Now, you desire a new lens...

[robert blu]

Let's imagine you have a reasonable photo budget allocated (perhaps tax refund better than expected, you managed to sell something you do not use since a long time, your family has not big expenses in program for the next year...) and you need (desire) a gratification, something to lift up a little bit your spirit.

You already have a few lenses with witch you are satisfied. But with many new lenses announced on the market you decided to buy a new one. To try something new, different.

Which kind of lenses are you planning to buy?

Do you prefer to go for a lens of the same focal length you alreday have but with better technical specs? Like the recents APO introduced on the market by Leica or Voitglander? In this case you'll probably make photographs similar to the ones you already make but with improved technical quality.

Or would you go for a lens that can open up new expressive possibilities? maybe you already have a 50/2 and desire to try a 50/1.2 like the new Noctilux or the Voitglander 50/1.2.

In this case you can try low light, maybe extreme low light photography you have not yet done, or experience an strong bokeh which you could achieve with the lens you have now.

Or you could go for an old pre war lens with a special "character", maybe not so perfect as your actual but wich enables you to make photos with a different look.

In a few words when you buy a new (for you) lens what are you expecting from it? Technical improvemet or more expressive freedom?

Of course I know that the answer depends on how each of us lives photography, I'm asking this question only for the sake of having a pleasant chat 🙂

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I'd really like to try the new Sony 24mm for E types as that is a focal length I use when shooting cars. My Nikkors are all old manual focus so an autofocus might be nice to try.
I'm trying to get up the courage to tell my wife I want the new A1 they've released too. She's giving away our stimulus checks to fund the grandkids college funds. And we're having more grandkids soon in the form of TWIN boys!
I really need that new camera...

 

[Nitroplait]

Of course I know that the answer depends on how each of us lives photography, I'm asking this question only for the sake of having a pleasant chat 🙂

Then why don't you invest in the chat you want to start by giving us your own answer to the question?

 

[twvancamp]

I'm afraid I'm typically looking for the fun of using a new item, testing its capabilities, etc. It's rare that something (I can afford) provides anything really revolutionary in terms of my work/image quality.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Since you asked, a Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.2 for my Z7. A monstrous lens I know (particularly for a 50), but that really doesn't bother me. I know I'd get a lot of use out of it.

We'll see how the rest of the year goes!

 

[nikon_sam]

Just like Vince...since you asked, I wouldn't mind trying an older 50, 55 or 58mm 1.2 lens...something made by Nikon or Minolta...I have the Minolta 58mm 1.4 and really like using it...
I currently own about 15 50mm lenses ranging from 2.0, 1.9, 1.7 & 1.4 and made by Nikon, Pentax, Vivitar, Rikenon, Canon & Takumar...

 

[Phil_F_NM]

My short list would be:
35mm Apo-Grandagon
47mm Super Angulon
Or a set of the fastest RX lenses I could find for my Bolex; 10mm, 25mm, 50mm or 75mm.

Nothing really too fancy.

Phil Forrest

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

No tax refund here, sadly quite the opposite. However, if I had the cash to burn I’ve been interested in getting one of the Voigtländer “SE” series lenses. I’m leaning toward the 35mm but also have great interest in the 50mm.

Voigtländer Nokton 35mm f1.2 Aspherical SE (Sony E-mount) lens
Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f1.2 Aspherical SE (Sony E-mount) lens

A few years ago I would have just bought both and been done with it but since retiring I’ve become more conscientious about how I waste my money. 🙂

All the best,
Mike

 

[das]

The one thing I try to avoid is to be in a situation where I am on a quest to get sharper, faster, and/or more expensive versions of focal lengths I already own. I say, either go at the outset for the best possible lens you can afford (or can't afford) at the focal length and stick with it, or just be happy with and use what you have. The years long process for many of gradually "trading up" makes no sense to me. Get the Summilux now, or just be happy with your existing Voigtlander.

