Being Smart When Buying Lenses
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Hello folks. This time I want to talk about smart buying when it comes to glass and to do so share an abbreviated conversation that I had with a fellow creative over the holidays.
This person has made the transition on their Canon from their much loved 5D Mk IV to a new R5. The person has a good selection of EF lenses already, the 24-105 f/4 L that came with the camera, the 70-200 f/4 L and a Sigma 150-600. The individual is a solid photographer with many years of practice and action to build skill. Our conversation related to what the person heard in a couple of camera shops and to use the person’s words, all over the Internet. Here is how the conversation went;
P : I’m really liking the R5. I particularly like the flexible rear display which helps a lot as I find getting up and down tougher each year, and while there was nothing wrong with the 5D4, this seemed a good time to get into mirrorless.
R : Excellent news. I too liked the R5 when I moved to it. Did you get it as a kit?
P : No I bought it body only and got one of those EF lens mount adapters so I could use my existing lenses.
R : I did the same. I was indecisive at first about which adapter to get, but went with the cheapest one and have never regretted it. I am so pleased that my drawers of EF glass work so well on the R5 that I have not even thought about replacing them with R lenses.
P : Well that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about, so thanks for coming out to meet me.
R : Ok shoot.
P : I see a big push pretty much everywhere to go with the fastest glass possible, and the R lineup sure has a lot of fast glass options.
R : So I understand. Tell me what problems you are seeing with your existing lenses? Are they beaten up, or tired?
P : No, like you said, the images are excellent, plus I benefit from the sensor improvements between the 5D4, which I always found excellent, and the R5.
R : So what is causing you to think about replacing lenses that work perfectly well?
P : Well the word is that faster lenses are better.
R : How do you mean?
P : Well you know. Newer, so better, and work better with the R cameras.
R : Ok so what does better mean? Are the images sharper?
P : Not that I can see in the sample RAWs that I downloaded from Canon.
R : So if not producing a better quality image, how are they better?
P : Well the camera store guy and many Internet sites say that the focus is faster.
R : Interesting. How much faster? 10%? 30%?
P : Well they just said faster.
R : Ok, so tell me how many images you have missed because the focus was too slow on the 5D4? Do you find the focus slower on the R5?
P : Well the truth is, any focus failures are always on me. And I actually think that focus on the R5 might be faster than on the 5D4.
R : So everything that is called better, is just someone’s qualitative opinion, there’s no numerical data to back it up. If I understand you, you cannot see any difference.
P : Well no, but the specs imply that the new lenses are sharper.
R : That could very well be. But I am curious as to where they are sharper? Is it a difference of one thousand lines per inch, one hundred lines per inch or ten lines per inch in resolution?
P : I don’t know, I have not seen any charts like that, and I am smart enough to know that the human eye has more resolution capability than any display and any print, so I suppose that if there is any improvement, I will never be able to see it.
R : And you would be right.
P : But the new R lenses are much faster optically.
R : Oh I agree based on most of what I have seen or heard. So tell me, what is your most commonly used aperture for your images?
P : Well we’ve known each other for a while now, so I used Lightroom Classic’s search capability to find out, and my most commonly used aperture is f/8, with f/5.6 second and f/16 third. I do not have a lens that opens wider than f/4.
R : Do you shoot wide open a lot?
P : No. I use it but it’s not often.
R : So what would you gain by spending all that extra money on a lens that is optically faster?
P : Well they would be more professional.
R : Oh come on, that’s horseshit and you know it. A lens wide open is at its least sharp and then fully shut down is where diffraction sets in, and your own use shows you don’t spend a lot of time in either place.
P : Ok but you have a couple of f/1.2 lenses as well as some f/1.4 lenses.
R : Very true and to my chagrin, I spent money on glass that I very rarely shoot wide open. I only do that when I want razor thin depth of field, and in my work, that’s not often practical. If I focus on the pupil and shoot tight at f/1.2 the eyelashes are going out of focus, which is not a good thing. I bought into the faster is better song and dance and found that for me, it never really mattered. Plus those lenses are heavier, bulkier and because of their very high cost, I worry about them more.
P : So you don’t think super fast lenses are worthwhile?
R : I think that they are worthwhile if you are going to shoot them wide open at least 60% of the time. Maybe even that’s less important now that we see tools like Smart Blur in Lightroom Classic. While I always prefer to get it right in camera, there are decent tools to help me correct my own mistakes.
P : Well I am honest enough with myself to know that I won’t be shooting wide open all that much so I guess that I don’t need those more expensive super fast lenses.
R : I don’t hear anything from you that says you do. It may be different for others in practice and there are always going to be those with enough money to buy the fastest to soothe their egos or impress their friends even if they never shoot them wide open.
P : But hang on, the more light that gets to the sensor, the lower I can keep my ISO and the better autofocus will work in low light.
R : Absolutely so. How often have you had the autofocus fail in low light?
P : Never.
R : And how concerned are you about digital noise as things stand today with your maximum f/4 lenses?
P : I really am not. The sensor in the R5 is so good, I haven’t yet found an ISO that I might use frequently where the amount of noise is disturbing to me.
R : So you aren’t zooming in to 300% and then pressing your nose against the display to check for sharpness or noise?
P : No. And that’s because you have beaten the idea of proper viewing distance into me. I still have the welts to show that.
R : That’s very special. Let me see if I can tie this up and then get another pair of coffees. You love your new mirrorless camera and that you can use your existing lenses on it with the adapter. You see no detriment in your images in doing so. You are, to simplify, very happy. You have no specific use cases that demand heavier lenses with larger maximum apertures and therefore no need to spend all that money to replace lenses that work perfectly well. Consequently you can continue to use your craft to make compelling and interesting images without spending more money.
P : If you want to put it that way, you’re right. But why do all the Internet people and camera store people tell me different?
R : They are mostly all unencumbered by facts and actual data. Sales folks are motivated by getting paid and the commission on an expensive lens is more than on an inexpensive lens. It’s pretty simple. Some also see what gear you have as a competition, which frankly is pretty darn stupid. If you have a demanding use case, serve it, but only as much as you need to. In your case, you are already well served.
P : Camera stores and manufacturers must hate you!
R : Mostly they ignore me, because they know there are many easier fish to catch and the more uninformed or easily led the fish, the better.
Wrapping Up
And that friends is how the conversation went. My peer did not spend money on glass that he did not need. Instead he put the money towards travel so he could put his camera in front of more interesting subjects. To each his or her own, but don’t believe the baloney that a new camera DEMANDS new glass if what you have delivers for you. And don’t buy into super fast glass unless you are going to use it wide open the majority of the time.
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