122 Lenses in 8 years# PhotoGear - 摄影器材
N*e
1 楼
From @MikeEvangelist
Since switching to full-frame digital in 2011, I’ve bought, used and sold a
wide variety of lenses, both native and adapted, searching for just the
right combination of range, performance, size and handling. I didn’t
realize just how many until this week when I made a Lightroom catalog to
gather all the ‘for sale’ images I’ve shot when selling some of them.
The tally? 122 lenses, bought/sold since 2011. (plus probably a dozen that I
forgot about or returned almost immediately due to unexpected limitations
or poor performance). The vast majority were for use on Sony full-frame
cameras, after brief periods with Leica M9 & 240 and Nikon D800e. I
currently have/use 9 lenses.
I’ve had much fun and learned a lot on this journey.
Expensive Lessons I’ve Paid For, So You Don’t Have To
First and foremost - It’s a fool’s game, constantly chasing after
perfection. Nearly all modern full-frame lenses, from all manufacturers, can
produce excellent images.
Second, I learned that although I really want/love fast lenses, I generally
don’t want to carry them, or pay for them.
A few other observations
* Zeiss lenses really are special. (I’m not talking about Sony/Zeiss, but
actual Zeiss-branded lenses) They are reliably excellent. (But I sure wish
they still made zooms for still cameras)
* As a sub-point to that - when manual focus is appropriate, the performance
and handling of the Loxia lenses is unmatched.
* Voigtlander lenses are similarly well made and also extremely gratifying
to use.
* Leica lenses, while very well built and certainly made from top quality
materials, don’t perform any/significantly better than the top glass from
Sony/Nikon/Canon/Zeiss (but confirmation bias and placebo effect often make
them seem superior, especially in the honeymoon period shortly after
purchase)
* Many lenses that I originally considered to be superb, turn out to be
mediocre-to-merely-good when compared to modern equivalents. (one example -
classic Nikkor 50mm ƒ1.4 non-AI. Any of the modern nifty-50s put it to
shame)
* Some of the later Minolta a-mount lenses are incredible performers, even
today. Highlights being the 80-200mm ƒ2.8 zoom, and the 200mm ƒ2.8
HS.
Bottom Line
What really limits my satisfaction with any lens is my limited ability. It’
s that simple.
Technique, skill and understanding your gear is at least 10 times more
important to creating satisfying images than sharpness, centering, tilt,
onion-ring bokeh, purple fringing or any other nit-picking specsmanship that
dominate lens discussions these days. Buy what you can afford, learn how to
use it, and have fun.
For the curious, here’s a Lightroom album with (almost) all the lenses I’
ve owned during this period - https://adobe.ly/2FFRqTJ
Some Tidbits
The most expensive lenses I’ve owned
Leica 16-18-21 WATE - $4999
Leica 280mm ƒ2.8 APO - $3499
The Most Amazing for the Price
Samyang 35mm ƒ2.8 - bought for $220 - performs at a much higher level
Sony 24mm ƒ1.4 GM - world-class performance and handling for a
relatively modest price (an absolute bargain compared against the similarly
performing Leica 24mm ƒ1.4, which sells for about $6,000)
Most Disappointing Lens
Laowa 12mm ƒ2.8 - extremely soft unless stopped down to at least 5.6 -
far overpriced, in my view
Voigtlander 40mm ƒ1.2 - Seems I maybe got a bad copy, but it was
dreadful unless stopped down to ƒ4, which of course negates the whole
point of this lens. (EDIT - a number of members pointed out that it was
certainly a bum copy, so I'm inclined to try it again. However, it doesn't
currently fit in my line-up, or budget; maybe later.)
Most Re-purchased Lenses
Sony 28mm ƒ2 - I’ve bought at least 3 of these, maybe 4. Keep trying,
but it just doesn’t click.
Zeiss 12mm Touit - I’ve had three of them - No longer shoot APS-C, so don’
t own one
Zess 50mm Loxia - I’m on my third one. All of them great and I regretted
selling the earlier ones immediately.
Sony 70-200mm ƒ4 G - I’ve had 3 so far. Excellent, under-rated lens.
But I needed a faster zoom, so am currently trying the Canon 70-200mm IS II
All-time Favorite lenses - (they produced the most images that I like the
most)
1. Sony 24mm ƒ1.4 GM
2. Zeiss Loxia 50mm ƒ2
3. Zeiss Touit 12mm ƒ2.8
4. Sony/Zeiss 135mm ƒ1.8 a-mount
5. Leica 28mm ƒ2 Summicron
Since switching to full-frame digital in 2011, I’ve bought, used and sold a
wide variety of lenses, both native and adapted, searching for just the
right combination of range, performance, size and handling. I didn’t
realize just how many until this week when I made a Lightroom catalog to
gather all the ‘for sale’ images I’ve shot when selling some of them.
