Ben Totman wrote:
So true, I just took a $400 loss on a used 5d2 that I bought 6 months ago, bodies seem to lose value so fast these days due to the constant onslaught of new technology.
Alt lenses are a great way to get amazing results on a budget, you just need to do research first because of the amount of stuff out there. That\'s part of the fun though, finding a gem for a fraction of its modern counterpart.
Sorry to hear of your loss.
Just a note for people just getting into this though. If you try and do your homework first you usually end up getting in line for a model a few people somewhere have bragged up creating buzz and demand around. And one of the related components of demand is of course high(er) prices. Another component is that now you\'re standing in the same line to use the same tools as everyone else and your images will show that to some degree.
When your budget for a lens is around $100 or less I think it\'s MUCH more fun to fly semi-blind. If you\'re buying it on-line chances are that you have buy AND SELL privileges. Buy something around the standard (average) prices listed (not the cheapest and not the overpriced ones) for the model you\'re looking at, give it a try, and then sell it off for the same. Some of the lenses I\'ve come across doing that are just wonderful - yet they had no reputation and little or no on-line buzz.
I did this for two years on a fairly large scale and I\'m so glad I did. I learned a lot about lenses and lens manufacturers along the way and I know what I like. Not what\'s popular, not the ones everyone else is in line to get, but what appeals to me! A little less than half of the ones on my like list are the same models as those people are buzzing about so as it happens it was good that I didn\'t \"do my homework first\". As I would have missed out on about 60% of the ones I dig the most.
So what do I suggest a person goes by when picking one to try out? I don\'t. In my case I used the looks of the build quality to choose - at first. But I\'ve since found that some of the plasticky looking ones can be very very awesome - and they\'re even more cheap than the $100 ones. Like my previous post shows, some are down around $25 or $30. Hey, try out 4 at a time and sell back the ones you didn\'t dig.
I guess most people would be surprised to find out which lenses took these images below here. They certainly aren\'t on anyone\'s love-list and there\'s no buzz at all about them. Yet they consistently produce very good results and their 100% crops look pretty sweet too!
Massive crop - tho not 100% - Wide Open I think too.
Ben Totman wrote:
So true, I just took a $400 loss on a used 5d2 that I bought 6 months ago, bodies seem to lose value so fast these days due to the constant onslaught of new technology.
Alt lenses are a great way to get amazing results on a budget, you just need to do research first because of the amount of stuff out there. That\'s part of the fun though, finding a gem for a fraction of its modern counterpart.
Sorry to hear of your loss.
Just a note for people just getting into this though. If you try and do your homework first you usually end up getting in line for a model a few people somewhere have bragged up creating buzz and demand around. And one of the related components of demand is of course high(er) prices. Another component is that now you\'re standing in the same line to use the same tools as everyone else and your images will show that to some degree.
When your budget for a lens is around $100 or less I think it\'s MUCH more fun to fly semi-blind. If you\'re buying it on-line chances are that you have buy AND SELL privileges. Buy something around the standard (average) prices listed (not the cheapest and not the overpriced ones) for the model you\'re looking at, give it a try, and then sell it off for the same. Some of the lenses I\'ve come across doing that are just wonderful - yet they had no reputation and little or no on-line buzz.
I did this for two years on a fairly large scale and I\'m so glad I did. I learned a lot about lenses and lens manufacturers along the way and I know what I like. Not what\'s popular, not the ones everyone else is in line to get, but what appeals to me! A little less than half of the ones on my like list are the same models as those people are buzzing about so as it happens it was good that I didn\'t \"do my homework first\". As I would have missed out on about 60% of the ones I dig the most.
So what do I suggest a person goes by when picking one to try out? I don\'t. In my case I used the looks of the build quality to choose - at first. But I\'ve since found that some of the plasticky looking ones can be very very awesome - and they\'re even more cheap than the $100 ones. Like my previous post shows, some are down around $25 or $30. Hey, try out 4 at a time and sell back the ones you didn\'t dig.
I guess most people would be surprised to find out which lenses took these images below here. They certainly aren\'t on anyone\'s love-list and there\'s no buzz at all about them. Yet they consistently produce very good results and their 100% crops look pretty sweet too!
Ben Totman wrote:
So true, I just took a $400 loss on a used 5d2 that I bought 6 months ago, bodies seem to lose value so fast these days due to the constant onslaught of new technology.
Alt lenses are a great way to get amazing results on a budget, you just need to do research first because of the amount of stuff out there. That\'s part of the fun though, finding a gem for a fraction of its modern counterpart.
Sorry to hear of your loss.
Just a note for people just getting into this though. If you try and do your homework first you usually end up getting in line for a model a few people somewhere have bragged up creating buzz and demand around. And one of the related components of demand is of course high(er) prices. Another component is that now you\'re standing in the same line to use the same tools as everyone else and your images will show that to some degree.
When your budget for a lens is around $100 or less I think it\'s MUCH more fun to fly semi-blind. If you\'re buying it on-line chances are that you have buy AND SELL privileges. Buy something around the standard (average) prices listed (not the cheapest and not the overpriced ones) for the model you\'re looking at, give it a try, and then sell it off for the same. Some of the lenses I\'ve come across doing that are just wonderful - yet they had no reputation and little or no on-line buzz.
I did this for two years on a fairly large scale and I\'m so glad I did. I learned a lot about lenses and lens manufacturers along the way and I know what I like. Not what\'s popular, not the ones everyone else is in line to get, but what appeals to me! A little less than half of the ones on my like list are the same models as those people are buzzing about so as it happens it was good that I didn\'t \"do my homework first\". As I would have missed out on about 60% of the ones I dig the most.
So what do I suggest a person goes by when picking one to try out? I don\'t. In my case I used the looks of the build quality to choose - at first. But I\'ve since found that some of the plasticky looking ones can be very very awesome - and they\'re even more cheap than the $100 ones. Like my previous post shows, some are down around $25 or $30. Hey, try out 4 at a time and sell back the ones you didn\'t dig.
Jan 04, 2013 at 09:36 AM
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