If ever purchasing something "new," I look to lenses that challenge my abilities as a photographer to be able to look at something in a new way -- like focal lengths I do not normally use. Or a lens that has a unique attribute or rendering style, although it may not be the sharpest or most distortion-free. The older I get, the less desire I have for $2,000+ lenses, as I do not make money from photography and I am not in a situation where that kind of lens will ever make or break a composition.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

90/4 which has detachable head to work with Visoflex III.

 

[Andrea Taurisano]

The thing is, we're never satisfied. Period. Everything else is just attempts at justifying yet another purchase.

In my case, I've already got a Nokton 35 1.4 and a Nokton 50 1.5. The former is the ideal lens for most situations, yet I'm looking at a Canon 28 2.8 LTM for those times I wish I could go even wider.. The Nokton 50 is the ultimate normal lens: It's as fast as a Summilux but lighther than a Summicron v4, very affordable and it focuses down to 70cm like few other affordable 50s do. Yet I'm looking at a Color Skopar 50 2.5 cause it's half the size of my Nokton. And so on.. The same applies to cameras.. I've had my dream camera (a black chrome M-A) for just over a month, and yet another beaten up silver M2 for just over one hour.. Not for a second could I make myself believe that I needed it, but they look damn good togher and this way I avoid changing lens on the M-A... It never ends (but at least I use them).

 

[agentlossing]

Not only am I always thinking about a new lens, I think about the old ones that I used to have. The couple that stand out to me are both standard lenses for Micro Four Thirds: the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 and the Olympus 25mm f1.8. Both really great lenses for that system, but, I'm all but completely out of that system.

 

[Doug]

While I've transitioned to a gear-reduction frame of mind, I wouldn't mind getting one of the new APO 35mm lenses to see what it will do... And what does "need" have to do with it anyway?! 😀

 

[Dogman]

Something small and old. With lots of character that comes with wrinkles and scars. But still sharp where it counts.

 

[zuiko85]

Too late. Blew my budget on a cheap Chinese 50mm f1.2 in a 4:3 mount. Mainly because now, at 71 years old I can finally say I've owned an f1.2 lens. (Yeah, poor reason I know.)
Now have only enough $ left to obtain a few mundane items, extra memory card etc., that sort of stuff.
Besides, must have 30-40 lenses laying about collected up over the last 45-50 years. Plenty of glass, still a serious lack of talent. A new lens just ain't going to help that.

 

[Pál_K]

One lens has consistently eluded me: the CZ 100mm f/3.5 CF Makro Planar for Hasselblad.

A Nikkor 105/2 DC lens would be nice, but I have the 135/2 AF DC, which lives up to all the praise bestowed on it.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

For a long time I lusted after a 'cron 35mm. Any.

I finally gave myself one for my birthday last year. Guess what? I'm not impressed. It's the second version and the handling (with the aperture ring so close to the focusing one) is a bit awkward.

Yet, I'm again lusting for another kind of lens.

Ever since I re-discovered the 50mm focal length, and along with my finding the Leica R system, I would like a 50mm 'cron for my R8. Who knows? I may lay my paws on one some time this year...

But not with the stimulus check. That's already gone to the much needed new car fund.

 

[hap]

My short list would be:
35mm Apo-Grandagon
47mm Super Angulon
Or a set of the fastest RX lenses I could find for my Bolex; 10mm, 25mm, 50mm or 75mm.

Nothing really too fancy.

Phil Forrest

I have a 47 Super Angulon in Compur shutter mounted to my Veriwide 100.

Haven't used it in fairly long time.

 

[Godfrey]

Let's imagine you have a reasonable photo budget allocated (perhaps tax refund better than expected, you managed to sell something you do not use since a long time, your family has not big expenses in program for the next year...) and you need (desire) a gratification, something to lift up a little bit your spirit.

You already have a few lenses with witch you are satisfied. But with many new lenses announced on the market you decided to buy a new one. To try something new, different.