The tally? 122 lenses, bought/sold since 2011. (plus probably a dozen that I
forgot about or returned almost immediately due to unexpected limitations
or poor performance). The vast majority were for use on Sony full-frame
cameras, after brief periods with Leica M9 & 240 and Nikon D800e. I
currently have/use 9 lenses.
I’ve had much fun and learned a lot on this journey.
Expensive Lessons I’ve Paid For, So You Don’t Have To
First and foremost - It’s a fool’s game, constantly chasing after
perfection. Nearly all modern full-frame lenses, from all manufacturers, can
produce excellent images.
Second, I learned that although I really want/love fast lenses, I generally
don’t want to carry them, or pay for them.
A few other observations
* Zeiss lenses really are special. (I’m not talking about Sony/Zeiss, but
actual Zeiss-branded lenses) They are reliably excellent. (But I sure wish
they still made zooms for still cameras)
* As a sub-point to that - when manual focus is appropriate, the performance
and handling of the Loxia lenses is unmatched.
* Voigtlander lenses are similarly well made and also extremely gratifying
to use.
* Leica lenses, while very well built and certainly made from top quality
materials, don’t perform any/significantly better than the top glass from
Sony/Nikon/Canon/Zeiss (but confirmation bias and placebo effect often make
them seem superior, especially in the honeymoon period shortly after
purchase)
* Many lenses that I originally considered to be superb, turn out to be
mediocre-to-merely-good when compared to modern equivalents. (one example -
classic Nikkor 50mm ƒ1.4 non-AI. Any of the modern nifty-50s put it to
shame)
* Some of the later Minolta a-mount lenses are incredible performers, even
today. Highlights being the 80-200mm ƒ2.8 zoom, and the 200mm ƒ2.8
HS.
Bottom Line
What really limits my satisfaction with any lens is my limited ability. It’
s that simple.
Technique, skill and understanding your gear is at least 10 times more
important to creating satisfying images than sharpness, centering, tilt,
onion-ring bokeh, purple fringing or any other nit-picking specsmanship that
dominate lens discussions these days. Buy what you can afford, learn how to
use it, and have fun.
For the curious, here’s a Lightroom album with (almost) all the lenses I’
ve owned during this period - https://adobe.ly/2FFRqTJ
Some Tidbits
The most expensive lenses I’ve owned
Leica 16-18-21 WATE - $4999
Leica 280mm ƒ2.8 APO - $3499
The Most Amazing for the Price
Samyang 35mm ƒ2.8 - bought for $220 - performs at a much higher level
Sony 24mm ƒ1.4 GM - world-class performance and handling for a
relatively modest price (an absolute bargain compared against the similarly
performing Leica 24mm ƒ1.4, which sells for about $6,000)
Most Disappointing Lens
Laowa 12mm ƒ2.8 - extremely soft unless stopped down to at least 5.6 -
far overpriced, in my view
Voigtlander 40mm ƒ1.2 - Seems I maybe got a bad copy, but it was
dreadful unless stopped down to ƒ4, which of course negates the whole
point of this lens. (EDIT - a number of members pointed out that it was
certainly a bum copy, so I'm inclined to try it again. However, it doesn't
currently fit in my line-up, or budget; maybe later.)
Most Re-purchased Lenses
Sony 28mm ƒ2 - I’ve bought at least 3 of these, maybe 4. Keep trying,
but it just doesn’t click.
Zeiss 12mm Touit - I’ve had three of them - No longer shoot APS-C, so don’
t own one
Zess 50mm Loxia - I’m on my third one. All of them great and I regretted
selling the earlier ones immediately.
Sony 70-200mm ƒ4 G - I’ve had 3 so far. Excellent, under-rated lens.
But I needed a faster zoom, so am currently trying the Canon 70-200mm IS II
All-time Favorite lenses - (they produced the most images that I like the
most)
1. Sony 24mm ƒ1.4 GM
2. Zeiss Loxia 50mm ƒ2
3. Zeiss Touit 12mm ƒ2.8
4. Sony/Zeiss 135mm ƒ1.8 a-mount
5. Leica 28mm ƒ2 Summicron
