Before "what lens to get"

Over a year old and still one of the best post.

Josh

thanks for the advise.
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my latest photos at
http://rsugiri.multiply.com/photos/album/9

It is the greatest post I have ever read.
thank you for all.

Thanks for the post...

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qwerty123

If someone actually did everything mentioned in the original post, it would be virtually impossible not to know 'which lens to get'.

Great advise

Excellent post

Teila K. Day

This would be a great sticky??

oh well!!

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ressler.smugmug.com

Not that we should all just go and say "Great post !" - but then ... what else is there to say ?!

Thank you for pointing the way for many !

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Jesper.

Just wanted to say "thank you" for all the positive comments.

This thread was actually my 2nd post on dpreview and I hesitated for two days before posting it. I had been lurking for quite some time and I kept seeing the same question come up over and over again. It amazed (still amazes) me that someone would ask for advice on a new lens without truly understanding what their current lens or even camera could do.

I am still surprized when the thread pops up from time to time, but I hope it helps someone along the way.

Keep shooting and always have fun!

John

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Feel free to use any of these additional letters to correct the spelling of words found in the above post: a-e-t-n-d-i-o-s-m-l-u-y-h-c

Well, this is truly a thread to have at the top of the list. Should be a "must read" for all beginners - and, come to think of it, for most others, too !

Happy New Year ! And thanks for making up your mind to post those words !

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Jesper.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51344793@N00/

Yep...best post I've read on here, but then it applies to me especially. I've been thinking about lenses and haven't really "worked" at but about 4 of these things.

That's a good wake up call. Get some more shots and experience under the belt before moving to another piece of equipment. Spend time before money.

Thanks guy.

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Greg

I belong to several photo sites on the web and would like to post these exercises to fellow members. I, like others, think these are great suggestions and many newbies and many experienced photographers alike would benefit from seeing and using this list. I have emailed John "balloonchasers" asking permission to post his list on the forums in my groups or at least including the link in our forums. I have yet to receive a reply... I hope John sees this, or someone else responds with their thoughts. I would not want to repost something without the author's permission...

Judy
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Remember, you are unique just like everyone else.

I dont want to be reiterative, but great post. Im writing here in order to have it selected in "My threads". Thanks.

Bodhi Dharma Zen said:

I dont want to be reiterative, but great post. Im writing here in
order to have it selected in "My threads". Thanks.

Click to expand...

I might as well get in on this while the post is on the front page (where it belongs, for eternity!)

This post cured me of a terrible itch for a new lens, and I have started to document my way through the challenge

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I wanna be an amateur when I grow up.

balloonchasers said:

but
I hope it helps someone along the way.

Click to expand...

It did just that once again! I'll hold off buying more glass for a while, and learn to use the kit lens first.

regards,
Bent

Judy,

e-mail sent and thank you.

John

fivebales said:

I hope John sees this, or someone else responds with their thoughts. I would not want to repost something without the author's permission...

Judy
--
Remember, you are unique just like everyone else.

Click to expand...

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Feel free to use any of these additional letters to correct the spelling of words found in the above post: a-e-t-n-d-i-o-s-m-l-u-y-h-c

Starting to go through the list myself...
Thanks
Phill
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pceh777
http://www.pbase.com/tuell

I have read and reread this one a few times before. Now I did it again, and I still found new ideas (and, searching back my original answer here, some things I still want but never done), atough now I almost moved up to 6x45 and all-prime lenses (man, thats fun!). Thank you again

Balazs

This is a wonderful thread; thank you so much for posting it. While I haven't done everything on this list, I feel as though I have done a large portion of it. I started taking pictures (though never with any artistic intentions) with a camera I got when I was about 10 years old. It was a fixed focal length Olympus, I believe. I saw my father and uncle taking pictures all the time (my dad with his '79 XA, my uncle with everything from 35mm to 4x5" slides), and I began to develop an interest. My first camera to use for any artistic work was a 1mp Kodak. I worked with that for about a year and a half, until I upgraded to an A610. Most of my serious work was done with that, as well as an OM-2 I found lying around my house. I began to really understand photography there... most of my shots were in manual mode. The OM-2 taught me about focal lengths and f-stops. I just recently got my first dSLR, the 400D. I have already shot over 2300 images with it in the last few months, and I plan on shooting many more. While I haven't been able to use the kit lens to quite its full potential, I have ran into some difficulties with it. I do a large amount of photojournalism, often inside. The kit lens simply isn't fast enough for a lot of my work. I have decided to upgrade my lens to a Tamron 17-50, mainly for this reason. However! I still intend to complete every item on your list possible, and will be getting a smugmug account soon to show it off.

Thank you for the inspiration,
Esten
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Evolution of gear:
A610> OM2> 400D
http://esten.carbonmade.com