Reader Comments on Lens Reviews

Reader Simon M writes to say:

Having subscribed to your site for a while now, and assembled a three lens kit for my Canon 5D2, I wanted so say how much I appreciate your lens reviews.

What I find so gratifying is that all of my new lenses (Zeiss 21mm and 35mm Distagons and Canon 90mm TS-E) behave exactly as you describe them. This is about so much more than sharpness, which so many reviewers focus on to the exclusion of everything else. It's about the way a lens draws, its character, the way it responds in different situations and depending on the subject matter, the quality of the light, etc, etc.

This is what makes buying lenses so difficult. First impressions aren't enough. It takes time to get to know a lens. By then, of course, it's too late to send it back. You are committed and, if things don't work out, the only way out is a loss-making part exchange or EBay fire-sale. I know, I've been there, more times than I care to admit.

But every lens I have bought on the strength of your detailed reviews has been a keeper. Of course, none of them is perfect. But this only adds to the difficulty, because every lens purchase is a compromise between a dozen or more different and sometimes conflicting criteria. Just as important are the lenses I decided not to buy, for various reasons, because I realized they were not for me.

The crucial point here is that these were good lenses, just not the right lenses for me. Obviously, you couldn't have known that. But you gave me the information I needed to make up my own mind. You might think that all reviews should do that. But, trust me, they don't. So thank you, and keep up the good work.

DIGLLOYD: I can’t think of any better result from my reviews than is captured here!

Zeiss 100mm ƒ/2 Makro-Planar (double exposure)

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Reader Comments on Lens Reviews