Should your zoom lenses overlap in focal length, or just meet end-to-end?

Question

I'm choosing between two zoom lenses to pair with one I already own, and one option overlaps my current focal-length range while the other simply extends it. I understand the usual specs, but I’m unsure how much overlap is actually useful in real shooting.

Example: if I already have a 20–45mm lens and I’m deciding between a 35–85mm lens and a 45–85mm lens, is the overlap from 35–45mm beneficial, or is it better to avoid duplication and maximize total coverage?

I’m especially interested in practical tradeoffs such as:
- how often overlap reduces lens changes
- whether overlapping ranges help avoid weaker performance at the ends of zoom ranges
- whether duplicated focal lengths end up making one lens redundant
- how much the decision depends on other lens traits like size, speed, and image quality

What has your experience been with overlapping versus adjacent zooms?

user603 · Answer

The notion of "complementary" lenses takes for granted that the focal length is the only characteristic that's different between the lenses in question. In reality, that's rarely the case (probably never, really).

To make sensible selections, you need to look at quite a bit more than that, such as speed, size/weight, optical quality (sharpness, aberrations, etc.), durability, and so on. Depending on what kinds of subject matter you shoot (and under what conditions), duplication at or near a given focal length can make a lot of sense.

Just for example, I have an 85, a 100, a 28-135, and a 70-210 all in (or at least covering) the "short telephoto" range. Despite the near duplication, I use each of these lenses on a regular basis, and see no conflict between them at all:

The 85 is an f/1.4, two full stops faster than any of the others -- and with care, it produces truly gorgeous portraits. At the same time (especially wide open) it tends toward flare and low contrast.
The 100 is an f/2.8 macro, which is certainly useful in quite a few situations where none of the others would work at all. It's extremely sharp, but the focusing is really slow (I usually focus it manually).
The 70-210 is also an f/2.8. It's great for sports and wildlife, but weighs about as much as all the others put together, and it's not the sharpest lens around by any means (especially close up).
The 28-135 obviously covers the widest range of focal lengths, but it's also the slowest, so it's the least flexible in terms of depth of field. Like most relatively wide-range zooms, it's also fairly flare-prone.

I guess I could settle on one lens for the range -- if I could find a 28-210 f/1.4 that focused to 1:1, with adjustable contrast, essentially instant focusing, no distortion, and was less than six inches long and weighed less than a pound.

Until I can find that, though, I think having multiple lenses at (or close to) the same focal length can be quite useful. You're looking at a different range, but you still need to look at a lot more than just the focal lengths to figure out which makes sense for you.

Should your zoom lenses overlap in focal length, or just meet end-to-end?

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