any thing you guys regret buying for your camera?

[alfa147x]

any thing you guys regret buying for your camera?

For me it was the
Canon 28 - 90mm f/4.0 - 5.6

over the canon kit lens for the XTI what was i thinking ...

 

[jmagg]

I regret selling my 18-55 nikon kit lens. It was a decent macro lens.

 

[randomlinh]

fixing it. I should have just let it sit for a few months and picked up a 20D since I knew the 40D's were around the corner.

I also regret selling my 70-200 f/4L a little.. it was awesome.. just couldn't justify keeping it

 

[troytime]

Originally posted by: jmagg
I regret selling my 18-55 nikon kit lens. It was a decent macro lens.

??

reversed?

 

[jmagg]

Opposites attract

 

[ZOXXO]

A 55-200mmf/4-5.6 ED Nikon lens.

This was my first lens purchase after the initial kit 17-80 and thrifty fifty lenses bought with the body.

Bought it in rush to have something loner than 70mm but never shot anything to justify the cost of the inexpensive lens.

In hindsight the money would have been much better spent on a higher quality telephoto lens.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I regret spending the $10 to buy an inflatable flash diffuser off of eBay. The thing just doesn't work.

I HIGHLY regret not buying plastic bags to line the inside of my LowePro bag to keep water from drowning all my batteries, cell phone, and PDA that time I got bowled over and carried along the beach by a massive wave at the ocean.

 

[NTB]

I don't exactly regret buying it, because if I *do* need it, it's a godsend - but that said, I only use my 35mm f/2 like once in a blue moon.

Nathan

 

[ElFenix]

2 2GB cards last time i went on vacation. should have bought 4 or 5.

 

[soydios]

I use pretty much all my lenses. They each serve a purpose. My 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR serves most of them, but a jack-of-all-trades is by definition a compromise. Because of that, I have my 80-200mm f/2.8 push-pull for sports, 50mm f/1.8D for anything that needs the nifty fifty, 24-85mm f/2.8-4.0D for lower-light zoom and 24mm f/2.8 work, and 35mm f/2.0D for low-light standard prime.

I do regret not paying the extra $100 for a brand-new 35/2, because mine has oil on the aperture blades, and thus overexposes by a stop, but it's inconsistent. Still, the primary use of this lens is at f/2.0 in a dark theatre, so it's worth the $225 I paid for it over eBay (though the seller did not disclose the oil).

 

[alfa147x]

Originally posted by: soydios
I use pretty much all my lenses. They each serve a purpose. My 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR serves most of them, but a jack-of-all-trades is by definition a compromise. Because of that, I have my 80-200mm f/2.8 push-pull for sports, 50mm f/1.8D for anything that needs the nifty fifty, 24-85mm f/2.8-4.0D for lower-light zoom and 24mm f/2.8 work, and 35mm f/2.0D for low-light standard prime.

I do regret not paying the extra $100 for a brand-new 35/2, because mine has oil on the aperture blades, and thus overexposes by a stop, but it's inconsistent. Still, the primary use of this lens is at f/2.0 in a dark theatre, so it's worth the $225 I paid for it over eBay (though the seller did not disclose the oil).

im new to this but what would oil do to a lens' blades?

 

[GrJohnso]

Oil on the aperture blades slows them down, not allowing them to achieve the correct setting in time for an accurate exposure... Basically the extra oil on the blades adds resistance, slowing, and sometimes entirely sticking them in place. Symptoms, under-exposed shots, etc... This leads me to my one regret so far..

Picked up a 35-70mm macro Minolta F4 lens off ebay and it showed up with oily blades... kills me at anything close to wide open... But, I only spent $40 or so, so it's not all bad. I'll be opening this up to try to clean them myself... low cost risk...

Also regret getting a Sigma EX 1.4x teleconverter instead of a Minolta or generic. The Sigma one is great, as long as you have a matched lens. It's not compatible with the big zooms I hoped to use it for. I requested a TC as a gift, and received this one. So, it wasn't my wrong choice, but my error for not being more specific... Oh well... Guess it's a good excuse to get a nice Sigma EX telephoto lens..

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: GrJohnso
Oil on the aperture blades slows them down, not allowing them to achieve the correct setting in time for an accurate exposure... Basically the extra oil on the blades adds resistance, slowing, and sometimes entirely sticking them in place. Symptoms, under-exposed shots, etc... This leads me to my one regret so far..

Picked up a 35-70mm macro Minolta F4 lens off ebay and it showed up with oily blades... kills me at anything close to wide open... But, I only spent $40 or so, so it's not all bad. I'll be opening this up to try to clean them myself... low cost risk...

Also regret getting a Sigma EX 1.4x teleconverter instead of a Minolta or generic. The Sigma one is great, as long as you have a matched lens. It's not compatible with the big zooms I hoped to use it for. I requested a TC as a gift, and received this one. So, it wasn't my wrong choice, but my error for not being more specific... Oh well... Guess it's a good excuse to get a nice Sigma EX telephoto lens..

Oil on the blades should mess you up the more stopped down you are, not the more wide open you are. When you're stopped down by a lot, the aperture blades have to travel a longer distance in X amount of time to get to their stopped down stage. With the lens close to wide open, the blades don't have to travel as far to stop down, so there shouldn't be that big of an OVERexposure (not underexposure) problem. With the lens wide open, there shouldn't be any difference because the aperture blades aren't moving to begin with.

