The Lens Thread!

[Every Miles A Memory]

First of all, whats POTN? Secondly, what do we look for when buying used lenses? Whats the best procedure to making sure we get a good lens, and not something that I will be unhappy with in a month?


*EDIT* Nvm on the POTN thing. I found it: http://photography-on-the.net/

POTN is for Canon Photography Students what Expedition Portal is for us Adventure Students.

In looking for a used lens, most will post up photos and a brief history of what they've used the lens for. Buy from a sports shooter or a reporter, and usually the lens will have a ton of scratches.

Buy from a birder or hobbiest, and they'll usually be in mint condition.

I've bought a ton of gear from both POTN and Fred Miranda and have yet to be ripped off or scammed on any of it. Ebay is a different story, but if you use PayPal, then you're usually pretty safe in getting your money back if you do get ripped off.

Another thing to consider is we needed to have a lens completely rebuilt after it took a saltwater bath and it cost $1100. That might seem like alot, but the lens normally cost $2800, so we both felt it was cheaper to have it rebuilt than buy a new one.

I've had to send another lens in because it dropped off a 4' ledge on the concrete and it only cost $120 to have it rebuilt. So worse case scenario if you get something for a song and dance and it doesnt work 100% is to send it into Canon and have them refurbish it. In the long run, you'll still be saving money

Just my 0.02

 

[BeachBoy]

Similar here in that a Nikkor 18-200mm is my main travel lens. It doesn't do anything perfect, but it does everything very well. Excellent range, excellent VR and it's a good size/weight. Overall, it's a 5 star lens for me.

I also carry a 35mm f1.8 for low light situations and an awesome Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro, but only take those out for planned photos.

Pete

Same here, I mostly use my 18-200 for convenience. I'd love to have a 70-200 F2.8 but $ is tight.

I also carry the 50 1.8 and a Sigma 10-20.

the 10-20 gets used more and more now as the picture quality is better than the 18-200. and around 12 it makes awesome landscape pictures.

 

[Colorado David]

Bernie Barge is a great guy and an excellent lens repair technician.

http://www.pho-tech.net/

I can heartily recommend his services.

 

[telwyn]

If you don't have a wide lens, I would encourage you to consider the 16-35mm F2.8 L mkII as a walkabout lens. Sharper than the 24-70 from what I can tell, and WIDE is fun. 90% or more of the images in my gallery are with the 16-35

Nwoods,

Looks like the 16-35 you recommend takes great photos (as do you!), but if I searched for it correctly on Amazon, I'm coming up with this lens below which is about $1,500. :Wow1: That's a little more than I had in mind.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-16-35mm...1_fkmr3_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1265677578&sr=8-1-fkmr3

The local photographer I took a camera class from this past weekend seemed to think I could pick up a used lens baby (is that the same as a fisheye or wide angle?) for a $100 and that a new one would only be a few $100.

Is this perhaps what I'm looking for to do some fun shots?

http://www.amazon.com/Lensbaby-Cano...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1265677960&sr=1-1

Clearly I'm a camera novice so I appreciate everyone's patience with my questions. Thx.

 

[nwoods]

Nwoods, Looks like the 16-35 you recommend takes great photos ...and...is about $1,500. :Wow1: That's a little more than I had in mind.

Yeap, nice glass makes all the difference in the world, but it does not come inexpensively. What your camera looks through has a profound impact on image quality. You can mount a great lens to a mediocre camera and take great images, but if you have a fantastic camera mated to a mediocre lens you are going to get mediocre images....most of the time.

Having a nice lens increases the ratio of "keepers" you will take.

I have no used a LensBaby. From the general "buzz" on the net, they seem fun, but are basically a toy. If you want fun, get one! Who doesn't want fun?

But if you are looking for a high quality tool for image taking, invest in good glass, worry about the camera later.

Edit: Also, what Pat said earlier, you can get good deals on used equipment, and a well cared for lens will outlast your camera. I have had several great transactions with the folks on POTN.

 

[nwoods]

I made a little mini-gallery of images shot exclusively with the 16-35 F2.8 MkII L: http://nwoods.smugmug.com/Other/Texures/11177347_AWYyY#215365914_6YRML

I really like this one:

 

[telwyn]

Thanks for the suggestions.

