Lens Snobbery

Boomer Depp · Expire: 2011-12-04

While there are probably a few who might have big dick syndrome here on this forum...but for the most part those types would prefer a larger crowd for their soapbox like Fred Miranda or POTN...

I'd say most of those who frequent this form like using and collecting manual focus lenses....some like collecting the best manual lenses money can buy....some like collecting the best manual lenses they can afford...some collect as an alternative or what they can afford versus buying new AF lenses....and then there's old farts like myself who like collecting lenses we lusted after in our youth....

I look at most of the guys here as a pretty well grounded group...who don't mind rolling there sleeves up and getting to business with their work or play....who prefer to mingle with like minded individuals.

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

reading through this thread makes me want to try out a Canon with an L lens Wink

whenever I run into other photographers with my small Pentax and an M42 lens mounted they usually don't get that far as to ridicule me for the manual lens or to even be curious about it..because before that they discard me for using a, what, Pentax? for some reason that seems to make the Canon and Nikon users distracted and very quiet, there seems to be nothing to be talked about with me. Well, I am usually curious about their camera and lens, sometimes ask to try them out, then there is some talking in the end, about their gear Wink

Only once I had been at a flickr meet in Vienna. Out of 20+ participants I was the only one using manual lenses and a Pentax. Some must have been aware that I am into manual lenses, someone even had asked me to bring some along, so I carried more than I had planned to. But in the actual meeting there was not one curious about my equipment, they all were to busy starring and comparing their Canon / Nikon set ups, as far as I figured not too many L lenses there though, but a lot of e.g 30mm f1.4 Sigmas

The only other photography forums I am sometimes active in are a Pentax forum and the Pentax dSLR section at dpreview so I have not been aware of the 'mythological' status of L lenses. There are the Pentax 'Limited' lenses ( what a name Laughing

) some are proud of owning, but Pentax users generally seem to be friendly and supportive of users of old glass. There is no protest but genuine interest if someone compares his 85mm Takumar to his 77mm ltd. and it seems to be an accepted fact that the Pentax AF 50mm are not as good as the old manual ones.

Blue · Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 304

My grandfather was always into Minolta. When Canon sold out the folks with FD L glass, pop said to hell with Canon and moved to Maxuum gear for AF.

Nikon is o.k. and their support always treated me well. However, with a Canon, I would feel like sheeple or a lemmning looking for a cliff to jump off.

Boomer Depp · Expire: 2011-12-04

Spot on kuuan!

I think the Pentax Forum has one of the best atmospheres going of the many photography forums...Always a pleasure to stop by there with such a well rounded group.

Blue · Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 304

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

Yes, the Pentax Forum is a very good forum. They help and offer advice without any problem at all. And nearly everyone still possess' a sense of humour.

And most seem to use manual focus lenses as well.

fatdeeman · Joined: 13 Jun 2009 Posts: 780 Location: UK

There are a lot of nice people on potn but the percentage of idiots is higher too. Almost every time anyone tries to mention that you don't necessarily need the very best gear to get good results there will be those that agree and those that take an unnecessary hostile stance.

Most of the time, people who get good results from cheap gear have done so either for the love of using different lenses or because they simply had to work with what they had. A lot of the people who get defensive about the idea of cheaper lenses producing good results have never had to use cheaper lenses and do not talk from experience.

It's not just cheap/mf lens superiority either, sometimes medium grade lenses are bashed by people who have never owned them.

L lenses, along with every other brands top line lenses are excellent and I probably would buy some more if I could afford it but I'm happy knowing the lenses are not yet what limits the quality of my photos.

There are plenty of members on potn that own L glass and can still appreciate the benefits of older and/or cheaper lenses. It's the ones who join up, make a first post about the 1d and selection of L lenses they have just bought and then ask why the pictures aren't as good as they were expecting that get on my nerves, they really think it's as simple as buying expensive gear and suddenly being an ace photographer and when that doesn't work they expect to be given step by step tuition on things such as not using the auto mode etc

In my opinion the majority of people that slate cheap and MF lenses have never used them or if they have lacked the basic skills required to use them to good effect.

