06-30-2016, 01:27 AM
Man, I feel like an idiot. I kept thinking my posts were lost because the link I got transferred me to page one! So there are a lot of points that I did not see or address. And yes, I went off on some tangents responding to older posts, and so on. Sorry!
I don't know where to start, so I'll try to go back and respond to the comments and suggestions.
-Actually, I don't mind hearing about the EF-s lenses because my idea was to maintain both systems. In fact I did look at the EF-s 18-135mm, and I must say I was very surprised by the reviews. Reason being the 18-55mm kit lens (I have 3 versions of it) have actually always been highly valued by me. Some of my favorite reviewers have heaped praise on them. So...I would have assumed the 18-55mm, 55-250 IS STM combination would be superior. All I can say is, it is surprising, though I don't think I can betray my trusty two STM kit lenses. Still, very interesting reading.
-My point about stopping down is not connected with portraiture, although there are times (shooting vacation trip shots outdoors) was sort of a separate issue. Most of my Macros are shot with a ring light at F/11 or some other higher value. If not ring light, then sometimes a camera mounted Speedlite, or built-in flash. Not always. Sometimes I use ambient light, or LED lights. But I am wondering if I might be suffering some diffraction as a result.
The other issue, is simply outdoor photography in California in the summer...LOL I set the ISO to 100 set, say, an Olympus OM 50mm f/1.8 to F/8, and ...hold on (it's 6:00pm) ...I had to use a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 because the mount for the Olympus is on some other lens, but the Olympus is much brighter, don't ask me why. Anyway, cool day, 6pm and at f/8 I'm at 1/2000th for speed. Last weekend I had to set the Oly to f/11 to be able to shoot anything!
Thirdly, and maybe I am over explaining (?) but most of my sometimes loved, sometimes hated legacy lenses really aren't sharp until f/8, so unless I purposely want a soft of shallow photo I "feel" forces to shoot at f/8 or f/11 where some lenses that are useless wide open become light sabers!
I have to go for a while, but wanted to say your comments have really helped me think about what I am after. Image quality is an illusive thing, and somebody said in another post maybe they have to get the mirrorless M3 just to get the very sweet sounding 28mm Macro. To whoever said that...I like the way you think! For ten long years I have been doing things the cheap way. (That was a Yongnuo ring light by the way). And now I just feel like pushing the limits forward a little. I've taken some good pictures with good lenses on good cameras. But I'd like to raise my own bar just a bit (a lot if I'm lucky). So I've set my sights on a few new tools. The first were pretty painless. The remaining ones such as the 6D are harder for me to be sure about.
I don't know where to start, so I'll try to go back and respond to the comments and suggestions.
-Actually, I don't mind hearing about the EF-s lenses because my idea was to maintain both systems. In fact I did look at the EF-s 18-135mm, and I must say I was very surprised by the reviews. Reason being the 18-55mm kit lens (I have 3 versions of it) have actually always been highly valued by me. Some of my favorite reviewers have heaped praise on them. So...I would have assumed the 18-55mm, 55-250 IS STM combination would be superior. All I can say is, it is surprising, though I don't think I can betray my trusty two STM kit lenses. Still, very interesting reading.
-My point about stopping down is not connected with portraiture, although there are times (shooting vacation trip shots outdoors) was sort of a separate issue. Most of my Macros are shot with a ring light at F/11 or some other higher value. If not ring light, then sometimes a camera mounted Speedlite, or built-in flash. Not always. Sometimes I use ambient light, or LED lights. But I am wondering if I might be suffering some diffraction as a result.
The other issue, is simply outdoor photography in California in the summer...LOL I set the ISO to 100 set, say, an Olympus OM 50mm f/1.8 to F/8, and ...hold on (it's 6:00pm) ...I had to use a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 because the mount for the Olympus is on some other lens, but the Olympus is much brighter, don't ask me why. Anyway, cool day, 6pm and at f/8 I'm at 1/2000th for speed. Last weekend I had to set the Oly to f/11 to be able to shoot anything!
Thirdly, and maybe I am over explaining (?) but most of my sometimes loved, sometimes hated legacy lenses really aren't sharp until f/8, so unless I purposely want a soft of shallow photo I "feel" forces to shoot at f/8 or f/11 where some lenses that are useless wide open become light sabers!
I have to go for a while, but wanted to say your comments have really helped me think about what I am after. Image quality is an illusive thing, and somebody said in another post maybe they have to get the mirrorless M3 just to get the very sweet sounding 28mm Macro. To whoever said that...I like the way you think! For ten long years I have been doing things the cheap way. (That was a Yongnuo ring light by the way). And now I just feel like pushing the limits forward a little. I've taken some good pictures with good lenses on good cameras. But I'd like to raise my own bar just a bit (a lot if I'm lucky). So I've set my sights on a few new tools. The first were pretty painless. The remaining ones such as the 6D are harder for me to be sure about.