At 03:44 PM 8/17/2005, Kostas Kavoussanakis wrote:
16-45, 20-35 and the FAs,* from memory are in that list. I still see no answer as to the problem with variable aperture lenses.
I used to do a lot of manual flash images, and variable-maximum-aperture zooms were a disappointment for that. It's left a "bad taste" in my mouth, you might say.
Since I don't shoot with manual flash too much these days, I would be able to like variable-maximum-aperture zooms, if the aperture didn't go below f4 for lenses under roughly 200mm focal length. Something like a 50-150mm f3.5-f4.0, or a 50-150mm f2.8-f4.0 would be okay, for example. Several years ago, it was easier to find zoom lenses at f4.0 and wider. There just aren't as many options these days, and I miss that.
Also, the constant-maximum-aperture zooms tend to be better quality lenses, from what I've seen. This may or may not be because of any technical reason related to their constant maximum aperture, but it sure seems to be the trend.
Lastly, I think there are some zoom lenses on the market which aren't fully compatible with teleconvertors and autofocus, because of the smaller maximum aperture at one end of their zoom range. I could be wrong about this, but I think that is the case.
Okay, are those enough reasons to validate my personal preference for constant-maximum-aperture zoom lenses? ;-)
take care, Glen
