Lenses: what has demand and what has not - facts

TerryL · 06-04-2019, 03:12 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by timb64

That you're perhaps more interested in collecting photographic equipment than using it?

That's ok, too. Whatever make a person happy.

**JensE** · 06-04-2019, 03:34 PM

Originally posted by boriscleto

What does it say if you own 57 primes between 40 and 58mm? Only one AF...

It tells me that I can relax now that I'm down to less than 10 K-mount or adapted lenses between 50mm and 58mm (3 AF). My bad feelings about considering adding back another, or actually two, are obviously totally unfounded. But then, except for one, I think I even use all of them in the last year at least once for actual photography. Out of the 4 zooms covering that range, one (D-FA 28-105mm) likely still saw more pictures at that focal length than all of the primes combined. I'm definitely the pragmatic normhead type of extremist, not a Kerrowdown ascetic.

angerdan · 06-05-2019, 02:31 AM

Originally posted by beholder3

CIPA has some interesting facts on lens sales. The demand (quantity) in 2018 for lenses had clear favorites:

Do you have an linkt to a public source?
Because CIPA didn't show the lens types here:
CIPA - Camera & Imaging Products Association: Interchangeable Lens

beholder3 · 06-05-2019, 03:06 AM

Originally posted by angerdan

Do you have an linkt to a public source?
Because CIPA didn't show the lens types here:
CIPA - Camera & Imaging Products Association: Interchangeable Lens

Here: http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/common/cr1000.pdf

Slide #14

---------- Post added 5th Jun 2019 at 12:10 ----------

Originally posted by Adam

I'm wondering why they group superzooms with tele zooms, since the former category probably greatly outnumbers the latter.

I think it is from a normal user persective:
You first buy a "standardzoom" like a 18-55.
Then you find out you want to add something longer. That can be a 55-300 or a 18-300.
Both often are the second lens somebody buys and both with the intention of getting more reach.

Obviously this is not how enthusiasts with a dozen of lenses look at it. But I assume the majority does.

MJKoski · 06-05-2019, 03:21 AM

Majority uses a cellphone to take photographs. All types of DSLR/MILC lenses are only a fraction of the number of sold cameras in cellphones. In the near future, the only reason to use a separate "real" camera is to shoot something with specialist lenses like T/S or super telephoto primes.

TaoMaas · 06-05-2019, 04:17 AM - **1 Like**

Even though I have a full set of primes, I don't use them anywhere near as much as I did in the film days. For me, two things happened that changed how I work. First, zooms got a lot better. And second, I now have to be concerned about getting dust on my sensor. Using zooms keeps me from having to change lenses as often as I used to when I shot primes all the time.

angerdan · 06-05-2019, 06:15 AM

Originally posted by beholder3

Here: http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/common/cr1000.pdf
Slide #14

Thanks (:
cipa.jp/stats/documents/common/cr1000.pdf#page=14

normhead · 06-05-2019, 06:22 AM - **1 Like**

Cover the range you want with zooms, buy the primes you love. Zooms are utility, primes are luxury.

Just my two bits worth.

rangercarp · 06-05-2019, 06:24 AM

It would be interesting if we could compare these stats across different name plates. I would suspect Canon and Nikon sell more kit lenses (proportional to their over all sales) because they sell a higher proportion of entry level cameras. We could guess that Pentax sells more primes because Pentax caters more to the enthusiast camera market and less to the entry level. Of the top selling K mount lenses on B&H right now, the number 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are all primes. And 1 and 6 are both 50mm.

MJKoski · 06-05-2019, 07:39 AM

Another view on zooms: Zooms are collection of different perspectives. Primary function of a zoom is not to stand still and, well, zoom at a distant point. The primary function is instead selecting a perspective, like how much background you want in the photo with your subject, and using it to get the shot. This is my 2 cents on the matter.

normhead · 06-05-2019, 10:13 AM

Originally posted by rangercarp

It would be interesting if we could compare these stats across different name plates. I would suspect Canon and Nikon sell more kit lenses (proportional to their over all sales) because they sell a higher proportion of entry level cameras. We could guess that Pentax sells more primes because Pentax caters more to the enthusiast camera market and less to the entry level. Of the top selling K mount lenses on B&H right now, the number 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are all primes. And 1 and 6 are both 50mm.

