive. I pointed the camera up to photograph just that, figuring that this told the story as much as any other image I was capturing.

Outside the dance area, they had body painters, and the kids loved it. They also had numerous photo booths and a "chill out room".

Heck...they were having fun in any room.

I shot all of the photos with the Canon 1DX and Canon 5D Mark III. I mainly used the Canon 24-70mm lens, but occasionally used the Canon 16-35mm lens to get wide angle shots like this.

Some of the kids on the dance floor having a great time.

Just like last year, the 49ers came in and joined in on the dancing. Look at the reactions of the kids surrounding them. Priceless!

The 49ers had their staff photographers / videographers on site. The team photographer (Terrell Lloyd, who is a good friend) shot photos of all the kids with the players and had them printed by the time they left the dance.

More smiles...

DiAndre Campbell (Wide Receiver) was having as much fun as the kids, interacting and busting moves out on the dance floor.

At many events like this, when I feel that I have "shot out" an exhaustive amount of dance photos, I try shooting differently. In this case, I broke out the fish eye lens to get a different look.

I really like the way that the fish eye lens shows the wider scene...

...but having the 24-70mm lens to get in a little closer to get these types of reactions.

I guess there is never a better time for these kids to take selfies with their new NFL friends.

I really do believe that the challenges these kids face early in their lives make them stronger people in the long run. They show maturity beyond their years and appreciate things that many of us take for granted. Hopefully you look at these kids and they inspire you as much as they do me.

And I look forward to photographing next year's prom!

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If you are interested in purchasing any camera equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

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