About lens...

[XC Pictorial]

Hi.. would just like to share some views and hear opinions from others as well.

Do you guys here (targeting DSLR users), find that after using many lens... you have become numb about choosing lens. For me now i dont really plan which lens to suit the occasion anymore.. i just shoot with any lens i have. For eg. i may be at changi broadway, but i dont have a wide angle lens, so i just find subjects to shoot with whichever lens i have, may be a 85, may be a 70-200.. depending on whichever lens i have.

Also.. after using many lens, there are some which really give you the wow factor. One of which made me felt this way was a nikon afs 55-200.. its crazy, super sharp and contrasty at wide open f5.6 200mm.. giving you a really "shiok" feeling, like you have chance upon gold. I brought it along on a short sentosa trip, till now im still impress by that gallery in my hard drive.Best of all i got it <$200, but it can put many of my 70-200f2.8 lens to shame.. I have since sold it cos.. there is only so many lens a man can keep and use.. :cry:

Yet there are also many lens you have hear rave reviews about, yet when you actually try it.. it makes you wonder why.. Some recent examples for me would be the 17-40f4L and 70-200f4L.. not to say they are bad but just didnt give me the wow experience i was expecting.

I had used/tried more than 100 lens in the past year.. had my fair share of both disappointments from lens that were supposed to perform but just didnt impress me and unexpected cheap underdog lens :bsmilie:

 

[tribal.snake]

guess it boils to personal preference and shooting styles.
i used to be a lens-nuts... going after the "best" lens always, esp after reading great reviews abit it. but recent yrs, i dunno, maybe i grown older or poorer... i tend to stick to whatever i got in the bag and shoot, just find ways to whatever i want to shoot.

 

[XC Pictorial]

guess it boils to personal preference and shooting styles.
i used to be a lens-nuts... going after the "best" lens always, esp after reading great reviews abit it. but recent yrs, i dunno, maybe i grown older or poorer... i tend to stick to whatever i got in the bag and shoot, just find ways to whatever i want to shoot.

Of cos.. when the kid and other commitments come in, the buying has to stop :bsmilie:

 

[wanzw]

last time i always believe in the correct lens for the correct occasion... now is any lens also can. because the difference i get is really minimal. well that could be because all my lenses are already at 2.8 so there is virtually like no difference apart from only focal length.

i tend to stick with my 17-55. too long never use my 70-200 feels very heavy and imbalanced on a 400D. sounds like a time for body upgrade lol!

 

[XC Pictorial]

last time i always believe in the correct lens for the correct occasion... now is any lens also can. because the difference i get is really minimal. well that could be because all my lenses are already at 2.8 so there is virtually like no difference apart from only focal length.

i tend to stick with my 17-55. too long never use my 70-200 feels very heavy and imbalanced on a 400D. sounds like a time for body upgrade lol!

Dont waste money la..

I strongly believe that entry cameras are good enough to produce decent images and they actually force you to work harder. Plus when you achieve good results, you are happy because its very good value for your money

 

[babykailan]

Dont waste money la..

I strongly believe that entry cameras are good enough to produce decent images and they actually force you to work harder. Plus when you achieve good results, you are happy because its very good value for your money

agree bro.

hey i remember meeting up with you to sell my canon kit lens but you look very young got kid liao? :bigeyes:

my favouritest lens is the 50mm f/1.8 . i took quite a number of fab shots with this plastic wonder. from close ups to even landscapes. :bsmilie:

but i sold it and now getting my f/1.4 tomorrow. hope it wows me. :heart:

 

[raptor84]

I guess most of the lenses I want is more of a luxury than a need. I would like a super tele for zoo/wildlife but i rarely if ever shoot those. Been also thiking with the idea of primes but not sure if I am willing to give up the fexibiliy of my zooms.

@kailan haha have fun with your 1.4. More cat pics coming up soon?

 

[babykailan]

@kailan haha have fun with your 1.4. More cat pics coming up soon?

yes definitely more with "new" lens and "new" 420ex.
i need to get out more often. :sweat:

 

[elmzarcega]

so does it mean i have to stop on thinking on how to get L lenses..??? :bsmilie: :dunno: :bsmilie:

 

[XC Pictorial]

agree bro.

you look very young

thanks for the compliment..

or was it my youngest brother u met :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

 

[anttz]

Hi XC,

I’m new to DSLR so can’t really said much but my humble view as follows:

So far I have only shot with the 50mm F1.8 and kit lens on both Canon 400D and Nikon D80. Don’t know about the wow effect as I don't have the chance to compare to other more expensive higher end lens. I can say I’m happy with the quality of the two kit lens and 50mm lens. I don’t have the same dilemma as you about choosing lens for different occasion YET and hopefully will not. For me, I don’t believe in correct lens for the correct occasion. Looking at some of the quality pictures that was posed in CS, other websites and photo magazines and looking at the lens and body (sometime a PNS) that was used, I believe it is the person behind the camera rather than the lens that make all these beautiful shots.

My favourite lens is the same as babykailan, the 50mm f1.8. Cheap, light, sharp and nice bokeh. At least good enough for me and for my travel purpose. Having been shooting around more and more with the 50mm f1.8, I have now got used to using my leg as a “zoom” and now more than willing to give up the flexibility of a zoom lens. The only occasion that I find I need a zoom lens is when you are up in a mountain or hiking in a natural reserve and there is no room for you move forward or backward to take a pic. But I reckon this will be less than 10%.

