So I've been stuck in Ohio with my wife's family, which means that I spend a shitload of time on the net. I bought a Nikon 20mm F4 lens the other day and came across this neat photography site while searching about it: Flickriver. First off, there is some great photography there. The most interesting part of the site though is that the images are grouped by lens.
This got me to thinking. It seems that most people focus on what type of camera they own and the lens is a secondary consideration. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Wouldn't it be better to think of lenses as the primary instruments of photography?
As an example, most people spend the bulk of their cash on the camera and the lens choice comes next and ends up with a proportionally lower cost. Wouldn't it make more sense to pick out a lens first and then buy a camera that works with that lens?
Back in the early 90s, a friend of mine and I both decided to get new cameras. I already had a dinosaur Nikon, so I just decided to stick with Nikons and began searching for a lens first. I selected the 35-70 f2.8. This was a badass lens at the time and I think I spent around $750 for it. Based on how much money I had left in my budget, I bought the N70. It was nothing special, but I was able to get better images than my friend who bought a cutting edge Canon with the fancy eye tracking focus and the crapola kit lens. It's 20 years later and that lens is still on my camera body. I know that the D600 that I own won't be the last body I use, but I'll still have my 35-70 f2.8 in 20 years from now.
This got me to thinking. It seems that most people focus on what type of camera they own and the lens is a secondary consideration. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Wouldn't it be better to think of lenses as the primary instruments of photography?
As an example, most people spend the bulk of their cash on the camera and the lens choice comes next and ends up with a proportionally lower cost. Wouldn't it make more sense to pick out a lens first and then buy a camera that works with that lens?
Back in the early 90s, a friend of mine and I both decided to get new cameras. I already had a dinosaur Nikon, so I just decided to stick with Nikons and began searching for a lens first. I selected the 35-70 f2.8. This was a badass lens at the time and I think I spent around $750 for it. Based on how much money I had left in my budget, I bought the N70. It was nothing special, but I was able to get better images than my friend who bought a cutting edge Canon with the fancy eye tracking focus and the crapola kit lens. It's 20 years later and that lens is still on my camera body. I know that the D600 that I own won't be the last body I use, but I'll still have my 35-70 f2.8 in 20 years from now.
