A Wise Precaution For Photographers

No one can really predict the future of technology - think of all those magazines in 1948 that had you flying to work in a car with folding wings and hopping down to the supermarket in a jet suit. Remember when your new vehicle was going to be gliding along automatic highways while you played cards - under a perspex dome? Sound like the trip to Joondalup at 5:45?  Ha ha ha.

Likewise with cameras. Digital? What's digital? Ahem...

Well, remember that even now we can hardly predict where our photographic careers will take us. There are quite a few instances I can recall of photographers changing brand-name systems right in mid stream even when the equipment they used was professional quality. They had their reasons, and we hope they found the peace of mind and results that they craved. But many of them had a difficult time of it.

You see the problem is that they changed from one extensive collection of lenses to another at the same time that they needed to change the body and flash systems. It could be quite confusing. To reduce this sort of stress, I would prescribe a course of preventative measures.

As they cannot tell which camera system or indeed which lens will prove best for future, wise photographers will lay down a cellar of lenses against need. If they are using, say, C cameras right now, they should buy lenses for N, P,S, and L cameras and put them aside in careful storage. The same can be said if you start from the N end, or the L, F, P, etc. It doesn't matter what you use now - if the internet forums, camera clubs, or voices in the night tell you to change systems - you will already be half-way there.

It is nothing less than sensible economics to divert some of the money each week that would be wasted on food, shelter, or medical treatment for your family to the purchase of lenses. Unlike children, lenses do not need to eat, rarely develop influenza, and will not pester you for sweets.

I have been asked if it is best to concentrate on one system, purchasing the full range of focal lengths for manufacturer A before moving on to manufacturer B - or whether one should buy up similar focal lengths from each manufacturer before moving on to the next one. It is really up to the individual. The goal is to own each lens from each manufacturer and to have them ready to use at a moment's notice.

In a future article we will deal with the case necessary to transport these lenses on a day-to-day basis in case the need to purchase new camera bodies occurs while one is out. Those of you who work for the railways and can get access to a 40' boxcar will be at an advantage here.

Note: Zoom lenses are no excuse for not possessing prime lenses. Remember that Boy Scouts are always prepared ... and that Girl Guides know it.