Dean Baird
Leading Member
The comings and goings among my Zeiss, Nikon, and Tamron lenses.
I switched from Canon to Nikon in 2012, when I was ready to move to a full frame DSLR. Canon's 5D3 seemed aimed at event photogs when Nikon's D800 seemed like a medium format lite. Switching was agonizing and disorienting, but I knew it was the right thing to do. Lensing up in the new platform was a costly endeavor, as I acquired an appetite for quality 2.8s (where I had been satisfied with f/4s on my Canon XXDs). I was lucky enough to get an early D800E through my local shop (which has since closed).
My lens suite: Zeiss Distagon 15mm/2.8, Nikon 24-70mm/2.8 AF-S, Nikon 105mm/2.8 VR, Nikon 70-200mm/2.8 VRII, and (later) Tamron 150-600mm G1.
I traded the Tamron G1 to Amazon when the G2 was announced. And in anticipation of getting a D850, it seemed like a good time to reevaluate the suite.
I packed the lenses as pristinely as I could and printed trade-in labels for each. Well, not for the Zeiss: that keeper's not going anywhere. The 105 micro? I never liked it as much as I hoped too. It will go. I have a TC-20E III that never sank its hooks into me. It will go. The 24-70mm/2.8 AF-S? Great lens, but no VR. I could put VR to use in that range. It will go. The 70-200mm/2.8 VRII? It packed up the best, but I can't bring myself to part with it. It stays. I was never going to surrender $2800 for the FL ED, so I'll let that one stand as is.
Incoming? Tamron 24-70mm/2.8 VC G2 and Tamron 150-600mm G2 (and perhaps a 1.4x TC). What I'll get for the trade-ins won't cover all that, but I didn't expect it to.
I will hold off on the D850 for a few months: no urgency in acquiring it just yet. I'll get my lenses in order first. The D800E stays, too. It will "retire" as my reliable and capable back-up body.
I switched from Canon to Nikon in 2012, when I was ready to move to a full frame DSLR. Canon's 5D3 seemed aimed at event photogs when Nikon's D800 seemed like a medium format lite. Switching was agonizing and disorienting, but I knew it was the right thing to do. Lensing up in the new platform was a costly endeavor, as I acquired an appetite for quality 2.8s (where I had been satisfied with f/4s on my Canon XXDs). I was lucky enough to get an early D800E through my local shop (which has since closed).
My lens suite: Zeiss Distagon 15mm/2.8, Nikon 24-70mm/2.8 AF-S, Nikon 105mm/2.8 VR, Nikon 70-200mm/2.8 VRII, and (later) Tamron 150-600mm G1.
I traded the Tamron G1 to Amazon when the G2 was announced. And in anticipation of getting a D850, it seemed like a good time to reevaluate the suite.
I packed the lenses as pristinely as I could and printed trade-in labels for each. Well, not for the Zeiss: that keeper's not going anywhere. The 105 micro? I never liked it as much as I hoped too. It will go. I have a TC-20E III that never sank its hooks into me. It will go. The 24-70mm/2.8 AF-S? Great lens, but no VR. I could put VR to use in that range. It will go. The 70-200mm/2.8 VRII? It packed up the best, but I can't bring myself to part with it. It stays. I was never going to surrender $2800 for the FL ED, so I'll let that one stand as is.
Incoming? Tamron 24-70mm/2.8 VC G2 and Tamron 150-600mm G2 (and perhaps a 1.4x TC). What I'll get for the trade-ins won't cover all that, but I didn't expect it to.
I will hold off on the D850 for a few months: no urgency in acquiring it just yet. I'll get my lenses in order first. The D800E stays, too. It will "retire" as my reliable and capable back-up body.
