Why do you pay more for a lens

gonzogolf wrote in post #11968552
All of the above.

yea thats what i would say as well no one thing for me... cannot even vote it...

Aperture
Sharpness
Color rendition
Build and weathersealing

This is my pick. Aperture and Sharpness are my first two choice.

Mainly Image Quality.
Why I buy:
24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/4.0 because it's versatility and sharpness at least at f/5.6
100 f/2.8L IS because of macro use, IS, IQ
50 f/1.8 for fun
Later 17 f/4.0 for TS feature and IQ.

I would say all of the above, but if I had to pick it would be between focusing accuracy and sharpness. I mean, what good is sharpness if you always have a OOF picture? But what good is being perfectly focused if the picture is gonna be soft anyways? You need both sharpness and focusing accuracy.

themadman wrote in post #11969020
I would say all of the above, but if I had to pick it would be between focusing accuracy and sharpness. I mean, what good is sharpness if you always have a OOF picture? But what good is being perfectly focused if the picture is gonna be soft anyways? You need both sharpness and focusing accuracy.

I agree with this except in the context of L lenses. I would say that all current L lenses are sharp enough for their intended uses. So for me, I rate AF accuracy, low light capability and speed as the #1 lens attribute I look for (in general).

There isn't one "main" reason for me. All of them, although I care least about resale value.

Constant Apeture, sharpness and build quality I'd say.

If there was only a single reason I would not buy it.

gonzogolf wrote in post #11968552
All of the above.

Ditto

"All of the above" is a selection that needs to be added to the list. It's what I checked.

Lack of other options? If you want a fast zoom, you gotta buy L. You do have other options with prime, so I guess IQ is the answer there.

How about, just for fun.

(Really, all of the above)

I would say all of the above, with resale value and weather sealing being the least important.

For me I would pay extra for lenses that are sharper and have excellent build quality. Not so much because I hate plastic, but I like having the extra security of the lens being dust/weather resistant. It why Ive been so against the 17-55. I dont want to pay so much money that is no where near the same build quality of an L, even though it is sharper than many.

Mainly for max aperture (I like to shoot in the dark) and build quality. Resale value would be at the very bottom of the list, since I've sold all of one camera and one lens in my life (my 10D and an ancient 35-105 purchased when I got my 620), both to a guy I used to work with, when I upgrade to the 20D.

-Pat