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Lenses you always wanted but will never buy

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Loga

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Hi all,

do you have some lenses in you mind that you have really been longing for, but you realized that most probably you will never buy? Because you don't have the money, or because you could buy it, but you just cannot justify the purchase? Like the Pana 45 f2.8 in my case since I have the Oly 45 f1.8... Well here is my list:
  • Panasonic 45mm f2.8 - I always read that it has a special rendering, but could not justify the price since it is only f2.8 and I have the Oly 45 which does the job for a fraction of the price...
  • Panasonic 15mm f1.7 - I have the 14mm f2.5, and I love it. But I kept reading - mostly on this forum - how special this 15mm 'Leica' lens is... however, based on the net samples I found the FL a bit weird, and I cannot justify the price, too.
  • Olympus 17mm f1.8 - I almost pulled the trigger on this more than once, since I thought it will serve me well for street photography with its manual focus markings. In the end, it was too expensive for what it is, and also those markings seemed not too usable. At the same time I realized that my Pana cameras have some sort of auto-hyperfocal ability by pressing the lens releasing button in M mode.
  • Laowa 7.5mm f2.0 - What really tempts me in this lens is to try out panoramic street photography with a wide (2.35:1 or so) crop on the photos. But for about 700$ in my country I won't.
What are your dream lenses you will never buy?

--
----------------------------------------------
http://peterdegay.wix.com/photos
 
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Strangely the lenses i would really like but will probably never purchase are all Olympus.

12-100mm f4 Pro:

I already own the Pan Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4 and the Panasonic 35-100mm f2.8, I currently also have a G85 body, so essentially get double use from these two and the benefit of Dual IS (and Dual IS2 from the former) on that body, plus the Oly lens is heavier to tote around (probably not a deal breaker), but its also $$$.

40-150 f2.8 Pro:

I own a Panasonic 100-300 II and find it fine for what I shoot with it, mainly outdoors in good lighting, again works well with the G85, and again the benefit of the Dual IS-2, also Oly is $$$

75mm f1.8

Love the idea of it, but have the FF equivalent covered (very well I think) with Nikon APS-C and a Sigma 105mm f2.8 OS Macro lens, plus I dont shoot that focal length enough to justify the purchase.

12mm f2

Hard to justify the high price for the quality and rare use for this focal length for me as the FF equivalent is already in house , I can also use a speedbooster on the M1 mk II for great results which are also both owned.
 
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Olympus 7-14 f2.8. For ultra wide, I think I'd prefer a decent 16-35 on my full frame kit.
 
PL 100-400. Expensive and hard to justify as these days I do not travel and get to see/shoot wildlife. But i could have used it ten or so years ago when I used to visit places like Yellowstone National Park.

Side note: recently sold my Oly 40-150 Pro. Since I picked up the Oly 12-100 I sold off my Oly 12-40 first, then the 40-150 a few years ago. The 12-100, although not small or light, is better for my than the other two pro lenses, especially since, as a nature photographer, I tend to shoot at f/4 - f/5.6. The 12-100 is a lenses that deserves serious consideration - the hype is real!
 
Skeeterbytes said:
ZD 300/2.8 SHG.

Even if I found an amazing deal, the slow focusing and reduced frame rates would interfere with how I envision using one. Too bad, since it's an impeccable optic.

Cheers,

Rick
Click to expand...
Rick , at the risk of tempting you to part with the cash { that is our roll as concerned gear heads :-) } , has the performance of FT lenses not improved quite a bit on the lates Oly bodies. It is a cracking bit of kit. The FT 150mm always tickled my fancy but I think that the AF performance etc is much poorer on Pany bodies great lens though

--
Jim Stirling:
It is not reason which is the guide of life, but custom. David Hume
 
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apextech said:
40-150 f2.8 Pro:

I own a Panasonic 100-300 II and find it fine for what I shoot with it, mainly outdoors in good lighting, again works well with the G85, and again the benefit of the Dual IS-2, also Oly is $$$
Click to expand...
After about a year of owning it I've started taking this out on walkabouts. I bought it for, and use it, for events, but I'm loving it for walkabout now as well. Owning FF kit as you do, you'll know it's not a monster to carry about. I sold my 100-300 after buying it (and getting the 1.4TC).
 
45 1.2
 
  • PL Nocticron 42.5mm F1.2 - For portraits or evening street photography. Beautiful piece of glass...
  • PL 100-400 - Would love the added reach compared to my 100-300 MkII but not enough exotic critters to shoot to make it worth the price.
  • PL 12-60 - It would replace my venerable 14-45 with greater range, WR and larger aperture but in a much larger/heavier package. I am still very satisfied with the 14-45's IQ, so...
  • Oly 12-100 F4 - Great range and would make a great two-lens kit with my 100-300 (for daylight shooting). Maybe if I'm patient enough...
 
