I’m going on a cruise in a week courtesy of my aunt and uncle. I’ve never been on a cruise (“vacations” are a foreign concept to me for the most part), but I just know there will be a multitude of photo opportunities over the trip. This brings me to the reason I’m writing this article today.
I took this opportunity to acquire a Pentax FA 31mm f1.8 Limited lens. It’s been on my wanted list since I’ve owned a DSLR, but I’ve always found a justification to not buy one (usually “It’s too expensive” was the reason). This trip was the deciding factor as I wanted a single lens to rule them all. While I plan on taking one or two other lenses with me, the 31mm will be my primary tool.
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| Pentax Fa31mm |
If you’ve been interested in SLR and DSLR cameras for a few years, you will probably know the term LBA (Lens Buyers Anonymous/Lens Buying Addiction). It’s an affliction that “serious hobbyist” photographers get that leads them to serial buying of camera lenses. They find any justification to increase their flock. It could really be any reason at all. While I can’t say I have LBA (due to lack of funds), I do have short bouts of it every once in a while…
At one point I had made a pretty cringe-y skit talking about LBA:
Let’s go over aspects of LBA inflicted photographers:
- They have a gap of 5mm in their prime lens collection. Reminding them they can use either lens by taking 3 steps forward or backward won’t change their mind.
- Their old macro lens isn’t weather resistant, but the replacement lens is. They buy the replacement and keep the old lens because only the old lens has a focus range limiter.
- They saw a review of a lens and were utterly blown away by the resolution graph.
- They buy a f1.0 or f1.2 lens because their gaggle of f1.4 lenses just don’t cut it for low light and/or bokeh.
- They own a lens for every type of event and subject. Children playing, indoor ball games, outdoor ball games, airshows, concerts, conventions, bugs, astronomy, …you name it.
- They like shinny stuff.
- Their multitude of cat and dog photos would be so much better with that $2500 telephoto lens.
- They tell themselves that pro glass is an investment.
- Their portraits would be so much better with that f1.4 telephoto.
- They have 5 lenses in the range, but this new lens has rounded aperture blades.
- That 1000mm f8 lens on ebay is too cheap to pass up.
- They want a full range of lenses with built-in image stabilization.
- They want to definitively test the differences between two or more lenses that have the same focal length.
- They spend more time analyzing their lenses than actually using them.
- They buy and sell gear more often than camera shops.
- They have learned special justification techniques that even convince their significant other that new lens is necessary.
- They need both rectilinear and fisheye lenses in the same focal length.
- Their landscape art dictate the need for the highest resolution lens possible. It’s almost like a quest.
- Their manual focus lens collection is larger than their auto focus one.
- They are on a quest for the ultimate zoom lens and end up with a multitude of lenses with similar focal length ranges.
- Their friend just bought such-and-such lens and now they need one after seeing it.
Okay, so by now you probably have guessed I’m not serious. The really funny thing is sometimes those reasons are true.