Lenses

I know I am switching from English to Portuguese, and then back. Despite what I have mentioned before, I still haven’t decided what language I want to keep on writing in. It seems that some subjects work better for me in English. I began reading about photography in Portuguese, but I actually dove into it while living abroad, reading about it in English. It’s not always that I manage to convey my message well in Portuguese. So, let’s go down this path and way over there, beyond the near future, I’ll see if I can make a decision.

Right, lenses. It is a very common thing, as an amateur and a beginner, to be impressed by ads and reviews in magazines. You know you want that 400mm tele you just read a review about. You know you will probably have NO use for it whatsoever, and you KNOW you have no money for it. Nor will have it in the near future. When you start is all “Gear! Gear! Gear!”. Yes, the same thing happened to me. My very first camera was a Canon EOS5000, that came with a basic lens, 38-76mm (weird focal distance).

Yeah, that wouldn’t do. Shortly after buying it, and still very much a novice and a terrible self-taught photographer (still am), I bought a 35-135mm from Canon. That lens is out there somewhere. Back in those days, zoom lenses meaning having both the wide angle and a nice….uhm…zoom to work with. Perfect for travels, wanderings around the city in search of nice stuff to shoot. You know the feeling.

I used this one for quite some time, until I got me an EOS A2e and gifted the 5000 to my brother with both lenses.

Now, with the A2e came two Tamrons, horrible quality both, but a nice offer from the seller: a 24-something (can’t remember) and a 100-300mm. I clearly remember frothing at the possibility of being able to take photos with that 100-300mm.

Reality was a bit different. Very few occasions came up that allowed me to make proper use of it. And camera shake is a real thing, kids, when using such long focal distances.

Slowly and surely I started to distance myself from those. Almost forgot: shortly after I got the A2e I purchased a Canon 75-300mm with Image Stabilizer. Now, that was a lens I loved using, even though it was also a bit tricky at the far end of its range. It’s been sold recently because I simply outgrew it. Or fell out of love with it.

My switch to DSLRs brought a new taste in lenses, when I began to favor wider angles (Sigma 10-20mm and 24-70mm) and shorter zooms. But, in a certain manner, I’ve always had a thing for the standard 50mm. Many photographers swear by it, and many more claim it is the only lens you need. I had one on my (now defunct) Pentax P30t. Few years ago, on a trip to the US, I bought myself a Canon 35mm (see below). On my camera (Eos T5i) it gives me 52mm so, pretty much what I was aiming for.

And, yes, you have to be a lot more creative with it. There are no zooms to play with, you really have to work to get the proper angle, the right focusing distance, a better composition, so on and so forth.

And that is the beauty of it. Prime lenses have your work cut out for you. But the results? Great, almost all the time. Another lens I own and one I decided to keep, is the Sigma 70mm f/2.8. This one has real macro capabilities, which is something I love to play with. I guess what I mean to say is that currently my preference lies on fixed short lenses and I am still mourning the loss (hopefully temporary) of my Pentax. The Yashica is almost ready and soon I will be putting it to the test. As for the Canonet, I am greatly disappointed (and surprised) by the latest results, since most of the film was ruined by failed exposures. More on that sometime in the future.