Lenses: Don't collect the whole set

[lputman]

Another great article that cound be found on the lensrentals.com website...

LensRentals.com - Lenses: Don't collect the whole set

[naeno]

Great article! Thanks!

I have to add one thing to his, though. Don't buy a cheap flash! I did, and regretted it 31 days after buying it (and the return policy was 30 days). It works sometimes, and not others. Very frustrating.

I've gone slower at the collection than he did, but I AM finding my collection growing (as it does for most of us!) It's always so fun to get a new "toy"!

[BigVinnie]

Good writeup.

I played a bit of the lens game at first. I took the 28-105 from my film camera and used it initially. I was disappointed in the sharpness. I bought an 85 1.8 but did not like the lack of close focusing distance.

The only lens I have right now is a 17-85 EF-S. Now that I'm learning how to process the files better I realize the 28-105 lens was far superior. Should not have sold it

I am going to switch to primes at some point. It is what I'm used to anyways. I'm going to give myself a couple more months and then review what focal length settings I used the most with the zoom and go from there.

I'm not sure if the article addressed this (it was long...I kinda skimmed it), but a lot of lenses keep their value pretty well. In fact, I have a couple of lenses that have actually increased in value over the last year.

So what I'm trying to say is, it's not bad to expirement with some lenses. I never thought I'd have a use for a wide angle lens, but I've found several good uses for wedding photography (dance, church, artistic shots). Never thought I'd use a macro lens, but now that I have one I use it all the time. So don't be afraid to buy new lenses in the case that you might not use them very much. If you find out you don't use it much, you can always sell it for almost what you paid for it.

Which leads me to my second thought...lens rental is a rip-off. Just buy the thing, use it for as long as you need it, and then re-sell it. Most often it's a lot cheaper than renting.

[lputman]

Originally Posted by Photoboothguy

Which leads me to my second thought...lens rental is a rip-off. Just buy the thing, use it for as long as you need it, and then re-sell it. Most often it's a lot cheaper than renting.

Yes, it would be cheaper if you repeatedly rent the same lens; however, that is not always the case and it is a great way to test a lens before purchasing to even see if it is what you want. Additionally, I can come up about $200 to rent for a weekend than $7100 to buy a lens (using a 400 f/2.8 IS as an example which I would love to own).

[kirbinster]

Wow great article, and the sub articles you can click on are even better. THANKS!!!

[thaoimage]

I shoot primarily with 2 lenses... the 50mm f1.8 is on my camera about 75% of the time... the 55-250 telephoto occupies the other 25%... I bought the 85mm but didn't like how it doesn't have IS on there so I sold it back for virtually the same price I bought it for... which reminds me... I need to remove it from my sig

Originally Posted by lputman

Yes, it would be cheaper if you repeatedly rent the same lens; however, that is not always the case and it is a great way to test a lens before purchasing to even see if it is what you want. Additionally, I can come up about $200 to rent for a weekend than $7100 to buy a lens (using a 400 f/2.8 IS as an example which I would love to own).

That's kind of an extreme example, but I agree. However, if you bought that lens used, used it for a year and then sold it, you'd probably break even or at worst lose some selling fees (if sold on ebay). Granted you have $7000 tied up in a lens for a year, but you also have a lens that you can, at any time, get your money back on.

I have a friend that does this all the time. He'll buy camera equipment on ebay or craigslist, play with it for several months, then re-sell it...most of the time for what he paid for it or slightly more. Beats renting, and he gets to try a lot of gear.

[sk66]

Originally Posted by Photoboothguy

That's kind of an extreme example, but I agree. However, if you bought that lens used, used it for a year and then sold it, you'd probably break even or at worst lose some selling fees (if sold on ebay). Granted you have $7000 tied up in a lens for a year, but you also have a lens that you can, at any time, get your money back on.

I have a friend that does this all the time. He'll buy camera equipment on ebay or craigslist, play with it for several months, then re-sell it...most of the time for what he paid for it or slightly more. Beats renting, and he gets to try a lot of gear.

The key difference in this statement is "if you bought that lens used"...

Buying an $8000 lens new and trying to sell it via e-bay/craigslist/etc is a money loosing proposition...especially if you are not REALLY well established..I know because I bought one for 50% from an individual in just such a situation and it wasn't a year old.
Buying new and selling used is almost always a money loosing proposition...buying used and selling later can have much less cost (but greater risk).

I buy everything used... I'm cheap.

[vsa]

Originally Posted by kirbinster

Wow great article, and the sub articles you can click on are even better. THANKS!!!

Indeed.

"...400 hours in online forums before buying each piece of equipment..." ...check.