While reading some reviews of older lenses, I keep reading "It's soft wide open, but that's not always a problem with portraits." Over my rather short time in photography thus far, I've come to appreciate very sharp portraits and if some softness is needed, it's easier to add softness than to add actual, true clarity.
Am I missing something here? Why would you want to buy a soft lens? (Note, I'm not talking about an adjustable "soft focus" lens, just an older, not sharp lens).
Answer
Ah, I think what you may be missing is that you're putting two things together that aren't intended to be:
A lens that is soft isn't necessarily bad for portraits because people often soften portrait shots anyways and so the lens isn't really a problem.
Prefering a soft lens because the softness is a desirable feature.
They seem the same, but they aren't. The first is really a statement that, in the right conditions, the softness of the lens has really no impact. This is not a statement of desire, I think.
Anyways, all that they are really saying is that the soft lens may not be totally useless, so don't just throw it away.
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