What new lenses to buy? (my story)

[scenar]

same

I START with 16-35/2.8L, 24-70/2.8L and 70-200/2.8L IS.

Now I only use 14/2.8L, CZ 25/2.8AEG, 35/1.4L, leica R 50/1.4, 85/1.2L, Leica 70-180/2.8 APO and 200/1.8L.

I see you really need to wave your e-penis around don't you?
your post is utterly useless to this thread


To hannson: maybe you could consider a "superzoom" first?
something like a 18-200, that would give you a feel of how the various focal lengths work,
Then after that you can spend more on the ranges you often use. I feel you should not buy the 24-70f2.8 just yet. You may later realised your preferred range could well be at the wider (e.g. 16-35) / telephoto end (70-200)

 

[zac08]

Good thread on what to look out for and what to consider.

I personally started with a 24mm f2.8 and a 50mm f1.8. Now added one more 28-75 f2.8 from Tamron to allow for easier composing. And I can forsee that the collection will grow over time....

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

the deal with primes is this.

every focal length has a signature look, try it on different crop cameras and you still get characteristic of the focal lengths, however, crop cameras will mask your perimeters of the lenses.

when you shoot with a prime, you are 'forced' to compose with whatever the angles gives you. Some people are not confident or comfortable or your job may requires more freedom in a zoom.

When you do not have the chance to back off to get a wider angle, often you may either like to composed differerently, crop tighter to have another Point of view or look for another focal point (subject) within your stand and shoot. With primes usually its more about pre-antispating the moment.

When you have a wider shot, you may like to compose it with the background to give you a feeling of space. Spaces helps to draw attention to your subject.

After shooting for some time, you will naturally progress to take more notice to your perferred focal point, you must keep shooting to notice this. For me the 70-200 is the least use lens simply of 2 points. My perferred lengths are shorter as i like to be near the action when it happens and its white ( i really dislike the idea of white lenses, the attention). I see the benefits of tele-lenses and the increase in subject isolation however i'm still mostly a mid-tele shooter my needs for a full frame focal length is about 135mm the most.

 

[Wisp]

Hi!

Lots of amateurs love to ask this question of what lenses to get after they buy their first DSLR/SLR. As I was once (and still is a newbie) in more ways than one, I loved to share what goes into my lens buying decision.

It’s very overwhelming to see the amount of lenses available in the market and get confuse over what you need. Add the third party lens offering and its already mind bogging!

However there is always a rule, what you need may not be the right tool others recommended, so how to start?

I would love to share my little photographic gear guide that was my guiding tool.

Like most of us, I started staring at the lens brochure online and started mapping out the different prices versus the focal lengths. Aperture size was an alien concept at first; focal length and cost are always my foremost needs.

So I started mapping out my needs, how many lenses I want and the cost I’m willing to fork out. At first I set my budget to $500 and only wanted an all-in-one lens. I mapped out all the lenses available and nothing but consumer lenses worked in my favour, mostly the 28-105, 24-85 range.

Before I plunge I reviewed the comments on image stabilizers lenses and how they help to reduce camera shake. I took notice of the 28-135 IS but it was $320 off my budget.

My prior experience with SLRs was with a manual film camera with the 24,35 and 50mm lenses. I love the 50mm perspective more than others so I noted my likes on my lens selection.

After debating for a while I increased my budget and bought a 28-135mm lens (45-216mm on my camera with x1.6 crop) and after shooting for a while realise I needed a wider angle to shoot.

Again back to the drawing board and I found only 3 lenses offering what I needed (16-35, 17-40, 20-35) 2 of them above $1k and the other about $700. I started enquiring about 2nd hand lenses and found a seller asking $350 for a 20-35mm lens. I proceed to buy it and spend lots of time shooting with my 2 lenses.

All this time I had on loan a 50mm from the seller for my DSLR (its was 2nd hand) and used it quite frequently.

As my lenses (san the 50mm) was of variable aperture and my DSLR could only handle iso400 (D30) I had to invest in a flashlight worked with the setup for the next 8 months.

During the 8 months I had a taste for bigger apertures to isolate subjects and my next change was to use the 17-35 2.8L zoom, followed by 28-70 2.8L zoom, I bought it 2nd hand for good price. This replaced all my consumer zooms. I bought a 70-200 for work usage as well.

This led to bigger problems for me as I hated the weight of these professional lenses and started using primes like the 35mm and discovered my love for low light photography.

During this time I discovered too shift/tilted lenses and certain projects had great needs for them so I slowly acquired all 3 within 4 months.

I acquired more primes for work 85mm & 24mm. my zoom lenses are only work related but my primes lenses are great for my daily usage. I bring one prime daily and shoot only with it and composed whatever I can think off.

So what worked for me may not be the same as yourself. The most important is to try and shoot and observe your shooting patterns.

Have fun!

Ya got too many lenses.

 

[ymmij]

nice article and thanks for sharing your experience. it is really exciting to buy lens but a waste if they are not used often.