GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is real, and I’m a sufferer. But I’m trying to keep it in check, and I decided earlier this year that I shouldn’t buy any new gear in 2023. About two years ago, I sold my all my Nikon gear that used the F-mount (a D4s with a few lenses – I used to do a lot of sports photography). I used the money to buy a second hand Nikon Z7 with a lens.
Anyway, "after" Covid, I got asked to do some sports photography again. From my previous experience, I knew that I needed a 24-70/2.8 + 70-200/2.8 … but there were no third-party lenses and there was no way I could afford the versions Nikon sells. But after some investigations I found the 28-75/2.8 which was reasonably priced, so I bought that one. However, I couldn’t find any alternative, so I decided to buy the FTZ II adapter and a second hand F-mount 70-200/2.8.
While this combination has worked, in some sense, during the last year, there have been several times that I have wanted to throw away the lens. Last weekend really made me angry. What happened was that:
- The lens stopped focusing, it didn’t focus at all. It didn’t just miss the focus, it completely stopped focusing.
- The lens locked up the Z7 and I had to restart it.
- It started to hunt for focus, preventing me from taking the photos I needed to take.
All in all, the lens acted up perhaps 50 times during a 90-minute photo shoot, resulting in me missing numerous shots that, I think, could have resulted in excellent photos.
With two similar events planned, I started to look at lenses again and found the new 70-180/2.8 which is about half the price of the 70-200/2.8. I then looked at some reviews and while the 70-200/2.8 is better than the 70-180/2.8, the 70-180 is good enough for me. Luckily enough, Nikon has an offer on that lens, among others, that makes it 11% cheaper than normal.
So here I am, the person who said, "no more gear in 2023", waiting for a new lens – sigh. And yes, I’m going to sell the Tamron 70-200 and use the money wisely … I hope.