> I have a 50mm/1.8 and the 100mm/2.8. I have the choice of purchasing one of
> three mint condition wide-angles, namely a 35mm/2.8, a 28mm/3.5 or a
> 24mm/2.8. My photography is centered principally upon family and some
> travel. I really don't have a burning desire for any of these lenses but
> they have hardly, if at all been used. Do I purchase one now given the
> excellent price or do I wait until I really need one? Your responses would
> be appreciated.
If you don't really feel a need, then push more film through the 50 and
100...until you *do* feel the need.
If you do feel the need for ONE of these, I can only say that the 24/2.8
is my absolute favorite lens. The group 24/50/100 forms a perfectly
fine series; it's a tad widely spaced for the truly picky about focal
lengths - but you can worry about narrowing the gaps later (perhaps with
a 35 and an 85 (or more likely a 135).
In my opinion, adding a 35 to your 50 and 100 isn't quite "extreme"
enough. It's simply not enough different from the 50 - I would guess
that you would end up choosing EITHER the 50 or the 35, and see little
reason to change between them. So...you'll end up with the same choices
you have now, except that you'll be carrying one more lens. The 24, on
the other hand, IS significantly different than the 50, and you will use
all 3 lenses. The 28 is a compromise, if you don't think you'll like
the truly WIDE angle view of the 24. But...it's slow - slower even than
the 100! I find myself using the 24 for a lot of interior photography,
and always need more light (flash? what's that?).
My current bag includes:
24/2.8, 35/3.5, 50/1.4, 70-150/4, 100/2.8, 135/3.5, 200/5,
and a Tokina 500/8.
The 35/3.5 and 50/1.4 get the least use; the 24/2.8 and 100/2.8 are my
favorites for most stuff, and the 500/8 (gotta get the Zuiko...) gets a
lot of work during soccer season. So far, the 135/3.5 and 200/5 are
mostly used when there simply isn't enough light for the 500/8 (more
like a 500/10, actually). The 70-150/4 zoom was my ONLY (used) lens for
years - but has fallen from favor lately. I think that my recent
purchase of the 100/2.8 has sealed it's fate - the 70-150/4 is a very
compact lens, but it's still a pretty heavy 100/4! I will probably save
it for situations where I can only carry a body and one lens for an
extended period of time - these days I'm almost always carrying at least
3 lenses; which 3 is a function of where and when.
I could easily live with:
24/2.8, 50/1.4, 100/2.8, 200/5, 500/8
So...clearly you should get the 24/2.8 now, and then start thinking big
(or, at least, long).
On the other hand...rather than ditching the 35/3.5, I'm currently
looking for an excuse to think about the 85/2, and then maybe a REAL
wide angle, and then...an assistant.
--
Kenneth Sloan sloan@xxxxxxx
Computer and Information Sciences (205) 934-2213
University of Alabama at Birmingham FAX (205) 934-5473
Birmingham, AL 35294-1170 http://www.cis.uab.edu/info/faculty/sloan/
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