Why Professional Glass Is Better If You Need To Repair A Lens
One of the first things a photographer considers after they have been shooting for some times is should they purchase professional glass, stick with their kit or go third party and save some extra money? Its a tough call even now after I have been shooting professionally for over a decade. Professional glass is expensive, doesn’t matter what manufacturer you choose to go with the glass is going to break the bank. But what happens when you accidentally damage your new investment?
Accidents happen and I am a huge advocate for having insurance on your gear. But it can get confusing when you begin to look for options to insure your gear or if you even should do it in the first place. Many times insurance is only going to cover injury to your client or theft of your equipment, not general repairs and accidents from it rolling off the roof of your car because you forgot it and drove away. So what happens when you accidentally drop your new 24-70 F/2.8 and it doesn’t focus right? Or maybe you were out shooting on location in the sand and wind and now your zoom ring doesn’t turn as nicely as you remember, either way, I would take a professional piece of glass over a cheaper alternative anyway.
Professional gear is built to be broken and repaired over and over again. Much of the cost that is associated with professional glass over cheaper more affordable consumer variations is that from the ground up these lenses have been built with longevity in mind. High-end camera makers know their customers use their gear in all kinds of crazy situations and scenarios in the field. The parts inside these lenses are made to be broken so that they can be repaired later for a more inexpensive cost. Consumer lenses are engineered with cost and value in mind.
An amateur is concerned with the price of the initial purchase vs earning that cost back over a number of years and shoots. This is why when you generally break a consumer lens it's often harder or impossible to repair because the internal parts have been made to a certain price point and generally that means they cannot be repaired due to the cost-cutting measures used to produce them. Plastic is wonderful but once it's been sonically welded together, you cannot open it up and replace parts.
A professional lens is going to be made of heavier and more durable materials. The internals of these pieces will also be overly engineered so that they can be pieced out and replaced easily for years to come. Everything slips together and tucks away perfectly so that you don’t see any of this extra work but when you end up needing to replace a part that has failed it is much easier to get to and replace it than a consumer lens that has been made to a budget. All of the extra engineering, planning, and manufacturing requires a higher price point. It's not just better glass or a metal housing that is making these lenses fetch thousands of dollars. Having the added benefit of being able to break the lens down into smaller replaceable pieces takes time and planning.
Repairs are not cheap either, but professionals do not just purchase a piece of gear and let it sit only taking it out every few weekends. Our gear pays for itself with the gigs we work and when it comes time to repair something I would rather pay $400 to have it working like new again vs having to replace the entire lens again for over $4000. It is easy to get worked up over the prices of professional gear or even complain about how heavy they are. But when I am out working and earning a living with my camera I would much rather bear the burden of a heavy piece of glass knowing that if something happens I will be fine vs having to replace a middle of the road lens that cannot be repaired because it's been designed with a budget in mind.
