Thoughts On Good Glass

Avoiding G.A.S, budget-friendly wisdom, internet non-wisdom, etc.

Out for a walk with my extended family. Made with my oldest AF lens, the “bad” Canon 24-105mm/4L. Lazily shot at 24mm I/1600 f/4 ISO400. I was in and out of the shade, too lazy to change ISO’s Why is this camera so “bad” for ISO and dynamic range again? Most people use 24mm like this, close foreground. Note how out of focus the background is… Plenty sharp subject. Think about why this lens is rated as so-so… Not in the real-world.

Another gear related newsletter aimed at advising photographers not to spend money. Well, at least spending less money. Looking at the landscape of the camera and lens market today might cause more than a bit of concern due to the skyrocketing price of “professional” cameras and lenses. On the other hand if you can immunize yourself against marketing and all of the YouTubers pushing you to the latest greatest, never ending new camera and lens releases it’s never been a better time to be a photographer. Photographers on any budget can have anything they want, an entire kit that would make people a decade or two ago drool.

Even if you’re not on a shoestring budget it can be ultra-affordable to buy super-specialized gear to explore a genre or technique for pennies. The opportunity is amazing right now if you ignore stupid-expensive new glass and the absolute latest camera gear.

Diminishing Returns

I’ve been privileged enough to see real-world results on an insane number of “upgrades” in both lenses and cameras since the dawn of digital. Beyond my own investments, I’ve also been able to use a ton of other people’s gear both in my hands as well as be involved intimately with the results that gear produces. I admit that early on there were amazing improvements to certain areas of performance in both cameras and to some degree lenses. As time marched on those improvements proved to be far more incremental and really could be considered imperceptible in anything but edge-cases.

Fast forward and those improvements fall into two categories. The first category is video. If you are not professionally producing video it is a matter of “who cares”. If you are, you are in a completely different market that the hybrid still/video camera now so I’d propose all of that is pretty much “who cares” now. The second category is the “look what I can do mom” category which I’ll also propose that for 99.9999% of those that make photographs, new cameras also fall into the who-cares category.

This leaves most photographers more choices of buying old gear and being capable of producing fantastic results that are indistinguishable from brand new cameras. My advice is buy just about any camera made after 2015-2016 and you’ll be happy. Go ahead fine tune your selection of brand and model to your specific needs. If you like mirrorless there are plenty of choices. If you occasionally make video go ahead, put that in the list. If not you can prioritize anything that suits your preferred subject matter even better.

Adapted Lenses

You do not need the latest lenses specific to the body you either have or plan on having. If you have a Sony camera, you may have the largest choice of adapted glass and well-developed lens adapters that perform well in terms of autofocus and other features. Previous generation Sony cameras are dirt cheap. My own choice happens to be Canon for a lot of reasons but you’ll find that is a bargain as well. I have a Canon R6 in perfect condition I purchased for less than half its original price. I also have Canon DSLR cameras which all DSLR cameras are almost throw-away in terms of pricing now. You can have almost anything you want with a DSLR at a price almost anyone can afford.

If you start with a great DSLR the lenses are already dirt cheap. You can have a lens collection that allows you to do anything for very little investment. Yes, you can even have telephoto glass but you cannot have the super-large aperture tele lenses. As long as your DSLR choice is with a popular mount (Canon/Nikon) they’re adaptable to Sony or the mirrorless offerings of either. Again my choice is Canon because of their adaptability. The most meager budget can afford almost anything in terms of focal length and specialization. I own absolutely zero “red-ring” glass that is specific to the Canon mirrorless mount. I do have some of the bargain dirt cheap Canon mirrorless lenses. All of what I own is plenty good enough, most of it better than I need.

Case in point, the ubiquitous 24-105 f/4 lens, I own the oldest version produced. It literally is my most used lens. These can be had by anyone, sometimes for free but in any case dirt cheap. I tested mine against the updated version for the DSLR mount and passed on the new one. I owned the “far better” mirrorless RF version for more than a year. I sold the new version and continue to use my ancient version as there was no real-world difference. In some areas I actually liked the old version better.

Would I get better results with the latest, way, way, better Canon RF 24-105 f/2.8 L IS USM Z at $3.299? Probably not anything detectible in real-world use. Let’s pretend you own that beast and whatever specialized application it’s suited to is great for your particular situation. If that was me I’d keep it for whatever that was and use a $300 used version 1 24-105/4L with reckless abandon with no fear of the conditions at all. Even if budget is of little concern, I would have far more freedom slapping that cheap lens on a cheap DSLR at the beach, in the rain, or other risky conditions. I would probably make better pictures in those situations as well.

Specific Recommendations

Wide to medium tele lenses

Almost all lenses that fall into 24 to 135 are good to great in terms of image quality. DSLR mount glass in this range is a no-brainer for the most part. Want a prime that you don’t have in that range… Go with just about anything, including a lot of the modern third party glass and adapt it. If you have a wonderful modern zoom but want a large aperture lens for either effect or better low-light performance I wouldn’t hesitate.

Some serious bright spots in the Canon line-up are the 85-135 lenses. Every last one of them is great, even the red-ring L lenses in this range are now dirt cheap. Want throw-away price, get the non-L 85/1,8, 100/2, or 100/2.8 Macro. Want great image quality and the freedom to make pictures in conditions that might be a risk to your super expensive bulky brand new zoom? Grab anything in this range and adapt it.

Super-wide lenses

These have been rare but even the esoteric stuff that is in DSLR mount are now affordable. There are a lot of hidden gems here, especially more modern third-party super-wides. Do not discount super-wide zooms especially when the prices are $200-300 now. There are a ton of choices, do your research on the third-party offerings some of them are darn good. A solid choice is always the Canon EF 17-40/4 which has always been under appreciated but usually better than the more expensive 2.8 lenses.

Need crazy wide or want to go up-market? Even the Canon 11-24mm L can be had for around $900 now. Much of that super-rare, super-wide glass for DSLR mounts are at fire sale prices. If you think paying three times that amount are going to get you consistently superior real-world results you are dreaming.

Telephoto lenses

The price of great zoom lenses in the 70-200 f/2.8 and f/4 classes are not only good performers but take a look at the prices now. Want even a bigger bargain? The Canon 200mm prime lenses are unbeatable in terms of image quality and are ultra-affordable. Skip that middle ground of 70-150, get a Canon 200/2.8L prime, or something more specialized and better, the Canon 180mm/3.5L Macro (the prices of these are so cheap I now have both). If you specialize in something that you need slightly shorter that would fall into the 70-200 range, check out the Canon 135mm/2L, dirt cheap at $400 and very difficult to to beat optically.

You’re going to have to go with the f/4 class lenses or slower when you get to 300mm and over. Don’t sweat it, they are as good or better than the f/2.8 lenses. Don’t discount the more recent super-tele zooms or the third party stuff as there even a better bargain in DSLR mounts. Of course there are similar bargains and quality in other mounts, probably in similar lenses as the competition has been so intense for a long time. I just do not have as much experience in other mounts.

Conclusion

Yes the price of newly released top-tier cameras and lenses is through the roof. I thought those escalating prices would drive the older gear in the same direction but that hasn’t happened… Yet. If you are budget conscious trust me, ignore that new stuff completely. There’s nothing wrong with any of the old DSLR mount lenses with a mirrorless camera as long as your adapter is good. I can attest the Canon adapter is perfect. I know there are great adapters for Canon glass for Sony and L-mount, I cannot speak to Nikon as I’ve been away from that system for a long time. Don’t be scared of DSLR’s either, most of the great pictures for two decades in every magazine were made with them. In many cases I’d rather a DSL myself.