Is this a good deal on a lens?

you talking about the 28-200? that's not a lot of money for a lens. especially one that gives you a nice range of focal points and is very compact. i prefer larger apertures, but that's because my shooting style needs it.

you can leave that one lens on for most of your outdoor shooting.

 

so, spend big on the one lens for the versatility and quality, I guess is what I'm getting out of this, and solid lenses are expensive because quality and newness are really necessary attributes?

 

newness doesn't rally factor into it -- good glass is good glass. lenses retain their value.

factors that affect lens price:

* manufacturer -- leica are more expensive than canon/nikon are more expensive than tamron/sigma. canon L-series lenses are more expensive than non-Ls.

* aperture -- the wider the aperture, the more expensive they are. this makes the lenses more versatile (wide aperture -- f 1.4, for example -- is great in low-light situations) and gives better bokeh (ability to isolate subjects).

* focal length -- generally speaking, a wider range of zoom is more expensive than a prime lens. there are more moving parts and more glass inside the tubes.

 

The thing is (and Larry touched on this) versatility often comes at the cost of quality. Primes (only one focal length) give you the best quality, but they mean carrying many lenses and changing often to be as versatle as a zoom.

Everything as far as photographic equipment I've found is a trade-off. A balance between convenience, quality, and cost.... The one exception possibly being the 50mm 1.8 Larry mentioned. I'm amazed at the size, quality, and cost of that $80 booger.

That being said, if cost was no object, I think I could get away with only carrying 3 lenses. But just those 3 would set me back $3,500.

 

Funny, I priced out my dream 3 just a few minutes ago and the total came to around $3500...

Great minds think alike

 

I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

 

Get a room.

 

Dont worry, I' CERTAIN I'm not her type.

 

it's a travesty!
anyway, thanks for answering the noob questions everybody. I might start a thread here for some stupid questions for people like me that have no idea but are interested.

 

my dream 3?

35/1.4L

85/1.2L

200/1.8L

since we're dreaming...make it five.

TS-E 90/2.8

180/3.5L macro