What I have so far is a Canon 30D and Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. Bought the body used from someone on ExPo and the lens new. I've really enjoyed the camera despite only using it on dummy green, but after my class this weekend I'm ready to finally go manual with confidence.

The lens baby will definitely just be for fun. I may go ahead and get one and report back.

 

[SeaRubi]

Lens Baby

I have a lens baby for my canon elan that i picked up to experiment with for urban portraiture. no negs from me yet ... the test rolls are still sitting in this latest stash of 60+ canisters waiting to be developed.

I have used it on a digital body. It takes a bit to get used to. using it on a 30D canon body for drink-closeups (friend in the liquor biz) yielded poor results with big apertures. because the blur affect is so significant, it works best with lots of light and something around f/8 (you have to change aperture by swapping a metal disk in front of the lens.) Since you have to compress the lens by hand to focus on your subject, while tilting simultaneously to move around the "cone" of blur it can take some practice before you gain any proficiency for creating pleasing results.

final thought - no replacement for good bokeh on nice glass. After you shoot a flower or two in broad daylight it's not going to seem so nifty.

fwiw

cheers
-ike

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Another thing I just thought of that I cant believe took me this long to recommend is to check out any of the companies that do Lens Rental

I have a good friend who was trying to make this same decision (24-70 f/2.8 or 70-200 f/2.8) and she rented each one of them for a week to see which one she'd use more and which one she felt the need to make the first purchase on.

I'm thinking the company she went with was Lens Pro and she told the guy what she was doing and he put a portion of her rental costs towards the purchase of the lens if she decided to purhcase one of them through his company

At first I thought this was silly, but when she told me she rented them for around $100 for over a week, it seems like a good way to take a test drive before dropping some serious coin on a lens you'll more than likely have for the rest of you life

 

[Rbertalotto]

although I typically carry a number of different lenses I seem to take 99% of my photos with my AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm ED VR lense (27-300mm 35mm equiv) on my D300. It just covers most of my needs in one lense. I do carry and use a Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 for wider shots along with a macro and 400mm too. But, again, its the 18-200 that gets all the work.

EXACTLY!

But I also use a 50mm F1.8 frequently...............

I just got the Tokina 11-16mm a few weeks ago.......fantastic hunk of glass!

 

[Vermejo]

Tokina 11-16mm

I just got the Tokina 11-16mm a few weeks ago.......fantastic hunk of glass!

Post up some shots and thoughts if you don't mind.

 

[john101477]

Personally I will not buy off brand Lenses, the quality of the build nor the quality of the glass is as good as the ones that come from Nikon, Canon, Sony, pentax or Oly. Of those, most of the "kit" lenses are fair to middle of the road but sometimes you get one that is better than average like the Nikon 18-105mm which far surpasses the 17-55 and 18-200 seen with other kits. For landscapes this lens is pretty darn good but not perfect. I also use a 70-200mm f/2.8 that I love and a 50mm f/1.8 which for the money is an awesome lense (about $150 ish). My next lens will be a faster wide angle lens for landscapes. The most popular second lens people buy is a 70-300 or equiv as I did that basically just needs to get sold.

 

[Stan the Man]

I know I've mentioned here numerous times that I've been lusting after the 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 IS, BUTTTTT I think I have found the budget lens to hold me over until I get employed again. The 50mm f1.4 USM :victory:

I'll keep using my kit lens for general shooting (landscapes, blah) and then throw on the 50mm when I want crisp shots, DOF, and low light quick shots. And the price definitely fits the bill.

 

[john101477]

unless your doing portraits I think the prime will bug you, just my opinion. I very rarely use it unless I am hand holding during a shoot with lots of movement. I think a longer zoom lens would benefit you more.

 

[Stan the Man]

unless your doing portraits I think the prime will bug you, just my opinion. I very rarely use it unless I am hand holding during a shoot with lots of movement. I think a longer zoom lens would benefit you more.

I think so too, but the 50 prime will be a great compact, lightweight walk-around lens. I'm thinking party, bars, indoor, real low light scenarios. Just about everyone I've talked to says you should have a prime in your kit. I can buy it used now and figure out if I like it or not. If it doesn't work for me, I can sell it for what I bought it since the normal used price of the 50 f1.4 is ~$300.