rediscovering your own lens collection

[connloyalist]

I enjoy exploring various lenses and as such I am a regular customer on eBay. In practice however I regularly use only a subset of the lenses in my collection. I suspect that among the members of this forum both of these behaviors are not unusual

Sometimes I just grab a lens I haven't used recently and "take it out for a spin" and in that way I am "rediscovering" my own lenses. And yes, it does happen that I am pleasantly surprised by what I find. Something along the lines of "Why don't I use this lens more often?"

For example today I took my Hanimex (Tokina, I suspect?) 250mm 4.5 out for a quick walk. Looked sunny and the thermometer said it wasn't too bad but with the wind it was pretty cold so I didn't take a lot of picture. But anyway, for what it is, not a bad lens

Anybody else have this experience?

Regards, C.

[D1N0]

Sure, but with over 200 lenses it's kind of hard to use them all on a regular basis, Some I haven't even used yet.

[Lloydy]

I do that all the time, I think to myself that I will take some of my regular favourite lenses when I go for a walk, the fast, special, lenses. And then I look on the shelf and take something else. Very often I pick the 'wrong' lens on purpose - if its throwing it down with rain and fog and blowing a gale, I'll take a 500 / 8 mirror lens. That adds a challenge, and if get home and I've got just one picture that I think is good, that justifies my choice.

Racing drivers often say it takes more skill to drive a slow car at it's limits than it does to drive a fast car at greater speeds, it's the same with our lens choices, get one good image from the 'wrong lens' for the situation and there's far more satisfaction from doing that than there is from taking the easy option.

[jamaeolus]

I have way too many lenses. I tend to try most of them when I first get them then rarely if ever try again. Some exceptions are lenses that are so good you have take them pretty frequently eg contax zeiss 35mm 1.4, oly 100mm f2 macro, contax zeiss 135mm f2.

[stevemark]

[Doc Sharptail]

This has been a sticky subject with me for most of my photographic life.

In no order of specific importance:

I have some lenses that bug me. E.G. 80-200 f4 nikkor A/I-s.
Mostly a fine lens, and sharp pretty well throughout most of it's range.
It has a bit of trouble with infinity at the 80mm mark, and my brain says what if I have to use it at infinity at 80mm???
Hence, it rarely gets used, which is sort of a shame.

And then there's the bargain 3rd party stuff. It seems I just can't say no to a cheap lens.
There's a ton of these in the closet- mostly zooms that get test shot once, and then into the pile never to again see the light of day.
There are the rare exceptions to this- like the 80-210 f3.8-4 Tamron that I got out of the junk bin for two dollars.
It has quickly become one of my favorite lenses, and takes a place of honor in the daily carry bag.

And then (sigh) there are those that I should actually be using like the series 1 first variant 70-210 f3.5.
The bulk and weight are the main reason here...

There are 6-8 of the much loved lenses that are with me pretty well at all times.
Could I part with the others?
I don't know. I sometimes pull out the dented nikkor 80-200 f4.5 and get pangs of pain thinking about seperating myself from it.
Hence it does not get sold.

I think a shrink would have a field day with what goes through my head when it comes to lenses,
but I would most definitely not have it any other way

-D.S.

[cooltouch]

I haven't even kept track of how many lenses I own. Suffice it to say, I own a lot, almost all of which are MF lenses.

Yes, often I'll grab a favorite when I go out to shoot, and I usually have a focal length -- or range -- in mind, which will dictate my choice. But I'll also sometimes select a lens I haven't used or that I've barely used to test out its performance. So it just all depends.

[IAZA]

it must be happened for lens hoarder hahaha...
rediscovering is nice term. it mean you haven't explore it much.
well it need time, weather, and determination to explore a lens

[visualopsins]

Guilty of both here!

