Originally posted by Crosshair didn't mean for harsh criticism if you took it that way. I am just astonished at the figures. I am already astonished at 20+ lenses.
No problem; it's not as if I *dislike* blathering about this, heh heh. A poll on the ManualFocusLensesForum showed that members there AVERAGED over 100 lenses each. One admitted to over 1500. So I am a mere piker.
Quote: before everything I strive to appreciate my current gear, seems the logical way instead of feeding a LBA. otherwise I would have added an 55 1.4, an 10-17 and a 55-300 to my arsenal already. but I need to get to know my lenses first.
I know the lenses I have, and I also know where they're insufficient. Ask yourself:
What do I want to do that I can't do with what I have? When my best cam was an advanced P&S, the answers led me to the K20D, DA10-17, DA18-250, and FA50/1.4. Further answers led me to the Tamron 10-24, fast and mostly cheap manual primes in 24-28-35-58-85-100-135mm, mirrors, macros, other stuff. And when I can find them CHEAP, I'd be a dolt to let them get away.
Quote: I am used to gears that complete each other, such as 15mm-35mm-85mm-135mm but here on this forum things are quite different. I see sets of AF lenses which overlap in terms of mm and have a hard time understanding why. but yeah, it only comes down to taste and budget. If I saw such thing on a Canon or Nikon forum, I wouldn't be so surprised, but here... my astonishment is partly caused by that.
I'll plead ignorance of CaNikon forums. About overlaps: The 5% of my pile that are zooms may seem to overlap. Not counting a few cheap AF midrange (~28-90mm) zooms which compete with each other, and the DA10-17 which overlaps noting except other fisheyes, I have these: Tamron 10-24, DA18-55, DA18-250, Vivitar 19-35, F35-70, Schneider Betavaron 50-125, Tokina 55-135, various ~70-210s, FA100-300, and Lil'Bigma 170-500. Many overlap in coverage but not character nor other properties (close-focus, AF speed, ease of handling, etc). Each has their place.
And it's fun to build distinct mini-kits. My ultra-light mini-kit has various tiny slow lenses that weight under 450g /16oz total. My sharp-zoom minikit has fairly small lenses that the DA18-250 doesn't replace. Then there are minikits by brand or nation: my Takumars, Germans, Russians, etc. Each has their place.
Yes, it all depends on taste (desires) and budget (possibilities). What fun!