GarethC Posted June 3, 2009 Share #1 Posted June 3, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I just took delivery of a new bag for storage so had to look through all my lenses and discovered I had 9 of them. All this talk of the beauty of one lens and two lens photography got me thinking of which ones I would get rid of. Then I wondered why I would just because some guy called Henry Carter Brassiere cross threaded his lens. I have four 8 gig cards so with RAW and jpg I can shoot around 2,000 photos before downloading. And yet this is not considered excessive. The 12CV, 18 Zeiss, 24/2.8, 28/2, 35/2, 35/1.2, 40/2 Summicron, 50/2 Summicron latest and 90/2.8 are like my children, I love them equally and in my hands they are all totally useless (I'm talking about the lenses but that last statement applies equally to my children). OK, so the 40 and 90 are the black sheep and I will probably give them up for adoption. But I look forward to shooting with all of them at different times for different reasons. Each one is a different pleasure. All said and done if I were worried about the results I would have given up long ago. It's about the act, not the result. Off to ebay to buy another lens................... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 3, 2009 Posted June 3, 2009 Hi GarethC, Take a look here The benefits of 9-lens photography. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
scaryink Posted June 3, 2009 Share #2 Posted June 3, 2009 Collecting lenses are no different than being a stamp collector. There is nothing wrong with it. Actually lenses are probably much cheaper than collecting stamps. I'm not so much a collector as an accumulator. Less is more. Less more. repeat after me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeicaMSeattle Posted June 3, 2009 Share #3 Posted June 3, 2009 If there isn't a reason to have to sell your lenses keep them all, as there's no telling what iteration the M body will take, it'll probably cost more to repurchase these lenses in the future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryk34 Posted June 3, 2009 Share #4 Posted June 3, 2009 The obvious answer is that they are all worth more now than you paid for them, a much better investment than your current retirement account in the stock market or lenses from Nikon or Canon. Second, you no longer have to concern yourself with buying any of the 9 lenses you already have. But alas, you still have to struggle against trading in one of your summicrons for a summilux. Sorry. If you have kids, as I do, they'll make a fine gift to the one interested in photography, a gift very few other people can ever receive. Finally, whenever your in the mood or need for a particular focal length, you can take your choice. What could be better than all of this. [Oh yeah, the cost of your camera insurance goes up with their prices.] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hx911 Posted June 3, 2009 Share #5 Posted June 3, 2009 ...But I look forward to shooting with all of them at different times for different reasons. Each one is a different pleasure. ................... That is it! and if we wanted a 'one lense' approach, why buy an interchageable lens camera? I admit it is easy to get carried away (oh, why did I not take the xxx lens with me today) but after a while at least I calmed down, and use what I have with me, and make mental notes about the circumstances that made me think I needed a different lens. There often is no need, but want - and some lenses are better for some shots. But one adapts - like when I took (by mistake) my 35mm prime as only lens on a holiday, instead of the 24-105 as planned. The holiday was not ruined, I took different style pictures (and less than my average of 'good' shots, in my opinion) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo_Lorentzen Posted June 3, 2009 Share #6 Posted June 3, 2009 Hmm I think sometimes the problem is not picking a lens, bur rather "not" picking one.. I have more than one time lugged a bag of several lenses around for a afternoon of shooting with the 35 1.4..... just in case... even though I never actually felt the need. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted June 3, 2009 Share #7 Posted June 3, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) and if we wanted a 'one lense' approach, why buy an interchageable lens camera? Because we want to decide which lens shall be our 'one lens' -- that day ... I have at present ten Leica lenses on active duty. But I do very seldom go out with more than two. Which two? That depends on what I expect to do with the camera. There are rumours that Henri Carter-Bresson did occasionally use a 35mm lens. And I have seen a photo of Ansel Adams cuddling a Contax rangefinder ... Horses for courses. The old man from the Age of the Screwed-Up Threads Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted June 3, 2009 Share #8 Posted June 3, 2009 I'm not so much a collector as an accumulator. Less is more. Less more. repeat after me. What a very apt way of putting things. I do like the word 'accumulator' as a description. I have to have periodic clearouts and wonder why and how I ever managed to acquire so much - on the bright side, Leica equipment seems to retain and even enhance in value so accumulation isn't too much of a problem. I'm with Lars on this one though - I rarely take out more than 2 or 3 lenses despite owning more. I'm trying to convince myself that I could actually live with 3 lenses (or perhaps 4, or then again....). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