It's definitely not just AF lenses, a lot of people swear by the (admittedly excellent) modern zeiss mf lenses but then dismiss anything lesser out of hand, again probably never having used them.

You'll typically find that photographers that own expensive gear BUT can actually make impressive photos are less critical of cheaper gear.

Even if I own a bunch of L lenses one day I would still find the principal of buying a dirt cheap lens off ebay with an unheard of brand name and then finding out it's made by Tokina/Tamron/Kiron etc and produces decent results to be fascinating and fun to do.

I already have some AF lenses that outperform just about every MF lens I own but I would get so bored if I didn't have the option of taking something a little different with me sometimes, It's nice to focus manually, it's good practice and helps to keep the bond between camera and operator strong.

Some people always have to buy the best regardless of how necessary it is how or well they will be able to use it. Some people drive porches when they would struggle to make the most of a hatchback around a track, Some people buy top of the range power tools when they don't need them. A lot of people buy expensive golf and fishing equipment when they would have managed with cheaper stuff.

I think snobbery is just a fact of life, I see people come and go in my job sometimes, technical directors etc ( I work for a printer consumables franchise so there are a lot of travelling staff employed by the head office to visit the stores ) and even things like their pens and cuff links, sat nav, phones, shoes etc they boast about the price.

Apple products are another example, decent stuff but most definitely marketed towards the same breed of people that are lens snobs.

magkelly · Joined: 06 Jul 2010 Posts: 182

(Waves at the Pentaxians here...)

I spend a lot of time reading over on the Pentax Forum every day. It's permanently on my FF toolbar as a place to go several times a day. I also like APUG and TPF.

My passion is for old Pentax cameras, particularly my beloved SPII's. (I do own a couple of non-Pentax SLR cameras.) Pentax, that's where my heart is when it comes to SLR cameras and probably when the time comes it will be a Pentax DSLR too and I'm not in the slightest embarrassed to say that I am a confirmed Pentax snob when it comes to my own gear!

As to lenses?

I just take what I can get working with an extremely limited budget. I'm a serious photography student but a lot of my gear is scavenged gear. 90% of it has come by way of CL, Freecycle and Goodwill. I actually only have three lenses that are usually considered "good" ones so far. My 3 Takumars. The rest I'm told are nowhere near the quality of those.

I make do with what I've got, shrug. I just don't have the luxury of going out and getting all the lenses I really want, which in this case of course means more Takumars, laugh! I do get a case of lens envy now and again, sure, but then I just think about how lucky I am to have what I've got and I generally can make myself stop whining.

I do get the those pitying looks walking around with my old SLR's all the time. But you know it doesn't bother me all that much having to use old equipment for a while longer yet. I do have an advanced digital point and shoot, but you can't do much with lenses for that one. For me to be able to learn to be a good photographer I had to have an SLR type camera and some real lenses. With my limited budget the only way I could do that was to go retro.

I now own a couple of Pentax SPII's, an SPI, a black AE-1 and just recently I've added a Yashica FX-2 in order to be able to use some very clean C/Y lenses I won a while back at Goodwill. Right now I only have one very basic zoom lens for the Canon, and only the 3 Takumars for the Spotties so far, though ultimately I mean to find an M42 wide angle and an M42 200 or 300MM lens for my Spotties, likely at Goodwill too.

Except for my Takumars and maybe the 50MM C/Y lens I seriously doubt anything in my kit would arouse any envy in anyone standing next to me with a fancy DSLR. That's okay. I'm just happy to have what I've got to learn with and I don't mind being seen as the "goofy retro" one so long as what I have in my case can do what I want it to do.

