Lens Flares Aren't for Me

I do not like lens flares.

But, I didn’t have a choice.

These flares are not the result of some fancy tricks of the trade, they are not manufactured in post, they were not even wanted. They are the result of a lens that is scratched to hell, beaten into the ground and dragged on every single adventure I have been on in the last two years. This lens isn’t fancy, it isn’t high tech, it isn’t even top of the line; it just works.

For those of you that don’t know, I shoot photos on a multitude of Nikon cameras and mainly, my Nikon z8. The lens that shot all of these and a huge percentage of the photos that you have seen from me in the last couple years has been a 24-200 z mount, nikkor lens. It isn’t spendy, it isn’t fancy, it isn’t fast and it has an annoying focus distance (I almost always am inches closer than it wants to focus). But, it covers the ranges I need it to, it does the job and it never comes off my camera.

Should I buy a new one? Yes. Could I upgrade? For sure. Am I going to? No, why would I?

It still works.

My point here is that you don’t need the nicest, newest, fanciest, shiniest, spendiest lens that you can get. Just use what you have, don’t be afraid of used and just shoot pictures.

You might even get some added character in your photos.