epand56 Posted June 3, 2009 Share #9 Posted June 3, 2009 Summilux 50mm f1.4 Asph, Summilux 35mm f1.4 Asph and Elmarit 90mm f2.8, these are the lenses I will never sell as long as my eyesight allow me to keep a Leica M. Beside, I have several other lenses such as an Elmarit 50/2.8 or the Summicron-C 40/2 or the Elmar-C 90/4, the CV15 and 28 and they all have such a different behavour and rendering that it is difficult to decide to sell one of them. Even because the money I would get is few. And I find amusing to get one of them and go out with just that one on my camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethC Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share #10 Posted June 3, 2009 I have at present ten Leica lenses on active duty. you show off Lars, I'm just waiting for somebody to say they have 11 lenses now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfspencer Posted June 3, 2009 Share #11 Posted June 3, 2009 I have four lenses - Elmarit 28mm, Summicron 35mm, Summicron 50mm and Elmarit 90mm. I don't plan on selling any of them. I don't plan on buying a new lens. If I leave something out of the bag it is usually the 90mm. I just got the 28mm and it is quickly becoming my favorite. I would be quite content to use the 28 for a one lens setup. When shooting with a DSLR it is quite easy for me to shoot with one lens because all of my DSLR lenses are ZOOM. So you really do have to rethink things when you shoot with a range finder camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustafasoleiman Posted June 3, 2009 Share #12 Posted June 3, 2009 you show off Lars, I'm just waiting for somebody to say they have 11 lenses now. ahem... 15... using daily 2, 4 on assignment/travel, occasionally additional 4, rarely the rest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
epand56 Posted June 3, 2009 Share #13 Posted June 3, 2009 The real problem with lenses, is you IMMEDIATELY miss the one you've sold... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted June 3, 2009 Share #14 Posted June 3, 2009 you show off Lars, I'm just waiting for somebody to say they have 11 lenses now. I do actually have sixteen, but six are not Leica lenses, just compatible, and a couple of them are retired. In my defense, Your Honor, I would point out that I would not have owned any 75 or 28mm lenses if it hadn't been for the M8, where they replace the 35 and 90mm lengths. Also, I have supernumerary 35 and 90mm lenses, but these are 1983 Jubilee engraved items that belong with a similarly engraved M4-P, and I don't want to break up the family. The unrepentant old man from the Age of One f:2 Heligon On a Folding Retina P.s. I do never brag. I just tell how it is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted June 3, 2009 Share #15 Posted June 3, 2009 I won't go into the total number of lenses I have - because it is likely to first grow and then shrink quite soon as I readjust - but I cover the range 15mm to 135mm and will continue to do so. But I like to work in "essay" form and play off telephoto details against the wide-angle look. I can appreciate the one-lens philosophy - it's like writing haikus or sonnets (or limericks), an art form within severe limits that challenge one to use other creative skills. The bottom line, of course, is that no matter how many lenses you own, you never use more than one to take any given picture. 8^) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucklik Posted June 3, 2009 Share #16 Posted June 3, 2009 When you carry 1 lens, you have always the right lens one your camera. When you carry 3 lenses, you have only in 33% the right one on your camera. When you carry 5 lenses you in 80% the wrong lens on your camera. When you carry 9 ...... When one have to work quick it is better to carry one a few lenses. rgs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanG Posted June 3, 2009 Share #17 Posted June 3, 2009 When you carry 1 lens, you have always the right lens one your camera.When you carry 3 lenses, you have only in 33% the right one on your camera. When you carry 5 lenses you in 80% the wrong lens on your camera. When you carry 9 ...... When one have to work quick it is better to carry one a few lenses. rgs Solution - nine cameras. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustafasoleiman Posted June 3, 2009 Share #18 Posted June 3, 2009 Solution - nine cameras. funny you should mention it... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest darkstar2004 Posted June 4, 2009 Share #19 Posted June 4, 2009 The real problem with lenses, is you IMMEDIATELY miss the one you've sold... Exactly!! I had a Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 ASPH Nokton and sold it "because I never use it." In my case, it took about six months before I realized the error of my ways. Now I miss it am kicking myself. The price of this lens (new from B&H) is now $200US more than what I paid for mine and $350US less than I sold mine for. Dumb, dumb, dumb. GAAAAAAAAAAA! Lesson learned. Nowadays my mantra is: "If it says Leica on it or if it fits on my MP, NEVER sell it - EVER." There's nothing wrong with having a few lenses, IMHO. They give you more choices. Two things: 1: Don't let changing lenses and fiddling with your gear interfere with the actual imagemaking. I tend to select a lens based on the subject, the light, the surroundings and other factors and work the subject with that one lens rather than changing lenses constantly. This approach works for me. 2: Carry only as much gear as you can comfortably carry. For some, this may be 50 lbs.; for others, it may be 10 lbs. Don't let the weight of your gear take the enjoyment out of imagemaking. Don't let the weight of your gear exhaust you and leave you with back pain. YMMV. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted June 4, 2009 Share #20 Posted June 4, 2009 This really is one of those threads that falls into the "whatever floats your boat" category. I certainly have more than one lens, but I would never carry all - for any system - at the same time. Equally, there are many times when I go out with just a single lens. As Andy says the uncluttered clarity of using a single focal length can both clear - and concentrate - the mind wonderfully, and brings with it it's own challenges. I try to pre-visualise and only carry what I think I will need - and use. There is absolutely no fun in lugging around more than you need. That said, one of the reasons I love Leica rangefinders in general and Barnacks in particular is thir incredible compactness. A three-lens kit for my II consists of 5cm 3,5 on the camera and a LowePro sunglasses case containing a 3.5cm 3,5, a 9cm f4,0 and a viewfinder - hardly hard to find space in a pocket for. Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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