Honestly, as much as I like the idea of the convenience of using a DSLR sometimes I have to admit there is something about a completely manual camera that really appeals to me. The cameras I always love the best are the ones that only need a battery for the light meter but not much else and while I I would imagine that might change if I actually got to own a DSLR and some proper digital lenses right now the scorn of others with more advanced gear just bounces off me because I am way too happy with the contents of my camera bags to care what anyone else thinks!

I finally have some real lenses with manual settings, a couple of longer lenses for birding, a really awesome almost pristine SPII, and 3 gorgeous Takumars!

People may well laugh. But compared to where I was even six months ago in terms of decent gear to learn with? I feel positively BLESSED by what's come my way. No complaints here, none!

M. Valdemar · Joined: 14 Nov 2008 Posts: 93

walter g · Joined: 20 Feb 2010 Posts: 2463 Location: NC, USA

nemesis101 · Expire: 2015-01-22

I too would advise against the 'porch / drag racer conversion' as even Alex would find it hard to come up with a suitable adapter, but I have been toying with a garage-oriented photgraphy crossover, after all if garage worked for music who is to say it would not work for another medium?

Doug.

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Drive a Ferrari and the problem is solved Wink

dude163 · Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 12:53 am Post subject:

Funnily enough , I sold my 70-200 f4L to generate funds to buy a Pentax K-X with the official M42 adapter so I could use my Takumar 55 and 28mm , and I havent looked back

oh my Rebel xt, I gave that to my 6 yr old daughter to learn with Smile

Pentax k-x and M42 lenses are the best money I have ever spent on photography equipment , when I went on my whale watchin trip, the skipper asked me whattype of camera I had , when I told him it was a pentax he said " they still make cameras??"

AhamB · Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Posts: 733 Location: Germany

themoleman342 · Expire: 2013-01-24

Joosep · Joined: 25 Jan 2010 Posts: 305 Location: Estonia, Tallinn

fatdeeman · Joined: 13 Jun 2009 Posts: 780 Location: UK

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9098 Location: Houston, Texas

sir_c · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 67 Location: Netherlands

Extremities in both directions are pointless. People claiming their all-auto AF/IS/whatever outperforms anything you throw at it are naive/brainwashed. However, those people denying evolution and claiming their 400 years old lens used by captain Cook (excuse the pun) is better than any L glass can be just as hard headed to convince otherwise.

I own both types of gear and both have their merits and curses. Geez, how often have I been swearing at the AF when it started hunting at le moment supreme or it focused on the nearest **** tree instead of the deer I was tracking?
I think about just as many times as I cursed my MF'ing MF lens when I couldn't see one darn bit whilst trying to focus on my subject at f/11 in a dark church... Or those moments where the sun flares into every single corner of the mirror box, just because multicoating is for wussies?

Still I tend to favour a bit for the MF lenses nowadays, because those won't do things by themselves and force me to slow down. I can think before I take the picture. I don't mind spending time doing this, because it is my hobby. Other days I just need to nail down some time critical things and at those moments I just don't have time to fart around. I want to get my job done. I still want good looking pictures, but I need some versatility too.

That is where other tools come into the equation, for example L-glass.

Some of them are truly great actually, but I always keep my Zeiss at hand in a back pocket... Smile

sir_c · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 67 Location: Netherlands

Joosep · Joined: 25 Jan 2010 Posts: 305 Location: Estonia, Tallinn

dude163 · Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 9:16 pm Post subject:

Thats the way to use old school lenses , especially ones with a stepdown ring!

magkelly · Joined: 06 Jul 2010 Posts: 182

I love my Pentax and probably no matter what I'll still end up with a Pentax DSLR at some point, but I'm really beginning to wish someone out there would just make a DSLR that could take c/y lenses sans an adapter. I know I can use my c/y lenses with a Canon, but I really think the few Yashica SLR cameras I've seen are pretty awesome and it would be nice to see the brand resurrected in a way that doesn't mean the name is on junk. Never going to happen now that Kyocera owns them, but it's a waste IMHO of a lot of really great lenses and a good camera brand.

Nikos · Expire: 2015-01-02

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9098 Location: Houston, Texas