That's a point I can relate to, as a relatively pro-zoom kind of Pentax guy, I still have 50% of my lenses as primes.It's looking like that isn't nearly as common elsewhere. My strategy has always been use zooms as long as you can, then buy a prime for what the zoom won't do. And I own a lot of primes. Macro is never as good with zooms. There are no 1.4 zooms, There are no 2.8 superzoom telephotos, there are lots of things you just can't do without primes. But if you never get in touch with your inner niche photographer you'll never realize you can have fun doing those kinds of things, and you probably will never know what you are missing.

btnapa · 06-05-2019, 02:38 PM

Originally posted by normhead

The all prime users are the lunatic fringe.

I guess I am a prime extremist too. Not by design though. I have 6 primes and 3 zooms. That is not counting a bunch more M42 primes and M42 zooms and a couple of 645 lenses. It is ironic that I use my 28-105 for most of my shooting. I have the FA Limited trio and it burns me that I do not get to use them as much. But as we all know zooms are really convenient! who wants to bother with lens changes!!

bilybianca · 06-06-2019, 01:31 AM

Originally posted by beholder3

But then you also have 11,12,15,16,20,21,24,28,30,31,35,40,43,56,70,77,85,90,100,105,135,150,180,200,300,400,500,600,800,1000

You forgot 55 and 560mm!

Kjell

normhead · 06-06-2019, 05:18 AM

Originally posted by btnapa

I guess I am a prime extremist too. Not by design though. I have 6 primes and 3 zooms. That is not counting a bunch more M42 primes and M42 zooms and a couple of 645 lenses. It is ironic that I use my 28-105 for most of my shooting. I have the FA Limited trio and it burns me that I do not get to use them as much. But as we all know zooms are really convenient! who wants to bother with lens changes!!

My first big mistake when I bought my K-1 was thinking I had enough other lenses to get away without buying the 28-105.I find with my 21 ltd. it's rare I take the 18-135 for it. I do like it for it's fluid rendering of water scenes etc. but for most images it makes no difference.

bdery · 06-06-2019, 05:30 AM

Originally posted by normhead

35mm has just never appealed to me. My 35 mm primes are my least used lenses. Amazing how many images that are too wide for 50, are still too wide for 35mm.

Ditto here. I tried to love 50mm many times, but 40-43mm works better for me. No sense using a 30-ish lens then (that's why I wrote that the 31mm is the least interesting Limited for me, even though optically it's the best). I'd rather go from 43 to 20-ish.

06-05-2019, 10:13 AM	#41
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	Originally posted by rangercarp It would be interesting if we could compare these stats across different name plates. I would suspect Canon and Nikon sell more kit lenses (proportional to their over all sales) because they sell a higher proportion of entry level cameras. We could guess that Pentax sells more primes because Pentax caters more to the enthusiast camera market and less to the entry level. Of the top selling K mount lenses on B&H right now, the number 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are all primes. And 1 and 6 are both 50mm. That's a point I can relate to, as a relatively pro-zoom kind of Pentax guy, I still have 50% of my lenses as primes.It's looking like that isn't nearly as common elsewhere. My strategy has always been use zooms as long as you can, then buy a prime for what the zoom won't do. And I own a lot of primes. Macro is never as good with zooms. There are no 1.4 zooms, There are no 2.8 superzoom telephotos, there are lots of things you just can't do without primes. But if you never get in touch with your inner niche photographer you'll never realize you can have fun doing those kinds of things, and you probably will never know what you are missing. Last edited by normhead; 06-05-2019 at 10:29 AM.

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06-04-2019, 03:12 PM - 1 Like	#31
TerryL Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 850	Originally posted by timb64 That you're perhaps more interested in collecting photographic equipment than using it? That's ok, too. Whatever make a person happy.

06-04-2019, 03:34 PM	#32
JensE Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Leipzig Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,973	Originally posted by boriscleto What does it say if you own 57 primes between 40 and 58mm? Only one AF... It tells me that I can relax now that I'm down to less than 10 K-mount or adapted lenses between 50mm and 58mm (3 AF). My bad feelings about considering adding back another, or actually two, are obviously totally unfounded. But then, except for one, I think I even use all of them in the last year at least once for actual photography. Out of the 4 zooms covering that range, one (D-FA 28-105mm) likely still saw more pictures at that focal length than all of the primes combined. I'm definitely the pragmatic normhead type of extremist, not a Kerrowdown ascetic.

