Help me I'm stupid....

Why can't people decide what lens to choose?
If you want to shot wider, buy wider.
If you need more reach, buy more tele.
If you need faster, buy faster.
If you need close-up, buy macro.
If you want to spend more money, buy the more expensive lens.
If you don't have enough money, don't buy the "L".
If you want Canon, Sigma, Tamron, buy it.
Buy what you need, not what everyone else thinks you need.

Do you ask people what car, boat, motorcycle, house to buy? I bet you buy the one you want not what others think you want.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with asking for opinions about a lens, but no one else knows what you want or can afford. Sorry just been reading to many of these type of posts today.

Off to read more...........

Hehehe, nice try but I don't think its gona work

Some people just want to be told what to get without too much looking... Do some research people.

On the other hand, finding the right combination of lenses is a pain in the *&*%*$*£^£!
Its always going to take a while for your kit to develop with your shooting style and subjects until you are happy with it. Then new lenses will be released and you'll want those

I really debated about whether to get the 24-105 or the 24-70 (the classic debate). That's a very hard choice to make because they both have very nice features that the other doesn't. I really wanted to hear people's opinion on the issue. I finally settled on the 24-105 because I had never had IS before. Then I realized how valuable 2.8 is so I got the 24-70 too. I love them both. But I really did appreciate all of the opinions I got when trying to make up my mind.

It's one thing to ask about choosing between two specific lenses, or asking about specific experiences with one lens, but all too often someone will post a list with a wide variety of lenses and ask which one will be best for landscapes AND macro AND sports AND portraits AND general shooting. Huh? It sure seems fewer and fewer people are willing to do any research prior to asking specific, pertinent questions about a particular lens or two.

Mark

Mark_Cohran wrote in post #2798501
It's one thing to ask about choosing between two specific lenses, or asking about specific experiences with one lens, but all too often someone will post a list with a wide variety of lenses and ask which one will be best for landscapes AND macro AND sports AND portraits AND general shooting. Huh? It sure seems fewer and fewer people are willing to do any research prior to asking specific, pertinent questions about a particular lens or two.

Mark

My guess is that type of question comes from somebody who really doesn't understand what makes lenses different, i.e., "why is f/2.8 better than f/4?" and why does somebody refer to a 1.4 lens as being "fast"? And "if ISO 1600 allows you to shoot in much lower light, then why not use it all the time?" I've been around cameras so long this stuff seems simple, but when trying to explain it to someone new to the game, I see them really struggling to understand how all this stuff works. Understanding the cockpit controls in a 747 seems easy to a 747 pilot.

A lens is a serious investment for a lot of people. There's nothing wrong with doing your homework and making sure that you're making the right decision. I think the biggest problem is that most people don't know how to use the search function on forums.

A lens that ends up unused or doesn't fulfill your needs is a useless lens and a waste of money.

I think its best to do my own lens research, although you sometimes can't hit every point in a review. And sometimes there are quarks with lenses that are advertised no where across the wide expanse of the internet.

Regardless, I usually run through:
http://www.photozone.d​e/8Reviews/index.html
http://www.the-digital-picture.com …on-Zoom-Lens-Reviews.aspx
http://www.fredmiranda​.com/reviews/

And to get an idea of what to expect, I find Photozone's Lens Performance Survey very helpful.

And of course, POTN forum is a great resource as well, and it's always comforting to have someone back your decision (I only wish I had discovered this forum when I was picking between the 24-70 and 24-105).

Eagle:

I'm going to side with you on this one.

If someone asks what shirt he should wear with his camera, I'll probably lose it.

I have no problems with people asking for info on different lenses. I've asked questions myself.

What gets me is when they ask "what lens should I buy, the 5mm WA or the 2000mm zoom, I want to do portraits in the school bathroom with it? And maybe a wedding or two. So please, please pick one for me."

I don't know how to put it midly, but I think people need to get off their high horses.

Really...come one fellas. We were all there at some point.

Actually when I buy something like a car, I would probably ask more questions and do more research than buying a lens b/c it costs so much more.

Don't know about you, but I don't live in the world alone. I've got people around me and I am going to pick their brains for advice and perspective.

Nothing wrong with that.

I am perfectly happy to help out a newbie...it's called "Giving back to the community"...

Eagle wrote in post #2798439
Why can't people decide what lens to choose?
If you want to shot wider, buy wider.
If you need more reach, buy more tele.
If you need faster, buy faster.
If you need close-up, buy macro.
If you want to spend more money, buy the more expensive lens.
If you don't have enough money, don't buy the "L".
If you want Canon, Sigma, Tamron, buy it.
Buy what you need, not what everyone else thinks you need.

Okay, so you have a nice list of variables...which relate to various shooting situations. The questions come when you're comparing different lenses with different attributes and applying the strengths and weaknesses of given lenses to specific shooting situations. So....there are stupid questions and then there are stupid questions...

What about folks like me who are new to SLR's and really don't know much about lenses?

There are many 'things' I want to (and already do) photograph including motorcycle racing, highschool basketball, human/animal portraits and landscapes.

I have no idea if there is a 'do it all' lens out there, so naturally I'd list the lenses that I'm intersted in.... which has a broad range of zooms. And probably ask which one would be the most versatile since I'm a newly wed and recent college grad who just bought a house and doesn't have tons of expendable cash to buy multiple lenses.

So by asking people on the board instead of digging through old posts (some of have families to tend to ) we aren't doing research? If that's your stance I beg to differ... true life testimonials are perhaps the MOST important research aspect.

But I guess we can agree to disagree...

I'm wondering whether to respond to this note! What do you think?

JohnnyG wrote in post #2799005
I'm wondering whether to respond to this note! What do you think?

Please do... you should know us Texans are always up for a fight!

Actually I'm going to buy a truck tomorrow and I'm still not sure what to get. I'm looking at trucks but not sure which make. I can't rule a small SUV. Help... My old truck is 11 years old and it's going to be hard to part with it. I do like to listen what people suggest in a lens. Many have used these lens and can offer opinions or facts that can sway ones choice.