I have been following this thread with some interest waiting for the time to
put my 2 cents in. I learned that my FA lenses are no good. It's been
suggested that unless a lens is an f2.8, it does not measure up to professional
standards.
Puuullllease!!!!!
This is an elitist attitude based on having more money than common sense and
thinking that the more you pay for something the better it has to be. When it
comes to expensive photography lenses it is not ALWAYS the case.
Now I like to consider myself a contrarian by nature. So, of course, few
people will agree with me. That's ok, I don't expect them to.
Let me start by saying something crazy like 80 per cent of the
non-professional photographers sporting 80-200, 300 and 20-35 F2.8s don't neeed them.
90 per
cent of the time they could get the exact same shots with "consumer grade"
zooms. That's not to say that I don't want all these lenses in my arsenal. But
it's not because the image quality is so much more superior to the more
consumer grade lenses.
Without getting too far into a debate about the value of fast lenses, IMHO
the real value of these lenses is in their build quality and the bright image
they give through the viefinder. This often translates into a lens that is a joy
to use and that is, in many cases, reason enough to want one. The cost of
that one extra stop is invaluable to photo journalists for example and other
professionals who have to come home with a shot. But for the rest of us, it's a
luxury that we could easily live without.
In saying all this, where can I get a nice 800-200 f2.8?
Vic
