Originally posted by hwblanks First--I just don't get the Zeiss lenses. To spend that much money on a lens and it not even be autofocus, never mind HSM. I figure that there are plenty of less expensive AF lenses that have excellent IQ--some even with HSM, that why should I bother spending more on a lens that has neither?
I'm 100% opposite
Even when using my only AF lens, I still feel the need to question the AF. So...I manually focus it anyway.
When people ask me if I miss a lot of shots with MF lenses, I say I miss just as many with AF.
To me, there's just nothing better than a product whose quality you can *feel*, and that's metal construction with a silky smooth focus ring
Originally posted by maxwell1295 Now that I have a recently acquired Vivitar 55mm/2.8 macro and my eyes on the Tamron SP 90mm/2.5,
If you see one, buy it...don't even think twice. There is no lens sharper, with better bokeh, and decent "working distance" from the subject in a macro lens.
(Just watch out for the sensor reflection at f/11 and smaller :ugh: )
Originally posted by asdf That's not what I meant. I had chipmunk or little wild critter photography in mind. You know your subject, but cannot predict its distance from you: it may be in a bush next to you at one moment and then twenty meters from you at another. Also, the-zoom-in-your-legs does not work, because small wild animals startle very easily.
EDIT: On this thread, I posted a photo I took of a Toronto raccoon at 230mm (using the 55-300 zoom) which was framed to my liking without any cropping. Now, this raccoon wasn't exactly small, but its distance from me was fairly variable, to say the least.
This is why I went with a zoom (FA 80-320) for my longest lens. Although, as time goes by, I find myself wanting something like a 200mm and 300mm since I already have a 90mm.
Big? Yep. Heavy? Check. Pain in the ass? Lock n load.
It just seems that...either it's zoomed all the way out or all the way in. I don't really use it in the middle range. Well...that, and I thought my "wildlife" lens needed to be AF. Live and learn I guess. <3 primes