denoir
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 p.399 #19 · Leica M/X/T/S/Q/CL/SL Picture Thread | |
Thanks Doug and Steve 
Makten wrote:
And we're obviously very different here as well. I want something that is as good as possible and I like the idea of only having one lens, so that everything about the photographing is up to me.
Perhaps, but you have to admit that your rate of gear acquisition/change by far outstrips mine. While I have high standards for optical quality what usually attracts me to a lens is a specific rendering style.
As for having just one lens - there is a charm to it, but having multiple lenses doesn't exclude using just one for a while. Generally I don't favor to be limited by technology and although I usually shoot with one lens during a photo session, I prefer to have the option to switch. If I see a scene where where another lens will produce results that are more to my liking, I switch. It's not about focal length primarily but about rendering - I've on occasion gone out shooting with four different 35mm primes.
As for my general philosophy and how I choose lenses to us, I'll just copy-paste my response to a question about a travel kit:
denoir wrote:
Ok, so now we get to the travel kit. There's not much to it - I pack as many of the lenses I like as will be convenient to carry. For the M9 it's usually a Domke F-803. If weight had not been an issue or if I had had a bunch of assistants carrying my gear for me then I'd take every lens and every camera system I own. That doesn't mean that I would necessarily use everything but it would not hurt to have it accessible should I want to use it.
I'm not more fond of carrying too heavy camera gear than the next guy. On my recent trip to the US southwest I had apart from the M9 and M6 a complete DSLR kit as well. I won't be bringing that along next time as I barely used it and it's difficult to justify the weight.
Alright, so say I'm on the trip at some interesting spot. I've got some interesting looking rocks in the foreground and majestic mountains in the background. It's the middle of the day. First I see some composition that I'd like to try and determine that a wide angle or ultra wide angle would work best. Since the light is harsh there's a risk of colors appearing washed out. There are no clouds in the sky and I risk getting a boring flat and too bright sky. My decision is simple - I pick the 28 Cron ASPH. Apart from being between WA and UWA so that it works with the composition I had in mind, it produces outrageous vignetting even at f/5.6 which helps a lot in keeping the sky interesting. Furthermore its color rendering is exceptionally strong so I reduce the risk of washed out colors. The MTF charts that I've looked at tell me that it produces a high micro contrast in the fine detail (40 lp/mm), which should bring out the texture of the rock quite nicely. I also know I should watch the edges as both the vignetting and a drop in micro contrast at all spatial frequencies will affect the image. It will create a more closed in space and give a more personal experience. And so on.
So I take the shot, or perhaps several shots until I get the framing exactly the way I want it. I keep the lens on the camera and look for other shots that would work well with the 28 Cron. After some time of using it I discover another potential shot that I'd really like to take but where another focal length would work better. Subsequently I switch to say the 90 Cron AA instead and start working on that shot with my knowledge of what to expect from that particular lens.
In short, I select a lens to work with and do so until I encounter a situation where I think another one would be more suitable and I switch.
You see why I can't really answer your questions. I don't pick my lenses for a travel kit based on artistic considerations - I pack as much as I'm comfortable carrying and make the decision about which lens to use on the spot in the field. Even if I have no problem using just one lens for a longer time I like to have choices available to me - especially since I may never get the opportunity again to photograph a certain place.
...Show more →
Makten wrote:
If my financial little plan works, I'll buy the M9 tomorrow and we'll see what happens next.
Cool
carstenw wrote:
Well, this is where I bring out *my* old harp, and repeat something I have said before: it should not be about the equipment anyway, but about the vision. Or, in my old words, you need a project you care about, and you will be able to forget about buying new lenses.
Projects are dull - being systematic is not my thing. As for what it's all about: it's a hobby so it's all about my own enjoyment. It's not about anything except what I want it to be about. What does it for me is the spontaneous excitement of finding a neat composition and overall visual look, the fun of exploring a new lens, the feel of the camera and a bunch of other things. I don't have any ambitions of creating a serious body of work and I do get bored easily so thematic projects are not my thing.
I am all for buying the best equipment possible, don't get me wrong, but when you get there, use it, don't look around for the next thing. After Zeiss lenses on a DSLR, and Leica M lenses on an M9, the next quality step would probably be medium format digital anyway, but the size would kill this idea.
The MFD sensors are still too small to interest me, but when 6x7 digital cameras will be available I'm sure to get one. For now I don't have any particular camera gear cravings - I don't really want or need anything more. The 0.95 Nocti could perhaps be interesting but I'm not interested enough in it to justify the expense. Apart from that I can't think of anything that I'd want right now. My last lens purchase was the 90 Cron AA and that was some five months ago.
There are some potentially interesting DSLR lenses, but I can't honestly see myself going back to using a DSLR on a regular basis. There are occasions when I do and it warrants keeping the gear that I have, but that's about it.
Edited on Nov 09, 2011 at 08:18 PM · View previous versions
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The market here is very limited and I don't want to use Ebay. 
My "problem" is whether I should get a 35/1.4 ASPH or the 50. If I get the 35 I will get rid of the Summicron. There is a used one for sale locally for ~70% of the retail price. But it's of course the older version, from 2002.
