Oh No, I'm a Gear Geek!

I never used to be like this. I didn’t read reviews, I didn’t keep up on the latest and greatest in equipment. I dislike the attention that so many photographers place on gear, and I have always been something of a contrarian in that regard. Digital, however, does not forgive inattention to current technology. I’ve had to recalibrate my attitude in this new environment.

A digital sensor records light differently than film. It shows this sharply with wide angle lenses. Film can record light falling on it from any angle. Digital requires light to fall upon the sensor perpendicularly. For a wide angle lens to deliver light in this way at the corners is a tall order.

My old lenses are not up to the task, I have reluctantly been forced to conclude. I have been avoiding my old standby lens lately, my 28-105mm zoom, out of an inarticulated feeling of disappointment with the resulting images. It seemed too soft on the corners, noticably so even at a full frame view. At Glazers I asked to borrow a new 28-105 to see if it was just my version. "That’s a terrible lens for digital," I was told. "It's a great lens for film, but it has serious falloff." This I knew. Even at f/8 the sharpness was marginal. "You should be looking at an L lens." He pulled out a 24-105mm f/4 for me to try out. It was big. It was heavy. It had Image Stabilization, a technology I had pooh-poohed before now.

I went home and looked at reviews. It seemed that my digital sensor resolution was indeed exceeding the resolution of my old lenses. And that this lens was very good. I went back and bought it this afternoon.

Typically, if my exposure is under 1/60th of a second, I reach for my tripod. Here is a tack sharp image I was able to make this afternoon, at 1/8th of a second. Handheld. With the lens racked out to 105mm. This could change my life.

 

Comments

[carsten]

i also own a copy of the 24-105L and it is my favorite lens for most things. i have taken reasonably sharp 1-second shots in a dark technical museum by leaning on things and synchronising with my breathing. the 24-70L browd like to bash it, but i doubt they understand what they are missing here. this lens has saved shots i would otherwise never have gotten.

i wish canon would make a 100mm macro IS lens...