Lens Buyers Guide

[Tyger]

Buying a lense could be quite confusing if you are not educated about what you are buying, let alone the dissapointment of buying a lens that does not meet your expectations. Below are some links to some very informative material to help you to make decisions on what you needs are when buying a lens.

Courtesy of Digital Camera Resource Page (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/)

Lens Buyers Guide (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8089)

[Tyger]

Found this on another forum, good info and very informative.

Seven considerations when buying glass (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=97056)

Courtesy of Peter Doomen

[steve-o]

I posted a blog entry that hopefully clarifies what manufacturers and resellers refer to as focal length multiplier.

http://blogs.graphicdesignforum.com/skapsinow/archives/2006/02/clarifying_foca.html

[Sarao]

Nice Links! Thanx for sharing!

[Ned]

I posted a blog entry that hopefully clarifies what manufacturers and resellers refer to as focal length multiplier.

http://blogs.graphicdesignforum.com/skapsinow/archives/2006/02/clarifying_foca.html

Great interview, Steve-o!

I use the term Crop Factor, which I think has gotten a bit more of a footing these days than Focal Length Multiplier - probably because it's a lot easier to say. ;)

A bit more clarification on terms for people reading...

In that interview you compare a digital camera with a 22.7 x 15.1 mm sensor, mounted with a 50mm lens. Linke said that would be the equivalent Field of View of an 80mm lens. What that means is that sensor size gives a 1.6x crop factor, or Focal Length Multiplier.

Here's a good link that shows the Crop Factor of various Sensor Sizes. (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Field-of-view-crop-factor.aspx)

"Full Frame" means a sensor the same size as 35mm film, which has no crop factor (or you could say a crop factor of 1.0). 1.6x crop factor is common for entry-level dSLRs, while full-frame is common for professional dSLRs.

Of course, those figures only apply the the two-thirds lens mount, which is what 35mm SLR cameras and the majority of Digital SLRs still use. Cameras with the new four-thirds mounting system use a smaller sensor with more glass, giving a higher focal length multiplier without any loss. For instance, all the Olympus SLRs from entry level to professional, have a much smaller sensor size of 17.3 x 13.0mm giving a 2x crop factor, but with a four-thirds mount lens they retain superior quality from the glass. "Full Frame" is an irrelevant term in that world.

[thelukeandrews]

I really want to get a fisheye lens.. but want to get the fisheye converter, as it will be for crazy party shots that will usually have a lot of lights and effects going on.. I dont mind a little vignetting or blurring toward the edges.

BUT my usual lens has a 67mm thread which is unheard of.. and I cant find a converter that fits.

So I saw this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Falcon-8mm-Fisheye-Lens-for-Nikon-D90-D80-D70s-D60-D40X_W0QQitemZ330357198570QQcategoryZ30070QQcmdZVi ewItem

It's still a lot.. but is half the price of a Nikon fisheye, and I'm sure the quality will be better than a converter. If I'd need to buy a whole new lens to fit a converter, I might as well buy this, right?

I cant find any sample pictures, though...

Anyone? Ideas? Advice? Suggestions? Links?

[morea]

Have you tried contacting the seller to see if they could provide sample pictures? Even though this lens is new, they may be able to direct you to something.