Olympus:
  • 12-100mm f/4
  • 75mm f/1.8
  • 300mm f/4
Panasonic
  • 200mm f/2.8
  • 50-200mm f/2.8-4.0
Plus quite a few others. These are either two heavy, too expensive or I wouldn't get enough use out of them to justify the cost.

I also lust a bit after the Panasonic 12-32mm as a very small lens for travel. I have been keeping my eyes open for a cheap, used copy for quite a while, but I like my 12-40mm f/2.8 so much that I would be very unlikely to ever leave it behind. So, if a local camera store had one in really cheap, I might buy it on impulse, but if I tried to buy one on line, I fear that rationality would stop me hitting the "Buy" button. :-D
 
PL 200mm f/2.8. That's extravagance.
 
ZUIKO DIGITAL 150mm F2.0

M.Zuiko 300mmF4

Voigtlander 17/0.95

M.Zuiko 17/1.2

M.Zuiko 45/1.2

Panny 200/2.8

Panny 50-200/2.8-3.5

Panny 45/28

Panny 12/1.4
 
8/1.8 Olympus because my 8-18/2.8-4 Pana can cover that and I use it very seldom with 8 mm (all my other lenses are Oly-lenses)

17/1,2, 25/1,2 and 45/1,2 because these lenses are much to heavy, much to expensive and do have only 1/2 an apparture advantage and the DOF is about 90 % the same (personally tested with the 45/1,8 compared to the 45/1,2). And basically this lenses are against the intention of MFT = to create an equipment that's light and small and highly portable. (But I don't want to discuss the 1.2-lenses. Oly does nothing wrong with this lenses because they can demonstrate their knowledge of producing lenses and some customers buy and pay them - so everything is right for everyone)
 
I'm probably the wrong person to ask (13 M4/3 lenses in my kit right now), but one I've not been able to justify is the PL50-200. I wouldn't say I'll never buy it because it's a possibility, it could replace both my 100-300 (w/a 1.4x TC) and my 35-100/2.8, but I'm not sure I actually want to do that. I guess the PL200/2.8 is the one I'd love to have but could never justify, I just don't need to shoot that long often enough to merit spending that kinda $.

My 17/1.2 was a total splurge, I could've been just as happy with the 16/1.4 but I don't regret it for a second. The 12/2 is one I never would've bought for it's retail price, but at <$400 as a refurb I don't regret it either even if it's one of my less used primes. The Laowa 7.5/2 and 75/1.8 (also bought refurb for near $500) are two that I'd likely keep even if I decided to shoot another format (not sure I'd say the same of the previous two wides).

That's not a commentary on the wides mind you, there's just less (or none) of a size advantage to them vs other formats and more equivalent alternatives. The PL25 II was something of a splurge as well since it's not my favorite FL and I got it in part because I wanted a smaller sealed prime and had championed the idea of a sealed mk II (gotta put your money where your mouth is no?), tho I'd used the original and I do recognize there's something special to it's rendering even if that's become a cliche.

Honestly I'd be perfectly happy with the first 3-4 lenses I bought for the system (20/1.7, 45/1.8, 12-32, 9-18) but I'm glad to have expanded things (specially with the teles), and none of my stuff has sat unused to the point where it'd be worth selling. I do have a spare 12-32 to get rid of tho... Edit: The manual Voigtlanders should probably top the hard to justify list for me too, I was tempted by both the 17.5mm and the 10.5mm f0.95 but I was afraid that their size and/or MF would mean they'd sit unused.

Edit #2: I want for very little (with over a dozen lenses you'd hope so!) but the Oly 8/1.8 Pro fisheye is still one I think about, specially now that I have a body with live defishing, maybe if I catch a good refurb sale. I think either my Laowa or my Samyang fisheye would have to go at that point tho. I use the PL8-18 more than either as it is, if only the GX850 didn't drop to a 10-bit readout with manual lenses, hrm.

Edit #3: PL10-25, definitely.
 
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James Stirling said:
Skeeterbytes said:
ZD 300/2.8 SHG.

Even if I found an amazing deal, the slow focusing and reduced frame rates would interfere with how I envision using one. Too bad, since it's an impeccable optic.

