[dbs]

Lens clubs to see what it can do by someone else.
Lens reviews to see how it is liked by other people
Buy the lens and use it .... if you don't like it .... sell it to me I probably think I need it too

[Grimmus]

Following several weeks of sleepless nights you abandon the whole idea and decide to stick with what you have, at least it stops the "what's the matter with you now, you've been going round like a bear with a sore head........................".

Hats off to you for sorting it out in just "several weeks".....my timeframe for this is usually in years

[vijaykishan]

I realise you are using artistic licence here, but many make the implied mistake. A great lens will not improve the pictures of a mediocre photographer.

What !!! Noooooooooo, I just bought the sharpest, shiniest and the deadliest Katana to make the world's best salad and now you say it doesnt work that way. <searches for the Wakizashi which was came as a kit with the Katana to commit seppuku>


in all seriousness though, the quote is spot-on; the trick is to imagine in extreme detail on what the end goal is and pick the tool that makes it happen , Sometimes sharpness can be a PITA. My way of getting around buying new shiny is to look at pictures of the great photographers of yore and realise that they achieved so much with so little and realise that I just need to get out more.


That, and I'm eyeing the new HD limiteds <Hey ! I'm human afterall, at least the captcha agrees with me>

[PenPusher]

I hadn't expected so much interest, every so often I decide I need a new lens look at all the new models and quite a few old ones and then I think why and decide there really is no need.

Most of us have at least one or two lenses from the Takumar or M series, quite long in the tooth now but beautiful lenses all the same, however the principles of lens designs remain the same, its just changes in more accurate computation, new glass types and coatings that make the difference which I think has probably been of more benefit to zoom lenses than primes although sharpness may have been gained at the loss of character.

I look at the new designs and wonder do I really need all this extra weight and motorisation and the answer more often than not is no, there is so little to go wrong with a nice quiet, small and lightweight manually focussing lens from the past, true it may not have the pixel peeping qualities of modern lenses but then I don't do pixel peeping.

Perhaps the good photograph goes back, in the long run, to the photographer's eye and the decisive moment rather than the latest lens or camera.

[Jonathan Mac]

Reviews need to be read with a pinch of salt. Look for things that crop up frequently, good or bad, they are probably characteristics that you can rely on any decent copy having.

Test any copy of any lens you buy to make sure it's OK. If possible, test before parting with your money.