Doug wrote:
> So keep this in mind, you young photographers out
> there: unless you have five versions of every lens and
> can recite MTF data for every one of them, you suck as
> a photographer and should explore other hobbies.
>
> And don't even =think= photography is about photographs.
To me it's not so black-and-white as this. On one hand I agree with Doug
that the final image one produces should be the determining factor as to
whether or not your equipment is satisfactory, but on the other hand, I too
am a gear head, and can't help but be interested in and noticing the subtle
differences produced by variations of similar lenses. I love owning finest
fastest lenses available; however, being recently converted from Olympus,
most of what I consider to be my best images were produced on slower
single-coated older prime zuiko lenses, such as the 35mm f/2.8. Although I
owned faster, newer, more expensive glass, I almost always made my best
shots with this or similar lenses. Surely there is middle ground, or some
gray area in this issue. Can't I enjoy the equipment, and also separate
myself from a direct correlation of knowledge and ownership of equipment and
good photography? Almost all my best medium format images have been made
with a finicky unimproved Kiev 60, but I'm dying to own the Rollei 6008i.
Would it improve my images? Maybe. Do I need it to get the job I'm doing
(fine family portraiture) done? Definitely not. My non-photographic family
are stunned with the quality of my shots, since they're used to
point-and-shoot snapshots, or unimaginative department store portraits.
Switching to the Rollei system would tickle my gearhead inner self, but
would most likely have little effect on the final product as relates to my
market. This is different from person to person. One side or the other
isn't the right answer. It's an individual choice based on wants and needs.
-
This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe,
go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to
visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