06-05-2019, 02:31 AM	#33
angerdan Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2015 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,642	Originally posted by beholder3 CIPA has some interesting facts on lens sales. The demand (quantity) in 2018 for lenses had clear favorites: Do you have an linkt to a public source? Because CIPA didn't show the lens types here: CIPA - Camera & Imaging Products Association: Interchangeable Lens

06-05-2019, 03:06 AM	#34
beholder3 Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 3,112 Original Poster	Originally posted by angerdan Do you have an linkt to a public source? Because CIPA didn't show the lens types here: CIPA - Camera & Imaging Products Association: Interchangeable Lens Here: http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/common/cr1000.pdf Slide #14 ---------- Post added 5th Jun 2019 at 12:10 ---------- Originally posted by Adam I'm wondering why they group superzooms with tele zooms, since the former category probably greatly outnumbers the latter. I think it is from a normal user persective: You first buy a "standardzoom" like a 18-55. Then you find out you want to add something longer. That can be a 55-300 or a 18-300. Both often are the second lens somebody buys and both with the intention of getting more reach. Obviously this is not how enthusiasts with a dozen of lenses look at it. But I assume the majority does.

06-05-2019, 03:21 AM	#35
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	Majority uses a cellphone to take photographs. All types of DSLR/MILC lenses are only a fraction of the number of sold cameras in cellphones. In the near future, the only reason to use a separate "real" camera is to shoot something with specialist lenses like T/S or super telephoto primes.

06-05-2019, 04:17 AM - 1 Like	#36
TaoMaas Pentaxian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Oklahoma City Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,574	Even though I have a full set of primes, I don't use them anywhere near as much as I did in the film days. For me, two things happened that changed how I work. First, zooms got a lot better. And second, I now have to be concerned about getting dust on my sensor. Using zooms keeps me from having to change lenses as often as I used to when I shot primes all the time.

06-05-2019, 06:15 AM	#37
angerdan Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2015 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,642	Originally posted by beholder3 Here: http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/common/cr1000.pdf Slide #14 Thanks (: cipa.jp/stats/documents/common/cr1000.pdf#page=14

06-05-2019, 06:22 AM - 1 Like	#38
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	Cover the range you want with zooms, buy the primes you love. Zooms are utility, primes are luxury. Just my two bits worth.

06-05-2019, 06:24 AM	#39
rangercarp Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Southern Michigan Posts: 437	It would be interesting if we could compare these stats across different name plates. I would suspect Canon and Nikon sell more kit lenses (proportional to their over all sales) because they sell a higher proportion of entry level cameras. We could guess that Pentax sells more primes because Pentax caters more to the enthusiast camera market and less to the entry level. Of the top selling K mount lenses on B&H right now, the number 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are all primes. And 1 and 6 are both 50mm.

06-05-2019, 07:39 AM	#40
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	Another view on zooms: Zooms are collection of different perspectives. Primary function of a zoom is not to stand still and, well, zoom at a distant point. The primary function is instead selecting a perspective, like how much background you want in the photo with your subject, and using it to get the shot. This is my 2 cents on the matter.

06-05-2019, 02:38 PM	#42
btnapa Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 1,621	Originally posted by normhead The all prime users are the lunatic fringe. I guess I am a prime extremist too. Not by design though. I have 6 primes and 3 zooms. That is not counting a bunch more M42 primes and M42 zooms and a couple of 645 lenses. It is ironic that I use my 28-105 for most of my shooting. I have the FA Limited trio and it burns me that I do not get to use them as much. But as we all know zooms are really convenient! who wants to bother with lens changes!!

06-06-2019, 01:31 AM	#43
bilybianca Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hassleholm, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 334	Originally posted by beholder3 But then you also have 11,12,15,16,20,21,24,28,30,31,35,40,43,56,70,77,85,90,100,105,135,150,180,200,300,400,500,600,800,1000 You forgot 55 and 560mm! Kjell

06-06-2019, 05:18 AM	#44
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	Originally posted by btnapa I guess I am a prime extremist too. Not by design though. I have 6 primes and 3 zooms. That is not counting a bunch more M42 primes and M42 zooms and a couple of 645 lenses. It is ironic that I use my 28-105 for most of my shooting. I have the FA Limited trio and it burns me that I do not get to use them as much. But as we all know zooms are really convenient! who wants to bother with lens changes!! My first big mistake when I bought my K-1 was thinking I had enough other lenses to get away without buying the 28-105.I find with my 21 ltd. it's rare I take the 18-135 for it. I do like it for it's fluid rendering of water scenes etc. but for most images it makes no difference.

06-06-2019, 05:30 AM	#45
bdery Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Quebec city, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,362	Originally posted by normhead 35mm has just never appealed to me. My 35 mm primes are my least used lenses. Amazing how many images that are too wide for 50, are still too wide for 35mm. Ditto here. I tried to love 50mm many times, but 40-43mm works better for me. No sense using a 30-ish lens then (that's why I wrote that the 31mm is the least interesting Limited for me, even though optically it's the best). I'd rather go from 43 to 20-ish.