On Thu, 14 Jun 2001 08:45:06 -0400, you wrote:
> I have wondered how we have gotten along without -S and VR-IS
>technology in the lenses for so long ;-)
snip
> I can work with fast
>lenses and fast film if I have to be concerned about IS.
>
See http://www.birdsasart.com/faq_superis.html and
other portions of the Arthur Morris site for a good
discussion of why IS is the best thing since... well
since.... uh... the instant-return mirror? TTL
metering? TTL flash metering?
The desirable films for wildlife photography are fairly
slow, limited to maybe a push to 320 ISO. One cannot
regularly depend on 800, 1600, and 3200 ISO films for
wildlife photography if the intent is publication.
And there is really nothing faster than a 300/2.8 or
600/4. Add IS to those lenses, and the elimination of
camera shake blur becomes commonplace rather than rare.
Canon is making everyone else look like they are
peddling Model T lenses. Really, Canon is leaving
everyone behind in certain areas of lens design,
specifically IS technology and their
soon-to-be-released ultra light long lens.
For those who need IS and light long lenses, and for
those who may not "need" that stuff to make a living
but just want it, Canon is unfortunately the one and
only choice. Nikon's VR lens is, from the accounts I
trust, overpriced junk.
But for me, I could never switch to Canon. That's
because I could replace everything in my kit (currently
a couple of dozen lenses which allow me to shoot from
18mm to 2400mm) with four or five Canon lenses and a
couple of TC's. And at least three of those Canon
lenses would have Image Stabilization.
Let's see, Henry, I'll take a 20 or 24mm, a 28-135 IS,
a 100 Macro, a 100-400 IS, a 600/4 IS, a bit of
extension, and a couple of those nice AF
teleconverters. No, no need for a 50mm - I have six of
them in K-mount that I can always stick on an ME Super
if I ever again shoot at 50mm.
But without all my Pentax-fit lenses, what would I do?
Half the fun is looking for bargain old or new lenses
and fiddling around with all that gear, manual focus
and autofocus and TC combinations and duplicate lenses
in focal lengths I rarely use, etc, etc... always
trying to find just the right combo to get the perfect
fit for all my photo needs.
Oh, and I haven't yet delved into the mysteries of the
Limited lenses (or old screw-mount ones), which I'm
sure would be a cure-all for all those unused 50mm and
100mm K-mount lenses I already have.
Five lenses and one body instead of twenty-five lenses
and five bodies? How boring. No Ebay bargains to
peruse? Gads, an appalling concept. No search for the
mythical inexpensive A* 135/1.8 to grace my unused lens
shelf? Shudder and groan.
I mean, did I make a mistake selling my K-series 50/1.2
just because I also have an A-series 50/1.2? Should I
have kept my A 35/2, even though I hadn't shot with it
in two years? Is my old powerzoom 28-105 as good as
Brand X? Will my 1978 model Tamron 70-250/3.8 Macro
ever give me the photos I know it is capable of? How
long should I keep the secret that my twenty-dollar CPC
24/2.8 Macro shoots better than any 24mm I've ever seen
from Pentax?
Nope, no switch to Canon for me. Then I'd have to focus
on just taking photos, and leave all this equipment
discussion behind. That's really scary.
--
Happy Trails,
Texdance
http://members.fortunecity.com/texdance
http://members1.clubphoto.com/john8202
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