Remember we chat about buying a 2nd hand 17-40 F4L and 70-200 F4L some time back. I have since ditched the idea and sticking to my kit lens plus the 50mm f1.8 for now. Besides having a better picture quality, the main reasons for me to get a DSLR is the ultra wide lens, high apertures lens and the use of exotic lens such as fisheye which a normal PNS can’t have. So I’m currently hunting for a 10-22mm and a fisheye lens. And will be looking for a 2nd hand consumer grade telephoto lens and likely will be looking for more prime lens such as the 35mm F2, 85mm F1.8.

Lastly, have to agree with babykailan that you do look young.

 

[lsisaxon]

Hi.. would just like to share some views and hear opinions from others as well.

Do you guys here (targeting DSLR users), find that after using many lens... you have become numb about choosing lens. For me now i dont really plan which lens to suit the occasion anymore.. i just shoot with any lens i have. For eg. i may be at changi broadway, but i dont have a wide angle lens, so i just find subjects to shoot with whichever lens i have, may be a 85, may be a 70-200.. depending on whichever lens i have.

Also.. after using many lens, there are some which really give you the wow factor. One of which made me felt this way was a nikon afs 55-200.. its crazy, super sharp and contrasty at wide open f5.6 200mm.. giving you a really "shiok" feeling, like you have chance upon gold. I brought it along on a short sentosa trip, till now im still impress by that gallery in my hard drive.Best of all i got it <$200, but it can put many of my 70-200f2.8 lens to shame.. I have since sold it cos.. there is only so many lens a man can keep and use.. :cry:

Yet there are also many lens you have hear rave reviews about, yet when you actually try it.. it makes you wonder why.. Some recent examples for me would be the 17-40f4L and 70-200f4L.. not to say they are bad but just didnt give me the wow experience i was expecting.

I had used/tried more than 100 lens in the past year.. had my fair share of both disappointments from lens that were supposed to perform but just didnt impress me and unexpected cheap underdog lens :bsmilie:

Think about it this way, you've probably progressed to the next level of photography. It's not all about lens or equipment anymore, it has become more about composition and techniques to overcome the limitations of whatever you have with you. Congratulations!!

 

[lsisaxon]

Dont waste money la..

I strongly believe that entry cameras are good enough to produce decent images and they actually force you to work harder. Plus when you achieve good results, you are happy because its very good value for your money

You cannot stop people from wasting money.. It's part of the learning process.. ;p

 

[JoshSiao]

Of course there are certain lenses for certain occasions. You can't be shooting in a crowded hall with a supertelephoto nor shooting birds with a wide angle but... these are extremes. However, once you have a number of wide aperture lenses from 17 to 200mm you'll probably be just fine for any occasion. I would actually prefer to look at buying lenses not in just terms of quality but also size and weight. A large heavy lens that you lug about would obviously be determinal to your creativity I feel. Imagine lugging the biggest most stable but heavy tripod, heavy large aperture zooms, the best DSLR bodies etc... I feel that there has to be some trade off somewhere. Its much easier to swing around a smaller body with a smaller lens and it also means less energy going to carrying around equipment and more towards creativity and shooting instead.

Thats the beauty of prime lenses... smaller, lighterweight and larger apertures and makes you work more on composition. (Looks at wide aperture pancake lenses) Of course if your're a professional and your life depends on it you can't give up the flexibility of zooms. Look at it this way, a nice set of short and light weight primes say, 15mm, 35mm/24mm, 50mm, 85mm and 105mm/135mm instead of holy trinities of zooms eg 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200. You lose zoom, you lose weight, you lose length of lenses but you gain larger apertures and more consistant quality but all you got to do it move those legs! I've always wanted a holy trinity (70-200 is too heavy) but instead I want just 1 lens from Zeiss either that 85mm or 100mm makro and I am all set for a very long time till my 30D dies. I think of sticking to manual prime lenses.

I do agree that I have fallen to a position about being numb of choosing lens. I always debate very hard on what lens to use for covering my events in school but I always end up using 2 lenses only, 35mm and 105mm primes. Furthermore, I haven't even gone out and tried all the ranges of lens avaliable!

 

[gohaj]

i know u have used many lenses before. just wonder which lens has the wow experience in term of colour?
so far, from those lens i used before, Nikon AF 28-70 f2.8 colour is good.

 

[Snoweagle]

For Canon, the Ls are best for all-rounder performances. Nikon wise, should be those with ED elements, even the kit lens have it. ;p

 

[blive]

I never started consider buying more lens than the kit lense until I join clubsnap....;(

 

[Galdor]

I never started consider buying more lens than the kit lense until I join clubsnap....;(

Me too. In my film days, I only have a 28-80mm kit lens and a 70-300mm. Now I have more to my collection. BIG hole in my small pocket. :cry:

 

[anttz]

I never started consider buying more lens than the kit lense until I join clubsnap....;(

:sweatsm: :sweatsm: :sweatsm:

 

[blive]

Me too. In my film days, I only have a 28-80mm kit lens and a 70-300mm. Now I have more to my collection. BIG hole in my small pocket. :cry:

Hey, same too. It came with the Nikon F65, as a promotional package.