Collected a bunch of lenses. Sold almost all of them. Bought a new camera. Re-bought some I'd sold to try again. And bought some I didn't try before. Bought a bunch of Asahi 55/1.8 variations to determine optical differences. Bought some duplicates of keeper lenses, to select best copy (sometimes not so easy!), sell the others.

I try to take out different lens each time; sometimes take a group, sometimes don't use all taken...

Bought a Techart adapter. Now I'm taking along different keeper lenses to try with.

Basically just having a lot of FUN playing around, I've noticed better and better results too.

Hope to sell duplicates and everything not a keeper this Spring & Summer. Meanwhile trying to avoid GAS flareups. Intend to buy some Nikkors and Zeiss, maybe an expensive Voightlander...

[ljherrero]

[ljherrero]

[ljherrero]

[ljherrero]

[ljherrero]

[tb_a]

In the meantime I have lost interest.
The last time I tested lenses that hadn't been used for a long time was after I bought my last camera. Primarily to see how these lenses are compatible with the new sensor.
Beyond that, I have already sufficiently clarified which lenses are my first choice for which use.
In other words, many of my lenses are no longer used and are rotting in boxes or on shelves.
Nevertheless, I have not yet managed to sell all these lenses again.

[Dejan]

My taste in photography changed over time, as it evolves and I find new exciting things. Then suddenly, some of the lenses I didn't use much started to make more sense, since I tried shooting in a different way.
As a beginner, like many people I believe, I considered some lenses "better lenses" and some were "lesser lenses". Or I'd simply prefer the crazy bokeh of some lenses (Helios...), then some other would seem
too ordinary and boring. Perhaps my photography was boring and I hoped the lens would make a difference. Eventually you find a trick that "works" and you stick to it.

Until you discover new things as I mentioned. Then you appreciate the look a certain lens gives in monochrome, or perhaps a slower lens so you don't have to stop down when shooting macro and you keep the
round specular highlights in bokeh. Or you realize how nicer it is to choose a smaller, lighter lens when carrying more things on your hike... Or you try night photography and pay attention to things like coma, or
ghosting caused by artificial light etc.

More my interests expanded, more different lenses I started using. More I was using lenses, better I understood what I needed, which led me to more selective eBay adventures.
I'd also tried changing lenses all the time just to spice things up when shooting similar subjects, but I think it slowed my progress down, since I focused more on the gear than my technique and was lacking any
consistency. That's how I misjudged some of my lenses, because all they needed was to be used for something else, but I judged them by applying the same criteria.

There are also examples like Mir-1, a nice 37mm Flektogon variant which I rarely used because of its terrible 0.7 mfd. Eventually I bought an M42 helicoid and this lens became so much more versatile (and, thanks
to its optical design, it's sharp when extended, I see no difference between MC Flektogon and Mir in close up sharpness). I figure, eventually I may find value in some other lenses too. Yes, I could sell them, but why?
Their value doesn't go down but mostly up and if I ever change my mind it might be harder to find them again.

[cooltouch]

Reading through the comments again reminded me of something else.

When I first began acquiring (or actually reacquiring, since my acquisitions began in the 80s) lenses -- specifically MF lenses -- my goals first focused on lenses for the cameras I had. Obviously. At the time I had a digital EOS, a film EOS, and a Nikon F2. So I leaned toward MF Nikons, since they adapted easily to my EOSes and also since I could use them with my F2. But then I got back into Canon FD film cameras, which tipped off a buying spree of old FD optics -- which didn't fit my EOS or Nikon cameras. I also picked up a couple of old Pentaaxes I've always liked, which, in turn, started a collection of K-mount lenses. And I just had to buy a Minolta XD11 (or XD or XD7 depending on the part of the world you live in) because, who in their right mind who knows anything about MF Minolta would not want to own an XD11? So that started me into acquiring Minolta MF glass. And before I knew it, I had a rather large camera cabinet that was literally overflowing with gear. And we're not even talking about medium format here -- there's room for another entire discussion on it.

