Why do photographers who specialize in a single field have so many lenses?

cnutco · Feb 16, 2011

MWG said:
It's a sickness.

That sums it up rather nicely!

KmH · Feb 16, 2011

Photo Marksman said:
Why do photographers who specialize in a single field have so many lenses?

You can't base this question on what the one photographer you spoke with does.

Maybe he had Asperger's syndrome.

Stradawhovious · Feb 16, 2011

Some people just like glass.

Same reason I have a bookshelf full of rifle scopes that will probably never again see the steel of a boom-stick, and I have been spending more money that I currently have on vintage glass for the Nikon.

I just like glass. I'm intrigued by the properties of quality optics. Fascinated by them. I know it's possible, because I see it every day, but I'm still amazed that such a minute difference in the shape of a piece of glass can so drastically change they way we see things...... not only that, but when you couple them with other pieces of shaped glass, you can see things that were never before possible......

The detail of the Iris of the eye from an animal in the wild,
The cell walls of the leaf of a plant,
You can focus on something 5 feet away, and within seconds have the same focus and FOV on something 200 feet away.
etc.
etc.
etc.

Just Fascinating.

(yeah, I'm a nerd. So what of it?)

ghache · Feb 16, 2011

The only thing you really need is a good wide angle, a good mid range zoom and a longer zoom lens to do mostly anything. some nature and sport photographers need longer lens but really you can do anything with 3-4 good zoom lens or primes that covers the 10 to 300 range.

but hey, buying lens can become ilness pretty quick.

DerekSalem · Feb 16, 2011

Like others have said, although he only does Landscape photography I'm sure there are times when he needs other lenses. Let's say he goes to an Airshow or museum...could be the rest of those lenses are great for other things.

Scatterbrained · Feb 16, 2011

ghache said:
The only thing you really need is a good wide angle, a good mid range zoom and a longer zoom lens to do mostly anything. some nature and sport photographers need longer lens but really you can do anything with 3-4 good zoom lens or primes that covers the 10 to 300 range.

but hey, buying lens can become ilness pretty quick.

If that were the case I don't think you'd see so many real estate/architecture togs with tilt/shift lenses.