Re: matching camera lenses

[P3D Greg Erker <erker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> If I bought two 50mm lenses of the same make and model, do you
>think I'd stand a chance of it working? Would buying two new ones
>from the same dealer at the same time (thus improving chances that
>the two would be from the same "batch,") make it any more likely that
>they would match? I mean, I'm probably going to try this anyway, but
>right now I'm having "pre-purchase anxiety."

  Follow Dr T's advice and buy two used 50mm's. F/2's should
probably be available for most common SLRs for maybe $30 each US
(search the web for used camera places). Buy two or three
and try them out. Any extras can be used as a 5x loupe for
checking slides (in 2d) or sold on rec.photo.marketplace
for $15 to $20. Not a real big investment for most people.

  Take a picture of a brick wall (perpendicular to it)
and try each lens without moving the camera. Keep notes.
Mount the resulting slides in (discontinued) Albion
mounts lining up the images at the bottom. Notice how
much different they are at the top. If you bought more
than two lenses use the closest two.

Regards - Greg E.



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