Alison

Date night with my monster Sigma 85mm f/1.4 lens. I don't swing that thing around all that much, relegating it mainly to photo shoots where space allows it to be used. Plus, again, it's a beast, coming in at about about 2.5lbs, or a little over a kilogram. And the best lens in my arsenal in terms of sharpness and image quality by more than a country mile, easily outshining the 40mm f/2 lens I've typically used for street photography.

Don't get me wrong, the Nikon 40mm f/2 absolutely is a great lens - I wouldn't still be using it if that wasn't the case - but it can't hold a candle to the heavyweight.

Being a longer lens, though, it comes with the complication of needing to stand further away from a subject compared to using the 40mm. Where I'm expecting plenty of close quarters shots - e.g., Crossroads Night Market - the 40mm absolutely wins. Not just for being short focal length, but just a smaller lens overall.

And since I photograph almost exclusively women, the need to stand further away is likely an added comfort bonus to those I do photograph. Plus it looks a hell of a lot more professional compared to the much smaller 40mm lens.