[Fenwoodian]

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Last winter I adapted an old Oscilloscope lens so I could use it on my Pentax K1 camera. Below is a photo that I took with it today on my K-1.

The first few hundred photos that I took with this adapted lens were horrible, I hated them so much that I just about Ebayed the lens.

But I hung in there, and now, after about 500 photos, I'm finally getting to know this lens and believe I can finally coax the best out of her.

I guess that it typically takes me about 500 photos before I feel comfortable with a "new to me" lens. How long does it take you?
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[IMG][/IMG]

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Last edited by Fenwoodian; 06-20-2018 at 03:49 PM.

[pcrichmond]

Wonderful image.
Glad you didn't ebay it, I probably would have bought it.
I'm a sucker for experimentation.

[stillshot2]

It depends on the lens. I feel I still haven't mastered my 77mm, which perhaps is why it's considered a professional lens- it requires pro skills!

[photoptimist]

LOL! I wish I could say I've mastered any lens!

The basics of focal length and aperture aren't too hard to master. But the OOF oddities of a lens (especially a non-standard lens) take a lot of time.

[Sandy Hancock]

I try to do a "Single In" challenge with any new lens I buy. Using it every day with feedback from one's peers is a very useful examination.

If I haven't bonded with it by the end of the month it's unlikely I ever will.

[Saltwater Images]

Each time I purchase a new lens; I shoot with it almost exclusively for a month to learn. Today I'm still learning the DA* 60-250 and get a little better each time I take it out.

[Paul the Sunman]

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I guess that it typically takes me about 500 photos before I feel comfortable with a "new to me" lens. How long does it take you?

I'll let you know when it happens.

[Pentax Syntax]

Interesting post and great question! When I get a new lens I create a lens diary. I suggested this to students when I taught photography and have adopted it for my digital shooting. Simple format is to just jot down characteristics of the lens at various aperture settings, lighting regimes etc. This is a good way to analyze your lens collection to choose the best features of a given lens. Such items as out of focus backgrounds and sharpness are easy. Edge sharpness and color rendering can be trickier. Never sure I have mastered any lens I own. But my oldest lenses have a diary dating back 40+ years.

[SSGGeezer]

I'll let you know when it happens.

Beat me to it! I am such a newbie that I cannot say I have mastered anything having to do with my cameras and lenses, maybe charging the batteries? But I can't find my 190 charger right now so i am back to master of absolutely nothing!

[Fenwoodian]

Here's another photo I took tonight with this lens...

[IMG][/IMG]

[Alex645]

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I guess that it typically takes me about 500 photos before I feel comfortable with a "new to me" lens. How long does it take you?

I agree with many others that "mastering" is a very lofty but worthy goal for anything.

The simpler the lens (prime) and fewer lenses in a kit (like just one or two) certainly accelerates the progress.

Personally, I can't say I've ever mastered a zoom lens, although I've gotten better with my 16-85mm. With any lens, even my favorite 645 and FF primes, there is a warm up period every time I start shooting, and after 2-3 days of just shooting with the same lens, will I get back into a groove. But if I put it down for a week, or a month, or a season, I'm just as rusty and it takes time and frequency to reach the unconscious competency with moments of mastery (and disappointment).

[Fenwoodian]

there is a warm up period every time I start shooting.

I can relate to that...

What I do is keep notes on every one of my lenses. I keep the notes in with each lens in it's protective case/bag. Each time I pick up a lens, I review my notes on that particular lens.

[torashi]

Wow, so dreamy. Nice pictures!
I guess it depends on the lens. Some are harder to work with, others not so much. But really mastering one is hard. It's not even about mastering the lens, it's about artistic expression and how grabbing and compelling one's work is. I would say mastering a lens is getting all the technical aspects down and knowing your gear. The hard part is having an eye for good composition and the need to express something, while doing it creatively and seemingly effortless. Like a great speech from a great speaker.

Gesendet von meinem Mi A1 mit Tapatalk

[cmohr]

Although I have shot with similar Focal lengths on my K-5, Sigma 300/2.8 with 1.4x or 2x TC's, (giving me a similar feild of view) which I was very happy with and confident in all situations.

After a few months with the FA*600mm/F4 on the K-1, I'm only now starting to get to grips with it. Ron said it would be that way, and I believed him. It's a totally different ballgame, the weight, the balance, vibrations, all new way of dealing with the focal length. (I did have to upgrade my tripod and gimbal) Biggest issue is time to get out and practice.

Arrrr

[Madaboutpix]

Hard to put numbers to that learning curve, and truly mastering a lens is a high standard indeed.

At any rate, I seem to take longer with zoom lenses than with primes, given that typical behaviours need to be explored for different focal lengths. However, a short vacation of a couple of days with fairly regular shooting (amounting to, say, several hundreds of images taken), exclusively or nearly exclusively with the lens in question, would normally give me the working knowledge I need to produce decent images with it on a regular basis.

That said, even after years of use I may discover new subtleties or ways of making a lens really sing.

I don't take written notes on lens performance and characteristics, but I remain keenly aware of EXIFs and shooting conditions when I edit and compare images, which leads to a lot of mental notes taken about lens behaviour and character. Rather than approaching the process as semi-scientific study, I try to keep it as intuitive and informal as possible, if that makes any sense.