All this led to my increased interest in Tamron, a make I first became acquainted with back in about 1986, when I bought my first SP 60-300 zoom. Since I began collecting all this MF gear in various mounts, I've also added to my Tamron collection, such that it is quite complete, ranging from 17mm to 500mm, plus a couple of teleconverters. I like Tamron lenses a lot -- and not just because of their quality, but because they've ended up saving me a ton of money, since I don't have to buy all these various focal lengths for the camera brands I now own, which, in addition to the above mentioned ones, now also include the Pentax Spotmatics with their M42 mount, Fuji bayonet, and Contax. Long live the Adaptall-2 mount!

[RokkorDoctor]

This all sound so familiar...

When me and my wife go somewhere on a trip, I have a few favourite lens "sets" I take. Often, just for fun, I take a contemporary set, e.g. a few Minolta AUTO ROKKOR lenses, or a few Minolta MC-X lenses. If it is a special trip, I have some favourite sets of exceptional lenses, which is usually a Minolta MD-III set, e.g. MD-III 20/2.8, MD-III 35/1.8, MD-III 70-150/4, but I can also add/substitute an MC 58/1.2 or MD-III 135/2.

However, for my daily stroll in the local woods, I just grab one or two lenses I haven't used for a while, and take them for a walk.

Most of my neighbours walk their dogs; I walk my lenses, one or two at a time

[lumens pixel]

Glad to discover I am not the only one walking my lenses.

[kypfer]

One of the problems I've got is not being able to get rid of a lens in case it might have some desirable obscure characteristic I haven't discovered yet …
So having tried it once or twice, maybe not unduly impressed, it goes back into the drawer 'till the next phase or fad comes along and it'll get dragged out again and re-assessed.
Currently trying out various options for infra-red work, having assembled a range of filter densities (all very cheap, second hand).
No stunning discoveries yet, but it gets me out into the fresh air

[martinsmith99]

I've 3 storage boxes with lenses in. I've been using as many AF as MF lenses the last few years and when using an MF lens, I tend to pick up the same ones, so I think down-sizing will be on the cards soon.

[benadamx]

i packed my whole collection away for a cross-country move last summer, and only just got them out of storage and unpacked a few weeks ago, lots of surprises in there!

[womble]

I'm trying to get rid of lenses I don't use, or don't fit into what I want to keep. So, Pentax "K" series primes get kept. I'm trying to sell most of my non-Pentax lenses unless they have a specific purpose (i.e., the couple of Minolta lenses for my only Minolta body, the three lenses to go with my FED2...). Space is now at a premium and I simply don't have space to keep various third-party mediocre manual zooms simply because they came in the box with something I actually wanted. I'm culling odd bodies (like a Zenit I have never used) and accessories (Cokin filter ring when I don't have any Cokin filters anymore). Even my Pentax stuff I've got rid of duplicates (I gave away a rough Super A and have a second one to give away, and am seriously debating whether I need four ME Supers...).

Having said that, I've ended-up buying two Ricoh XR-Xs and a Pentax MZ-S in the last couple of months... ~sigh~

[woodrim]

I have rediscovered lenses but mostly after making a change. When moving to FF, I found that I liked some better than before. Also, the use of a helicoid brought greater appreciation to some. On a more regular basis, I may rediscover in a different way from picking up a lens to use again. I keep all of my images in folders designated by lens. I'll occasionally review my images from a lens I haven't used in a while for a reminder of how good it is or why I haven't used it.

I suspect that we all have lenses that we have never used much. I also have lenses that were my most used until something changed. In some cases, I found another that I like better and in other cases, my subjects changed. For instance, when I became very interested in photographing wildlife, I started using mirror lenses more than others.

[jamaeolus]

Woodrim, I have enjoyed your mirror lens posts I would love an overview. Just a quick and dirty list of all of your mirror lenses and the pros and cons of each. Maybe also a prospective of dream mirror lenses.