Alan Browne wrote in message . ..
here are the results.
No surprise that the most common FL was 50mm (19 of 69 lenses),
and most of those the humble f/1.7 or f/1.8.

Next most common were the 100/105s, although due to some people
distinguishing between use as portrait or macro, this might not
be a good 'lumping'.

Third on the list is split between fast 50s (f/1.2&1.4) and 28s.

Only 6 of 69 (9%) lenses were non-OEM
(I counted MS' "Leitz" lenses as being OEM).

Notes:
a) 50mm lenses were sub-divided into categories:
-f/1.2+f/1.4
-f/1.7, f/1.8 + f/2.0
-f/2.8

As a couple respondants had more than one 50mm f/1.8 lens, the "%
of resp" below has been corrected accordingly.

b) 105's are counted as 100's. This might not be fair as some
100's are macro whereas the 105's are not. So a seperate summary
is added below the main list.

69 lenses were reported. (Michael B, your MF lenses were not counted)

Chris your "420" was reported as a 300.

FL (mm) Number % of resp.
15 2 14%
18 1 7%
20 3 21%
24 4 29%
28 7 50%
35 4 29%
50 7 50% (f/1.2 & 1.4)
50 11 64% (f/1.7 & f/1.8)
50 1 7% (f/2.8)
55 2 14%
70 1 7%
85 4 29%
90 3 21%
100/105 8 57%
135 2 14%
180 2 14%
200 2 14%
300 3 21%
400 1 7%
560 1 7%

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

8 100/105's broke down as:

3: macro (and portrait)
5: portrait

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Non OEM lenses reported:
Sigma: 1
Tokina: 2
Cosina: 1
Rikoh: 1
Vivitar: 1

Only one Sigma lens among the entire survey pool? I can see that we
are dealing with people who don't understand anything precision
optics. Sigma lenses are superior to all other maufacturers' in both
build and optics. Yes, I admit that there can be some compatibility
issues when using Sigma's great lenses on third party camera bodies,
so the ultimate thing is to buy a Sigma body too.

The Sigma SD and SA camera lines generally do not require the use of a
tripod unless you are doing a long exposure over 1 second. Images are
always tack sharp. There is some mystery feature built into the Sigma
camera bodies that prevent camera shake. Of course, Sigma does not
need to brag like Canon or Minolta by throwing a "IS" or "AS" in front
of the camera.

Hope this helps,

-Orville