[Lowell Goudge]

Your strategy sounds great, but I too worry about your conclusion. I said a very similar thing on April 30th.. and now own the 18-135. And an off-brand 100mm macro. Oops almost forgot the SMC-M 200mm f/4! And I believed I had crafted my ideal kit less than four months ago?!?

I hope your resolve is stronger, but at the same time you don't pass up a great deal (aren't they all?) when one pops up.

i don't think it is a question of stronger resolve, but simply put, what do you do when you come across a real bargon.

My last purchase was a tamron 90mm macro (52BB) with M42 mount attached, for $50. If you consider the 85-105mm range of lenses, I already have 85/1.4 (vivitar branded Samyang) 85/1.8 super tak, SMC-M100mmF4 macro, K105/2.8 and a vernon edonar 105/2.8 preset. so clearly i have both M42 and K mounts on both sides of the 90mm, I have a 100mm macro, so what does the tamron 90mm macro give me? did i really need it, no, but at $50 why not?

the 52BB has a fine reputation as a macro lens, and is clearly worth much more than I paid. yes it is another toy, etc, but I am interested in comparing it with the super tak 85/1.9 as a potential replacement. the loss of 1/2 stop does not bother me, and being a 52BB it is a late production adaptall II with the latest coatings, clearly better than those on a super tak from the late 60's or early 70's.

[PPPPPP42]

Most of what you guys got hooked on would be useless to me and I wouldn't buy it at any price. More than one person has fallen for LBA because of a great deal on something they didn't need.
I still keep my eyes open for any deals on the fast A primes, but I also keep my eyes out for getting struck by lightning and possibly hit by a meteor. I'd prefer to use the money towards getting a better high ISO FF DSLR rather than spend $1000 on a single prime since I sorta hate using them. I'm a very much a zoomer not a cropper.
There are a very few times when anything over 300mm would have been useful and all of them are situations where I wouldn't have had such a stupidly huge lens with anyways, they don't even fit in the bag. I call them the tasco lenses for an obvious reason.

[VoiceOfReason]

I'm temporarily cured due to lack of funds!

[eddie1960]

I'm temporarily cured due to lack of funds!

that is the only cure i know of, sooner or later though funds again become available and LBA raises it's ugly head once again

[Lowell Goudge]

Most of what you guys got hooked on would be useless to me and I wouldn't buy it at any price. More than one person has fallen for LBA because of a great deal on something they didn't need.
I still keep my eyes open for any deals on the fast A primes, but I also keep my eyes out for getting struck by lightning and possibly hit by a meteor. I'd prefer to use the money towards getting a better high ISO FF DSLR rather than spend $1000 on a single prime since I sorta hate using them. I'm a very much a zoomer not a cropper.
There are a very few times when anything over 300mm would have been useful and all of them are situations where I wouldn't have had such a stupidly huge lens with anyways, they don't even fit in the bag. I call them the tasco lenses for an obvious reason.

I would tend to disagree with this.

in actuality, there are different purposes for my kits.

The modern AF zooms I use (and except for the FA-J 18-35 which is a gap filler between my 10-20 and 28-75) are all excellent quality, and at the time of purchase the best lenses you could get. these lenses get a ton of use, specifically on vacations where photography is made to fit into family activities.

when I am on my own, or travelling for business, I take one body and a couple of MF primes, (2-3 typically) because they are smaller and faster than my zooms. when you consider i also pack a 17inch laptop on business a compact camera is a necessity,. on vacations the laptop stays at home, which gives me a ton of volume and weight that can be made up with bigger heavier (but more convenient) AF zooms.

as for length, and shooting over 300mm, that is very much an interest issue. I enjoy photographing wildlife, especially birds, so I have a lot of interest in long fast lenses. that is not for everyone, however, so we wont push the issue, other than to say really, when it all comes down to it, my photography is for enjoyment, and part of that is slowing down and thinking about what I am doing. MF primes let you do that. My M42 and K mount kits differ, because I deliberately wanted to have lenses that rendered differently. In another thread someone pointed out that there is not a lot of difference for example between SMC Taks and many SMC (k) lenses, so i made sure i avoided similar lenses. As for the cost. my complete M42 kit is now somewhere in the range of 16 lenses for $1200, and this covers 16mm-200 mm with only a couple of focal length duplicates. that is not an overly expensive outlay for a full set of gear.

as for a full frame DSLR, quite honestly, it is of very little interest at present, although with all my lenses only 4 are ASP-C only lenses, my sigma 10-20, my 8mm fisheye, and DAL-18-55 amd 50-200 (both of which I got for my daughter so she can take a body and 2 zooms and travel light) the remaining 48 lenses, including my other AF zooms, and all the primes are full frame, and I do use them, just with film.

Again, i stress, this is a hobby for me, and for my enjoyment. If I were a pro, I would perhaps (not quite sure though) approach things differently, but full frame is not a necessity for about 99% of photographic work

[Just1MoreDave]

...the 52BB has a fine reputation as a macro lens, and is clearly worth much more than I paid. yes it is another toy, etc, but I am interested in comparing it with the super tak 85/1.9 as a potential replacement. the loss of 1/2 stop does not bother me, and being a 52BB it is a late production adaptall II with the latest coatings, clearly better than those on a super tak from the late 60's or early 70's.

I have these two lenses. A comparison might be fun but the conclusion is going to be "wow, they are completely different". However, I'd like to see a comparison between the Samyang 85/1.4 (forgot which brand you have) and the 52BB.

[Lowell Goudge]

I have these two lenses. A comparison might be fun but the conclusion is going to be "wow, they are completely different". However, I'd like to see a comparison between the Samyang 85/1.4 (forgot which brand you have) and the 52BB.

i was actually thinking of doing all 3, I have the vivitar branded samyang, the supertak 85/1.9 and the tamron 52BB (same as 52B but cosmetically different i.e. more modern) but you are right, wow, they are all completely different.