Magical qualities....

Having been on these forums for quite a while now, I've so often seen lenses as being described as having some type of "magical and unquantifiable" quality ascribed to them. It's gotten to the point that it makes me almost cringe when I see a review that mentions the "magical" qualities of a certain lens. So, this brings up the question......do you believe that any particular lens can hold a certain "magical and unable to explain" quality? I obviously understand that some lenses perform better than others but I just can't buy into the idea of a lens having some type of unquantifiable quality to it that can be seen but not really described or understood. Opinions welcome (just a fun discussion.....maybe)

jra wrote in post #13912621
Having been on these forums for quite a while now, I've so often seen lenses as being described as having some type of "magical and unquantifiable" quality ascribed to them. It's gotten to the point that it makes me almost cringe when I see a review that mentions the "magical" qualities of a certain lens. So, this brings up the question......do you believe that any particular lens can hold a certain "magical and unable to explain" quality? I obviously understand that some lenses perform better than others but I just can't buy into the idea of a lens having some type of unquantifiable quality to it that can be seen but not really described or understood. Opinions welcome

i think so

the ones i belive that can hold magical powers that ive used is the 70-200 2.8 IS II, 85 1.2 II, TSE 24 3.5 II

every time i take a shot with one of these. It blows my mind every time

Fricks wrote in post #13912632
i think so

the ones i belive that can hold magical powers that ive used is the 70-200 2.8 IS II, 85 1.2 II, TSE 24 3.5 II

every time i take a shot with one of these. It blows my mind every time

This is exactly what I was about to type here. What a coincidentally.

Well said!

Best,
MC

My 100L is magical & has fairy dust inside, I swear....

70-200 mk II.

How can a zoom lens be as good as a prime lens? Must be magic.

No. I think 'tis an excuse for those people who have spent too much money on lenses to justify that expenditure

Sirrith wrote in post #13912900
No. I think 'tis an excuse for those people who have spent too much money on lenses to justify that expenditure

This.

Maybe not magical (that's a really over used word because of Apple) but there are certain lenses that do have a knack for making ordinary images look pretty incredible. All of the lenses mentioned here so far would qualify in this category, I believe.

But that said, I think you can certainly create your own magic with the right light, a decent lens (read as non-junk) and decent skills.

The 50mmL and the 100mmL is magic, there is a fairy inside them, the one in the 50mmL is a bit shortsighted, hence the backfocus problem.

In my opinion no.
The lens magic equates to the full frame magic vs the crop sensor failure.
Technique, lighting, and planning all are more important than gear.

from what I've seen the 24 TSE has witchcraft written all over it.

"Magic" might be applied to an image one took that surprised and delighted the photographer him/herself and others, and some lenses might be more capable of assisting in producing said "magic" than others, however unimaginative smartasses putting down those who might use the term, or those who buy what the hell pleases them, is just plain ugly and says more about the poster of such BS than anything else.

jra wrote in post #13912621
Having been on these forums for quite a while now, I've so often seen lenses as being described as having some type of "magical and unquantifiable" quality ascribed to them. It's gotten to the point that it makes me almost cringe when I see a review that mentions the "magical" qualities of a certain lens. So, this brings up the question......do you believe that any particular lens can hold a certain "magical and unable to explain" quality? I obviously understand that some lenses perform better than others but I just can't buy into the idea of a lens having some type of unquantifiable quality to it that can be seen but not really described or understood. Opinions welcome (just a fun discussion.....maybe)

I'm convinced that when people say "magical" they have suddenly discovered that their cherished lens, when shot wide open, somehow isn't tack sharp and yet the images seem to be more pleasant. I love shooting the 50L at golden hour and twilight because of this. The way that lens renders light and color are wonderful, and it has a great, delicate softness to it wide open while still being able to get the subject plenty sharp. 'Tis magic I say!:p

Scatterbrained wrote in post #13913035
I'm convinced that when people say "magical" they have suddenly discovered that their cherished lens, when shot wide open, somehow isn't tack sharp and yet the images seem to be more pleasant. I love shooting the 50L at golden hour and twilight because of this. The way that lens renders light and color are wonderful, and it has a great, delicate softness to it wide open while still being able to get the subject plenty sharp. 'Tis magic I say!:p

So true! What he said, it's when a lens isnt tack sharp, but still the rendering blows you away.

Well I'm hoping to find magic in some old, cheap Russian lenses. I think I'll call them 'character' lenses.