Replacing Beginner Lenses

azsportpilot wrote in post #18362712
funny, I had the Vivitar also, many years ago..... was a pretty good camera

That was the camera which I took to college, and then to Korea. In some instances, I got better images with the Vivitar than with the Minolta XG1 that supplanted it. I got some especially good photos in Korea with it. There's a picture of it in the old cameras thread in the still life forum.

my vague memory of my Vivitar was that it was a solid basic pretty good camera with a very good, very sharp well made lens (also a Vivitar) but probably made by Tokina or some other 3rd party

azsportpilot wrote in post #18362716
my vague memory of my Vivitar was that it was a solid basic pretty good camera with a very good, very sharp well made lens (also a Vivitar) but probably made by Tokina or some other 3rd party

There was just something about that camera (and lenses) that made you go the extra mile for a decent picture. I lived by that needle light meter.

Temma wrote in post #18362705
Actually, I shoot 80% studio macro. I'm looking to update the lenses I use for everything else, which mostly amounts to still life, casual urban and nature photography, in town and in the local park system.

I started out with a Vivitar 35mm SLR in 1976, so I'm not just starting out.

10-18 UWA lens sounds like a good lens to test.

azsportpilot wrote in post #18362716
my vague memory of my Vivitar was that it was a solid basic pretty good camera with a very good, very sharp well made lens (also a Vivitar) but probably made by Tokina or some other 3rd party

An image from the Vivitar, circa 1977-78:

great pic

azsportpilot wrote in post #18362726
great pic

Thanks.

I bought a Canon Canoscan 5600F just so I could scan all of the old negatives I have. I haven't even scratched the surface yet.

great idea, I have boxes of negatives in closets that deserve some attention

azsportpilot wrote in post #18362734
great idea, I have boxes of negatives in closets that deserve some attention

I highly recommend it.

It takes some practice, but as you can see, you can get some decent results.

do you mind me asking how much $ the canoscan set you back?

azsportpilot wrote in post #18362751
do you mind me asking how much $ the canoscan set you back?

I don't mind, but I can't remember. I bought it some time around 2011. It wasn't all that expensive.

If you're looking to scan negatives (it also does slides), make sure that whichever one you get has the negative/slide fixture. It holds the media in place so that it can be scanned properly.

will do, thanks

I'm still here.

I JUST got a new job and will be starting Monday, so it'll be a little while before I start buying equipment.

I'm leaning toward the Canon 18-55mm STM and 55-250mm STM, although I'm still open to other zoom lenses on the short end.

As noted previously, I have ZERO interest in:

• portraiture
  
• wedding photography
  
• sports
  
• events
  

If you want to primarily do macro, then either the EF 100mm macro, EF 180mm macro, or the MP-E 60 are going to be things you should consider. The MP-E is not a lens for the feint of heart or casual flower photographer. The EF-S 35 macro is what you will want if you just want pictures of flowers, but that doesn't sound like it's the case.

vengence wrote in post #18418175
If you want to primarily do macro, then either the EF 100mm macro, EF 180mm macro, or the MP-E 60 are going to be things you should consider. The MP-E is not a lens for the feint of heart or casual flower photographer. The EF-S 35 macro is what you will want if you just want pictures of flowers, but that doesn't sound like it's the case.

It may not be apparent in the previous morass of DoF arguments, but I already have a Tokina 100mm macro with which I'm extremely happy.

At some point in the future, I might indeed buy a 180mm macro or the MP-E 60, but that's a very low priority right now. I'll be getting a bellows, Stackshot and [probably] a microscope objective before I get an additional macro lens.

If I didn't already have one, a macro lens would indeed be a good suggestion.