Which lenses to keep? Which lenses to get rid of?

[ethan]

Ok I have a few lenses.

75mm f6.8 Grandagon N

90mm f5.6 Super Angulon

120mm f5.6 Apo Macro Sironar

180mm f5.6 Sironar-S

360mm f9 Apo Ronar

500mm f11 Nikkor T* ED

720mm f16 rear element for above lens

 

I'm debating selling a few or trading to upgrade/get rid of lenses I

don't use. I've only used the long lenses (360-720) about 3 times

in the nine months that I've had them. I haven't been terribly

happy with the 75mm because of distortion and lack of

sharpness around the edges of my images.

The 90mm is really sharp and a great lens in a lot of ways but it's

BIG. Wondering about replacing it with the less wide SS 110 XL

or maybe SS100 (although I've heard that it doesn't cover 4x5) I'll

probably keep the 120 and the 180.

I'm not sure about the 360 or the Nikkor. I might want to use

them in the future but I can't justify it when I could sell them and

get lenses I would use MUCH more often (in the 80mm-110mm

range).

I'm just looking for a little advice/input from more experienced

parties. For reference I shoot mostly macro table top. Candid

portraits (sometimes in tight places so wide angle lenses are

good), and in the woods trees plants medium focal length (I

usually use the 180). I have a Canham DLC.

Also. I know that some lenses are "corrected" for macro. But I'm

not really sure what this means. Any input would be great!

 

Thanks!

[eugene_singer]

Ethan, judging from the camera you are using and the subjects you enjoy shooting, merely add a Schneider 110 SSXL and one of the name brand 210's to your lens set. If necessary, sell the 75, 90, 180, and the 360, in order to afford the two new lenses. You can always pick up a 360 rear element for your Nikon tele, if you find that you really miss that focal length. The 110XL is a "world class" wide angle lens. A "modern" 210 will work great for 3/4 length portraits, as well as table tops. Your 120 AM Sironar is a keeper for close-up work. That's why it is called a "Macro" lens. Among other things, "corrected for macro" means that the lens has a larger image circle when focused at close distances than it has when focused at infinity. Some macro lenses will not cover the entire format when focused at infinity, and some need to be stopped down in order to be used at infinity. Macro lenses are at their sharpest at close focusing distances.

[matt_kime]

Personally, I think you should pear down to two or three lenses. One wide, one medium, one long. Personally, I use a 150mm and a 240mm, which works well for me because i prefer to be on the longer end of the spectrum. If you use a limited number of lenses, you learn to see better with them and begin to learn intuitively which lens you need to use.

[upscan]

Ethan: May I suggest you become familar with the perpective obtained by the various F lengths and choose by looks you like. If you need help, look at the work of photographers whose output you like and see what they use then choose accordigly. Look at Dykinga's lens selection, for example. Some photographers abhor the 150 for its uninsteresting perspective, others avoid short wide angles for their exagerated perspective. It all depends what you like to do. While rationalizing your collection you might upgrade at the same time. It is quality not quantity that counts. Another suggestion is to avoid large and heavy lenses and replace them with lighter smaller lenses. I think you could pare down to 5 lenses.