Has POTN led you astray?

Has the discussion and 'conventional wisdom' about certain lenses ever led you to hold off on a purchase, or to use a lens differently than you would have?

I have a couple examples:

I used a 300/4L with and without a TC for a couple years. I shunned getting a 100-400L despite the appeal of the zoom range because I read many complaints about 'soft copies' and generally inferior performance to primes in this range.

Well, this spring I picked up a very heavily used 100-400L and I was shocked to find the IQ pretty directly comparable to my well loved 300/4L. Why didn't I get this lens sooner?

A more subtle case, I bought a 70-200/2.8L IS. I got it for some specific low light shooting, but when I first got the lens I just used it outside for a couple weeks testing it out. All the forum chatter about this lens being 'soft' wide open must have had a subtle effect on my thinking because I found myself shooting at f/3.5 or more all the time.

I finally used it as I had originally planned (wide open in low light) and the sharpness was excellent. Why was I so worried about using this lens wide open?

Sometimes the obsession over small faults in the echo chamber can prey on one's thinking. Have you ever been influenced like this?

Well I can't say POTN has ever caused me to "hold off" on buying a particular lens. I can say it's caused me do the famous "pull the trigger" several times. I'm pretty sure if I'd never found this forum I'd be happily using my Tamron 18-270 thinking I have it all covered. Not complaining though, I must say I think I've gotten excellent overall advice here and I've been pointed in good directions causing me to become even more enthusiastic about photography.

I agree with you that the negative sometimes reflects extremes and being very particular. That's not necessarily a bad thing though as long as you can realize that when you're reading stuff and take it in perspective. Sometimes I feel this isn't the real world though...lol. Pixel peeping is a specialty

Lenses? No...

However, some of the "noise" surrounding the 7D is a little disconcerting.

Most Certainly.

I want a 7D--but conventional wisdumb here is it needs to have a higher shutter speed and you have stop down your glass to get acceptable results.

I didn't spend the long dollar for fast glass to lose the speed and DOF advantage--or feel the need to boost ISO and shutter speed.

My head knows it would work out fine--but the "experts" here disagree.

Yes, though, really the best way to be a judge of anything is to try it for yourself.

If you post in the business forum, generally don't follow more than 50% of anything you read there for fact .

JeffreyG wrote in post #10002906
Has the discussion and 'conventional wisdom' about certain lenses ever led you to hold off on a purchase, or to use a lens differently than you would have?

Lenses - no. Bodies - YES!
Watching the issues with the 5DII and then the 50D convinced me "to be happy with what I have" (my beloved 30D) for a lot longer...and then the 7D was released, which until Canon make a 3D or 5D3 looks like exactly the body I'm after. So POTN has saved me quite a lot of money really!

Honestly Jeffrey, I'm surprised you'd take people's words on here so seriously. Of all the POTNers I've gotten to know a little since joining, you rank quite high up in the "knows what he's doing" category.
I'd just advise anyone to take comments about gear from people in here with a pinch of salt; go and check out images posted (with EXIF showing it really was taken with the quoted lens) and decide for ourselves if continual pixel-peeking/complaining thereafter demonstrates anything more than a boarder-line obsessive-compulsive disorder!

A lot of people say the 5D II has slow autofocus.... maybe if you stop down from a 7D or a 1D mark III ....but....yeah.

I find that reading forums has made me aware of more of photo equipment, good and bad. When I was looking for a lens or body, I would so some searching of the reviews and common problems. In the end, I know that everyone is different and some people spend more time on the forums than taking photos, just repeating the same news that's been said before.

But honestly I think I spend more money from read the forums because I see some of the photos and gear used, which makes me want to try the same techniques.

OH! I just thought of something else....

I'd been hankering for a 50L for quite a while - still am to a certain extent - especially after trying two out, but heard that Canon are going to upgrade the EF50f1.4.
If they do that before my current EF50 dies, for example, putting a proper USM inside, I could see myself getting one and putting the difference towards my dream lens - EF500L.

So yet again, "holding off" on the desire to get more gear which I don't actually need for my current photo-shoots is at least "in part", thanks to POTN.

The problem here (and in many other places) are the pixel peepers. And some complaints about certain lenses really boils down to nitpicking. Same goes for review sites. Consider what you read about lenses but don't buy or rule anything out based on what you read. I own a 17-85 that routinely gets trashed but it is extremely sharp and I can live with the very slight distortion from 17-20mm. It isn't going anywhere as long as I own a 1.6x body.

Not really. I generally just buy what I want.

Never trust pixel peepers!

But speed and focal length generally trump perceived sharpness at 100% viewing.

If anything, I've owned some of the less-well-regarded glass just to see how it is in real world shooting. And guess what - I'm always pleasantly surprised.

EF-S 17-85
EF 20 / 2.8
EF 24-85

All much much better than everyone likes to say.

Cesium wrote in post #10003143
If anything, I've owned some of the less-well-regarded glass just to see how it is in real world shooting. And guess what - I'm always pleasantly surprised.

EF-S 17-85
EF 20 / 2.8
EF 24-85

All much much better than everyone likes to say.

That was another lens I should have mentioned. Every time it comes up and someone tells me how bad it is I ask them if they have shot one. They either don't respond or they read it either here or on a review site. I like the lens and it works well on my FF and 1.6x bodies.

Another pleasant surprise for me was the dirt cheap EF 28-90. Sure, it's no L lens and isn't the best for crops but I had really good luck with it as a 'beater' lens. Got it refurb from Adorama for $69.

Some discussions have even led me to not like the glass I already own... I just have to take a look at the last pictures that I took and reassure myself that they aren't incredibly soft.