[Ballyclogh]

So, as many here, I began suffering from LBA about 3 years ago when I re-entered the world of photography thanks to the birth of my daughter. I took some of my old Pentax lenses out of mothballs and then began buying more until I have just about 2 dozen lenses (nowhere near the amount some of you have but, then again, it's only been 3 years). So I've been thinking of getting rid of some of these and consolidating my collection to only 3-4 lenses. If I have to buy new one to do this I will. I've been thinking of keeping my Sigma 17-70mm and getting a Bigma and a Viv Series 1 105mm...maybe also pick up a Sigma 10-20mm. That's it...I should need nothing else.

Has anyone here ever consolidated their lenses to a more streamlined collection? If so what did you go with? Any comments would be appreciated.

[Ira]

I seldom have buyer's regret. Only seller's regret.

[legacyb4]

I'm in the midst of trying to downsize by about 1/4 of what I have; as Ira indicated, there is never buyer's regret, only seller's regret which makes the decision really tough.

[farfisa]

I agree about the seller's regret!

You're looking at selling everything but your 17-70 and then buying 3 more lenses to replace your 2 dozen? Sounds like trouble

Seriously though, let's hear what you have first and what you like to shoot (other than your daughter) -- I guess the 17-70 is your most used lens?

Most would suggest a fast prime to complement what you're looking at too, so then you'd have four. Done!

[axl]

what are the 2 dozens you want so sell? I'm sure many people would help you with them
seriously though, to sell 20 odd lenses to buy another 2-3... I'm not sure.

BR

[BBear]

I no longer have a copy of my roadmap with lenses that I had sold... it currently just shows the lenses I have and the two left for sale.

But it gives an idea of my line-up:

[Ballyclogh]

I'm a fairly spartan person and this is the very first time that I've found myself buying more than what I need (which, I must admit, feels pretty damn good) so downsizing a collection to a few core lenses won't be too much of a psychological issue.

Many of the lenses I own are manual as I love old-school glass...I own a few Pentax 50mm f1.4 and a couple of Vivitar 28mm f2, the others are Vivitar Series 1 24-70mm Macro, Series 1 19-35mm AF 3.5-4.5, Sigma 75-300mm f4-5.6, Tamron 35-90mm f4-5.6, Kenko 1.5 teleconverter, Tamron 28-80mm, etc, etc...I never regret anything, whether buying or selling as I just look at it as trading one thing for another.

I shoot my Kids mainly, as well as portraits, landscapes, macro flowers, wildlife...you name it I try to shoot it. I just want to be able to shoot what I want to with just essentials. The only lens I may keep aside from the Sigma 17-70mm is the Viv Series 1 19-35mm...I have that one on my K200D body all the time and 17-70mm on the K20D (which is the one I use the most and my wife uses the K200D).

Thanks for all of your comments...they are very much welcome!

[axl]

Keeping 2 lenses covering the same focal length???
point is?

[Ballyclogh]

Keeping 2 lenses covering the same focal length???
point is?

no real point other than two cameras bodies...I keep the Vivitar on the K200D because it is essentially the camera my wife uses for all around use and she likes the lens. The overall shooting I do is with the K20D, which is where the Sigma is mounted on most of the time.

[mrt10x]

Have you ever held Bigma? Definitely not a carry around lens.. I have one and I wouldn’t buy it again.. All that versatility you think you are getting is lost on mediocre performance and huge size/weight. IMHO

[NaClH2O]

This exercise goes completely against my nature. I have a hard time conceiving of LESS lenses! But anyway, here goes.
Since you like old glass, one of the lenses I'd consider is the Pentax "A" 70-210 F4.0. Great lens decent reach, excellent bokeh for a telezoom, and it also has a close focus feature at 70mm. If you want to go longer you can always keep your TC. If you like landscape photography I'd also consider the Pentax DA 12-24 F4.0. The final lens I'd consider would be the Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro that can double as a portrait lens. I'd also consider a fast prime like either the new DA 55mm, the FA 43 ltd, or the FA 50 F1.4
If someone put a gun to my head and threatened to pull the trigger unless I unloaded most of my lenses, these are the lenses I'd stick with, along with my 'walk-around' tamron 28-75 F2.8.
I know that is more lenses than you want, but I think you should go about this gently, no sense in being too drastic!

NaCl(moderation in all things)H2O

[rparmar]

I will need to slim my lens collection soon out of financial necessity, and because I hate seeing lenses sit around that could be used. But I think my priorities are different from yours. You seem to need to cover an enormous range, whereas I have no interest in extreme telephoto or very wide angle.

Once I get organised I will have about 8 lenses to sell and 2 that are junk. The incredible ones I would keep for my K20D?

Vivitar Series 1 105/2.5 macro
FA 77/1.8 Limited
K 50/1.2
FA 43/1.9 Limited
Vivitar 28/2 [Komine]

I would also keep this compact versatile combo:
K100DS with DA 35/2.8 Limited macro

And, because I need some zooms to cover other focal lengths:
DA 55-300/4-5.8
DA 16-45/4

Sorry though, that's more than three.

[HermanLee]

Someone in ProTalk DPR forum said this:
"Any lens that doesn't help me to make money is gone for sale!"
(...something like that, since I don't remember the exact words)

That's so true. I wish I can do that. And I believe that's what a pro should do NOT what a fan should do
I personally have the same thought of slimming down my lens collection.
Now I have a set of good zooms and another set of good primes.

Funny thing is at the beginning I love primes until I see my friend who shot Canon got so convenient with his 17-50 zoom.
Then I decided to buy some zooms.
Last time I met him, he told me that now he's buying more primes because of it's faster and better quality than zoom. ....what the heck!...I don't know if that's because he saw me using the primes or not but I guess it's true that the grass is always greener on the other side.

[Ballyclogh]

Have you ever held Bigma? Definitely not a carry around lens.. I have one and I wouldn’t buy it again.. All that versatility you think you are getting is lost on mediocre performance and huge size/weight. IMHO

I have...although it was heavy I didn't find it unwieldly. A friend and fellow pentaxian has one and I fell in love with it. A bit soft on either end but nothing that can't be effectively cured with f-stop adjustment...plus in a 13x19" print one will never really tell the difference.

thank you very much for the candid comment...it is certainly something to consider.

[Ballyclogh]

I will need to slim my lens collection soon out of financial necessity, and because I hate seeing lenses sit around that could be used. But I think my priorities are different from yours. You seem to need to cover an enormous range, whereas I have no interest in extreme telephoto or very wide angle.

Once I get organised I will have about 8 lenses to sell and 2 that are junk. The incredible ones I would keep for my K20D?

Vivitar Series 1 105/2.5 macro
FA 77/1.8 Limited
K 50/1.2
FA 43/1.9 Limited
Vivitar 28/2 [Komine]

I would also keep this compact versatile combo:
K100DS with DA 35/2.8 Limited macro

And, because I need some zooms to cover other focal lengths:
DA 55-300/4-5.8
DA 16-45/4

Sorry though, that's more than three.

hehe...thanks for the input...and here's a shot for you.



Torc Waterfall just south of Killarney...taken with the Sigma 17-70mm (I love that lens!). I lived in Ireland (Ennis, Co. Clare, to be precise) in the mid-90's and go visit friends and family as often as I can.