Cheers,

Rick
Click to expand...
Rick , at the risk of tempting you to part with the cash { that is our roll as concerned gear heads :-) } , has the performance of FT lenses not improved quite a bit on the lates Oly bodies. It is a cracking bit of kit. The FT 150mm always tickled my fancy but I think that the AF performance etc is much poorer on Pany bodies great lens though
Click to expand...
True, Jim, so true. The good 4/3 lenses never looked better than on the current crop of 20MP m4/3 cameras and I'm grateful beyond words that mine have a second life.

When I compare the shooting experience of the 300 Pro and the 150 SHG I'm always frustrated by the little tuna's focus speed and the much slower frame rates, which range from slow to glacial as one stops down. The extra stop is its raison d'etre and I'm still happy to have it when light gets dire.

Shorter lenses I tend to use differently and those parameters range from less noticeable to irrelevant, but a fast supertele puts great demands on both AF response and high frame rates. I doubt any camera development breakthroughs can overcome those two chokepoints.

Cheers,

Rick
 
Skeeterbytes said:
James Stirling said:
Skeeterbytes said:
ZD 300/2.8 SHG.

Even if I found an amazing deal, the slow focusing and reduced frame rates would interfere with how I envision using one. Too bad, since it's an impeccable optic.

Cheers,

Rick
Click to expand...
Rick , at the risk of tempting you to part with the cash { that is our roll as concerned gear heads :-) } , has the performance of FT lenses not improved quite a bit on the lates Oly bodies. It is a cracking bit of kit. The FT 150mm always tickled my fancy but I think that the AF performance etc is much poorer on Pany bodies great lens though
Click to expand...
True, Jim, so true. The good 4/3 lenses never looked better than on the current crop of 20MP m4/3 cameras and I'm grateful beyond words that mine have a second life.

When I compare the shooting experience of the 300 Pro and the 150 SHG I'm always frustrated by the little tuna's focus speed and the much slower frame rates, which range from slow to glacial as one stops down. The extra stop is its raison d'etre and I'm still happy to have it when light gets dire.
Click to expand...
My problem is that for almost all the things I typically shoot AF-S is more than enough. I forget that you action fellows have a much more demanding usage case :-) I have no experience of shooting AF , with adapted lenses my Nikon F stuff is a no go there.

Skeeterbytes said:
Shorter lenses I tend to use differently and those parameters range from less noticeable to irrelevant, but a fast supertele puts great demands on both AF response and high frame rates. I doubt any camera development breakthroughs can overcome those two chokepoints.

Cheers,

Rick
Click to expand...
 
Loga said:
Hi all,

do you have some lenses in you mind that you have really been longing for, but you realized that most probably you will never buy? Because you don't have the money, or because you could buy it, but you just cannot justify the purchase? Like the Pana 45 f2.8 in my case since I have the Oly 45 f1.8... Well here is my list:
  • Panasonic 45mm f2.8 - I always read that it has a special rendering, but could not justify the price since it is only f2.8 and I have the Oly 45 which does the job for a fraction of the price...
  • Panasonic 15mm f1.7 - I have the 14mm f2.5, and I love it. But I kept reading - mostly on this forum - how special this 15mm 'Leica' lens is... however, based on the net samples I found the FL a bit weird, and I cannot justify the price, too.
  • Olympus 17mm f1.8 - I almost pulled the trigger on this more than once, since I thought it will serve me well for street photography with its manual focus markings. In the end, it was too expensive for what it is, and also those markings seemed not too usable. At the same time I realized that my Pana cameras have some sort of auto-hyperfocal ability by pressing the lens releasing button in M mode.
  • Laowa 7.5mm f2.0 - What really tempts me in this lens is to try out panoramic street photography with a wide (2.35:1 or so) crop on the photos. But for about 700$ in my country I won't.
What are your dream lenses you will never buy?
Click to expand...
No. Which is why I have so many lenses.
 
olympus 150-400mm 4.5

olympus pro 17.5 ,25 and 45

panasonic 10-25mm f1.7

olympus 12-100mm f4
 
Great lenses from what I read and expect, but too big, heavy and expensive for me.

The Laowa 7.5mm is tempting though.

Peter
 
I had a voyeuristic interest in the Panasonic 200mm f/2.8 but thought I would never buy it because of the cost. A few weeks back 4/3 Rumors posted about the lens being offered new for $1,649 on eBay by a Canadian seller, quickndone. I checked it out, seller has a 100% positive rating with over 15,000 transactions, and has been on eBay for a long time. But I held off and it sold.

Then I checked back a few days later and they had one up again, this time for $1,539 USD. I couldn't resist and pulled the trigger. It arrived two weeks ago, brand new and in perfect condition with the 1.4x teleconverter. I haven't had much opportunity to use it yet, but so far I'm impressed, both with and without the teleconverter.

There currently is no other lens I want.
 
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