I absolutely hated the Sigma EX TC that I got (and sold). The protruding rear element makes it incompatible and even dangerous to use with a lot of lenses if you're not careful. I would highly recommend selling the thing and getting a Kenko 1.4X TC. These TCs fit on any lens and in my experience are sharper than the Sigmas.

 

[shortylickens]

I just posted about it but......
My one regret is having a day of fun with my baby and then leaving the lens cap off.

I know thats a beginners mistake but I sometimes suffer from dementia, would have bet money I put the cap back on. In retrospect I should have checked it one last time before I went to bed that night.

So I guess my purchasing regret is a new camera that I shouldnt have had to buy.

 

[GrJohnso]

Hey Fuzzy... Yes, I'll probably go ahead and sell that TC. It is definitely a hazard to any lens it's not designed to go with. And yes, the Kenko looks like the best bet for me and lens compatibility. I just have been dragging my feet since it was a gift. Luckily enough time has now gone by that I can do it without getting noticed...

As for oily blade issue, it's true that it should overexpose as the spring is fighting against the resistance of the oil when closing more than the camera fighting against the oil induced resistance when opening things up. But, for some reason, my A100 has issues with this lens wide open too... As I cycle through the f-stops going from F4 on up, the exposures get more accurate before they start to go to bright... Didn't make sense when I took my first test shots, but the reality is there. Definitely notice the lag in the viewfinder when checking DOF when stepped down as well... Annoying!

Anyway, now I have an excuse to break this thing down and see what makes it tick... Wish me luck...

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: GrJohnso
Hey Fuzzy... Yes, I'll probably go ahead and sell that TC. It is definitely a hazard to any lens it's not designed to go with. And yes, the Kenko looks like the best bet for me and lens compatibility. I just have been dragging my feet since it was a gift. Luckily enough time has now gone by that I can do it without getting noticed...

As for oily blade issue, it's true that it should overexpose as the spring is fighting against the resistance of the oil when closing more than the camera fighting against the oil induced resistance when opening things up. But, for some reason, my A100 has issues with this lens wide open too... As I cycle through the f-stops going from F4 on up, the exposures get more accurate before they start to go to bright... Didn't make sense when I took my first test shots, but the reality is there. Definitely notice the lag in the viewfinder when checking DOF when stepped down as well... Annoying!

Anyway, now I have an excuse to break this thing down and see what makes it tick... Wish me luck...

Yeah, that is kinda weird with the aperture blade thing. Good luck on taking apart the lens I've taken apart a Minolta lens before (28-70mm) and I got the aperture blades exposed by taking it apart through the rear element end. I also managed to take it apart from the front element end, popping out the front element and I think exposing the aperture blades from that end as well. Not too sure what you would use to clean oil off of the blade mechanism though.

 

[soydios]

There's so much oil on my blades, that it over-exposes until I get to f/16 or f/22. If I set f/2.8, the blades just stay stuck at the wide-open f/2. If I set f/4, they stop at f/2.8, and so on until I set a small enough aperture that the force of the aperture snapping closed gets them all the way to their final position.

I really only use it at f/2 for low-light work where the slower shutter speed is more of a problem than minimal depth of field (the lens is surprisingly sharp at wide-open f/2). But, does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?

There's also a thin film of oil on one of the elements inside the lens, so I might just end up sending it to Nikon. Any ideas how much this might cost?

 

[GTaudiophile]

Buying the Sigma 30 F1.4 for Canon AF.

Had brilliant potential but was a real dud in the end. Really wish Canon would make a new 50/1.4 or a 30/1.4.

 

[alfa147x]

How do you know there is oil on the blades?
and
were does the oil come from?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Buying the Sigma 30 F1.4 for Canon AF.

Had brilliant potential but was a real dud in the end. Really wish Canon would make a new 50/1.4 or a 30/1.4.

what's wrong with the current 50/1.4?

 

[soydios]

Originally posted by: alfa147x
How do you know there is oil on the blades?
and
were does the oil come from?

I can see the oil very clearly on the blades when I look in the back of the lens and move the aperture around.
It's a known problem with the 35mm f/2.0D, but I took a chance for $100 less than retail on an early Sunday morning ending auction. The seller didn't disclose it in their auction.

 

[rml]

Regret buying the Canon BP200EG Backpack after I bought my slingshot camera bag.

Highly recommend the slingshot style camera bag PAQ BP-04003

 

[skulkingghost]

The lens hood is always getting in the shots.... oh well it was only 5 or ten bucks. Was supposed to be adjustable, but it is not. I will be getting a new flower shaped one soon.

 

[corkyg]

Last June I lost my EOS 5D and three lenses. I considered them unrecoverable. But, lo and behold, I got them all back in September. What I regret is replacing them in August.

As for the EF 50mm f/1.4 lens, that was one of them, and I was happy to get it back. It is a very good lens and I use it a lot.

50mm

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Buying the Sigma 30 F1.4 for Canon AF.

Had brilliant potential but was a real dud in the end. Really wish Canon would make a new 50/1.4 or a 30/1.4.

what's wrong with the current 50/1.4?

Ring USM would be nice over Micro USM. That and some improved lens coatings would be good too.