Which kind of lenses are you planning to buy?

Do you prefer to go for a lens of the same focal length you alreday have but with better technical specs? Like the recents APO introduced on the market by Leica or Voitglander? In this case you'll probably make photographs similar to the ones you already make but with improved technical quality.

Or would you go for a lens that can open up new expressive possibilities? maybe you already have a 50/2 and desire to try a 50/1.2 like the new Noctilux or the Voitglander 50/1.2.

In this case you can try low light, maybe extreme low light photography you have not yet done, or experience an strong bokeh which you could achieve with the lens you have now.

Or you could go for an old pre war lens with a special "character", maybe not so perfect as your actual but wich enables you to make photos with a different look.

In a few words when you buy a new (for you) lens what are you expecting from it? Technical improvemet or more expressive freedom?

Of course I know that the answer depends on how each of us lives photography, I'm asking this question only for the sake of having a pleasant chat 🙂

Let me say at the outset that I'm not planning to buy any new lenses any time soon. For FF, APS-C, and FourThirds formats, I have more lenses than I use or need already, with some overlap in all three of those formats. I don't want or need any more cameras either.

If I were to be buying another lens at the moment, there's two that I would choose between: I'd either buy the XCD 65mm f/2.8 or the XCD 120mm f/4 Macro for the Hasselblad 907x. The 65 is a near perfect normal lens on this format camera, and the 120mm Macro is an eventual "must have" for me anyway. I haven't already bought the 65mm yet because I'm bracketing the focal length with 45 and 90 mm native lenses; I don't have the 120 Macro yet because I have the Makro-Planar 120mm f/4 in V system gear and haven't felt pressed to spend the money for a native lens yet.

I will eventually buy those two lenses. The 907x is just about my favorite camera to shoot with now, but like with most medium format film cameras, I just don't ever feel the need to have a lot of different lenses for it. The three I have span from ultra wide to a medium telephoto and do the job very well for the present. And I have fun adapting other mount lenses to it and working around the foibles of eshutter to see what I can get out of it.

(My 907x is on the way back from Hasselblad after being evaluated for the weird, intermittent fault that I've had going on with it since new. As all intermittents do, it refused to surface in their hands and none of the analytic tests showed anything wrong. So back home it comes, and I'll push it until the problem recurs, then document the heck out of it and send it in again. Eh, such is the joy of machinery...)

Why wouldn't I be looking at something new in the other formats, where I actually used to enjoy having a dozen lenses to swap around? Well, I know for a fact that, with the range of focal lengths and characterful lenses I already have, it wouldn't bring much new to my photography AND I just have too much for those formats anyway. I might consider selling off a third of my lenses and actually not having enough for a bit, just to see how it pushes my creative juices ... or whether it pushes them at all, to be honest.

As time goes on, I find myself using less and less gear, making fewer and fewer exposures, and getting more and more satisfying photographs from my efforts. In fact, I find that Dr Edwin Land's masterpiece, the Polaroid SX-70, really really does most everything I want beautifully... In fact, I think I'm going to pick up the SX-70 and walk to a restaurant, have a little dinner, and see if I see a photo along the way. There's something going on in that. 😀

Onwards!
G

"Equipment is transitory. Photographs endure."

 

[35photo]

For a long time I lusted after a 'cron 35mm. Any.

I finally gave myself one for my birthday last year. Guess what? I'm not impressed. It's the second version and the handling (with the aperture ring so close to the focusing one) is a bit awkward.

Yet, I'm again lusting for another kind of lens.

Ever since I re-discovered the 50mm focal length, and along with my finding the Leica R system, I would like a 50mm 'cron for my R8. Who knows? I may lay my paws on one some time this year...

But not with the stimulus check. That's already gone to the much needed new car fund.

I had the 35 cron as well.... I sold it for $100 more than I paid.... I had a ASPH which I love and still love.... I was just trying something different.... maybe the vII for B&W sure for color I didn't like it....