vg Loc: Kansas City area

I heard about the 3 lens that are all you need .
What are they?

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

I Googled this, I saw lots so references to the three lenses you need for travel photography.
I think the idea that there are three perfect lenses that will allow you to do anything photographically sounds like non since.
I do a lot of macro photo and own the lenses just for that.

SkyKing Loc: Thompson Ridge, NY

...The standard lens trinity used by professional photographers: the AF-S Nikkor 14–24mm f/2.8G ED, the AF-S Nikkor 24–70mm f/2.8G ED, and the AF-S Nikkor 70–200mm f/2.8G ED VR II. These three lenses give you a huge range of focal lengths, from 14mm to 200mm, all at a wide f/2.8.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

You need also specialty lenses like a 105 or 200 MM Macro Nikon for closeups
and a 200-500 for Wildlife and Birds

vg Loc: Kansas City area

Thank you for the lnformation.

dvdnj

Totally agree with Sky King! With these three I never feel lacking in almost any photographic situation. I also have a 105 macro and few others - but use them so infrequently, I can't say I'd be lost without them - but they do make a huge difference when you need them - especially the macro lens.

wmurnahan Loc: Bloomington IN

Just three, I would probably go with a high grade wide zoom, a macro normal, and a big zoom like a 70-300 or one of the high grade 200 zooms with 2x adapters that are paired with the zoom.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

If that be true, I wouldn't have over 20!

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

The ones you have with you are all you need. Most folks here will reply with the holy trinity. The Nikon 14-24, 24-70, and 70-200. All three of these lenses are heavy and expensive. I would go with the following three.
Nikon 10-20, 18-200, 200-500.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

How about one lens, the Tamron 18-400mm?

Otherwise, you buy the Holy Trinity of lenses for about $6,400. When they say, "all you need," I think what they mean is that after spending that much on three lensses, you won't want to buy any more lenses. : )

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

- or even non-Nikon.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

What subjects are you shooting?

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

I think that what you actually heard was that 3 different photographers would name 3 different lenses as being best for any one particular shot!

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

If you talk to Steve McCurry he will tell you that he makes it very simple using only a couple of lenses. Those lenses he uses fit his photo journalist style and they will not be very useful for a landscape, wildlife or portrait photographer.
What I am trying to say is that depending on the type of photography you do so should be your selection of lenses. A photographer that shoots portraits should do very well with a 85mm and a 50 mm lens or perhaps a 35mm lens for environmental shots. A wildlife photographer needs long lenses like a 500mm lens while the landscape photographer with a wide to tele zoom could be all he or she could need. If primes are in order a 24, 35 and the 85 or 105mm lenses would be all that is needed for landscapes. Opinions and needs vary. I shoot landscapes with my Olympus body and the Panasonic 7-14 f4 and the Olympus 12-40 f2.8 Pro. Many times I use the 40-150 f4-5.6 to isolate part of the landscape. Others will shoot with different lenses.
Now if you talk about how many lenses we actually need I will agree that perhaps 2-3 lenses are all we need.

Addendum: Take a trip and carry 10 different lenses with you. I bet you will use at the most perhaps 2 of them.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

The trinity has already been addressed, however, the lenses you need are ultimately dependent on what you want to shoot. If, for example, you shoot birds in flight, the trinity is just not relevant. If you concentrate on plants and macro, the trinity is not relevant. The trinity just describes a set of lenses that a general pro photographer who runs a photo business in a city or suburb would need to do the kind of portrait and event photography they are most likely to be hired to carry out. If that is what you do , then it is helpful. However, if you specialize in landscape, architectural, "art" photography or any other focused form, your needs will likely become more specific.