Lens Flair – Reviews of camera lenses
lensflair.pics
lensflair.pics
I'm no coder, but I have read a lot of "don't think about it, do it" posts here. I love photography; I'm very average, but I like trying something new and late last year I realise I have a lot of lenses and I thought I should force myself to use each of them in 2024 and 'review' them. It's an excuse, as much as anything, to lean into the constraint that each lens uses. I can't remember what I was reading here when I had the idea, but I do remember it was one of those "Amazing demo in [tiny amount]KB" and it made me think how much joy there is in constraint and trying something different, just for the fun of it.
I also am posting here as I've read a lot of "just get on with it"; arguments against faffing with formatting and tweaking, and it was with this in mind that I've used a fairly standard template in Wordpress (where I don't really know what I'm doing) and just got on and taken pictures and written, and not mucked around too much. I'm ten (of about 36) lenses in now, and enjoying it. Comments, criticism and anything else greatly received.
When I got my Sony a7ii I first though “the kit lens sucks categorically” then thought “wait, I took some really nice pictures with that lens” to “I gave it a try but I take better pictures with other lenses”
Lately I have been thinking about adding a long reach lens, like maybe the 24-70mm GM you mention but usually I pack something really long or really wide unless I am packing one of these
https://7artisans.store/products/7artisans-50mm-f0-95-large-...
(I know I shoulda got the full frame) which is manual focus but takes pictures like you’ve never seen before which puts it above many lenses that cost 10x as much in some way.
Packing too much is a vice of mine so I can understand some of the appeal of more compact lenses but I’m not willing to give up any image quality for it.
To that end I like primes, this is one of my favorites
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1126140-REG/sony_sel9...
which in my mind is a very versatile lens that is great for portraits, served me well when I ran into a pan anti-war protest the other day, and makes it easy to make shots of flowers, dolls, and other small things that nobody will mistake for a smartphone snap. (Of course I think a 70-200mm is really versatile too.)
Lately I’ve gotten a few lenses with aperture rings (like that 7Artisans) and I am gaga for them. Last year I got into sports photography and got one of these
https://electronics.sony.com/imaging/lenses/all-e-mount/p/se...
cause I was struggling with shooting volleyball indoors. I would not say it is versatile but if you can get composition right it takes amazing basketball shots not to mention field sports if you can get close enough. I am still feeling like I could use something crazy long for (both kinds of) football but given what those kind of lenses cost I might settle for a teleconverter.
One aspect I've loved of writing the reviews is some very cheap lenses (the Canon 135mm cost me very little second hand) take truly extraordinary pictures, and I don't think I'd have tried that lens if I hadn't had a go at this blog.
https://www.dxomark.com/best-sony-lenses
which fits my own experience that the pictures are great. I shot all of these in front of my barn
https://mastodon.social/@UP8/111052075781351382
and could not mix photos I took with my 70-200mm because the Bokeh looked night and day different between them..