Why do you pay more for a lens

Not sure what the results will really show here? Each person's needs aren't the same, some have limited funds, some shoot in the rain, etc. There is no single good answer here.

Also the resale comment always makes me chuckle. Sure, a used L lens will bring in more than a used equivalent 3rd party contendor, BUT that lens cost much more new than the others. If you look at % of used over new where there are indeed equivalents, there are very few cases where these numbers are widely different.

The poll should have been check boxes, not radio boxes, then we could at least see what the top 3 factors are out of the list. I don't see contrast in the list, flare control, CA control, etc. though either.

Although given past posts about various topics, I am not surprised by the poll as it is laid out.

For me it is:
Sharpness First
Large Aperture (constant aperture) close second
Focus speed is really nice/ Accuracy I think is part of sharpness

Build quality is nice but I did spend $1000+ for the 17-55 because it is extremely sharp and has the aperture but the build quality is only ok.

dadgummit wrote in post #11972882
For me it is:
Sharpness First
Large Aperture (constant aperture) close second
Focus speed is really nice/ Accuracy I think is part of sharpness

Build quality is nice but I did spend $1000+ for the 17-55 because it is extremely sharp and has the aperture but the build quality is only ok.

A lens could have very accurate focus/AF, but be soft wide open. Been there, done that...

TeamSpeed wrote in post #11972889
A lens could have very accurate focus/AF, but be soft wide open. Been there, done that...

LOL Too True!! But a lens cannot be sharp if the AF is off, or at least you would never know it is sharp if you are as bad at MF as I am!!

rvdw98 wrote in post #11972615
Oh, it was supposed to be funny?

ugh...what a lame response...

LowriderS10 wrote in post #11974060
ugh...what a lame response...

Guilty as charged; I don't respond well to innuendo.

Sometimes I buy L because I want the lens to be able to absorb some level of abuse.

From as near as I can tell, in some(or many for that matter)cases, L lenses don't have better optics than non L...they are just better built for heavier duty.

That's a bit of a big deal to me when I take a lens into the classroom or out in real world use. Guess I would rather take an L lens in the tougher environments.