Prime or Zoom?

MGarrick

MGarrick

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Name
Martin
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Yes
I'm thinking of upgrading my lens... and I'm not sure whether to go for prime or zoom.

I'm looking at the high-end ones, so what are everyone's recommendations? Pros / cons of each?

M.
 
What are you going to be shooting?
 
I have the Canon 1Ds MkII and my lenses are the nifty fifty (because of the superb value and excellent quality), the 28-135mm IS USM because it's perfect for most situations, and is also quite sharp except at the edges on my FF camera, and the 70-300mm L IS USM, coupled with the Kenko extension tubes for close ups of insects etc and also for exceptional results on most other subjects.

I also have the 40mm "pancake lens" for ad hoc landscapes etc.
 
Hi Martin

As above, what system are you shooting - helps a lot for recommendations :D

What lenses do you currently have and which are you looking to upgrade ???
 
Sorry yes that would be helpful wouldn't it.

I have the Sigma 150-500mm. I like to shoot wildlife mostly, occasionally some landscape (obviously a telephoto is not for a landscape pic!).

Shooting with Canon!
 
I love primes. The only zoom I own is a 70-200 2.8. There's only a few situations I found where I've really needed a zoom. One is air-to-air photography from fast jets (I mostly used a 17-40L for that) as I had to make the focal length fit the situation not the other way round. The other occasions is sport where I found the 70-200 to be extremely good. Again, that's a situation where I have to fit around what is happening from one static position.

All other times it's prime lenses for me. One great plus point for primes is that you can get high image quality and a fast lens for little money. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need to spend a lot on primes. The law of diminishing returns is definitely in force. The standard prime from all the top manufacturers tend to be very good. There's little point shelling out for lenses like the 85 1.2 unless you have that money to burn.

If I was still shooting Canon, my pick for a general walk around set-up on a FF camera would be: EF28mm 1.8, EF50mm 1.8, EF85mm 1.8, Sigma 105 Macro (cheaper non-OS one).
 
I shoot with both.
Zooms for versatility or if the subject is suitable for long exposures.
Primes for mostly low light hand held shooting (all are f2 or faster). Sometimes it is good, or fun just to walk around with just one lens.
Short telephotos (say out to 105mm) can be great for some landscapes and even longer teles OK sometimes.

What is it about your existing lens(es) that restrtict your photography?
Do you want faster?
Do you want wider?
Do you want longer?
Do you want better mechanical performance (mostly focussing speed)?
Do you want better IQ?
Do you want versatility?
 
Iv found myself leaning more towards primes recently picking up the 35mm sigma art which I LOVE. The canon 50mm 1.4 and canon 85mm 1.8. Even though I love these lenses for their quality I still wouldn't sell my canon 24-70. Yes it weighs a lot but it's such a great all around lens. I'd say go prime though as the quality seems to pop more and that's what I'm after.

Recently bought the canon 40mm pancake lens also just so I can throw my camera into my normal bag for days out :)
 
This to me is going to be personal choice zooms have come a long way in iq stakes so it depends on shoot. The sigma you have will take some beating for wildlife landscapes then may be a prime or zoom which canon
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm balancing two things:
- Sharpness of primes and their speed, but being limited to one crop.
- Zooms, less sharp maybe, and not as quick - but composition is easily done with a choice of crops.
 
I wouldn't worry about sharpness unless shooting at the very widest apertures and viewing closely and even then once you get to something like f4 or maybe even wider you may not be able to tell a good zoom shot from a good prime.

IMVHO primes are for the wide aperture, macro, packaging and the love of them :D
 
MGarrick said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm balancing two things:
- Sharpness of primes and their speed, but being limited to one crop.
- Zooms, less sharp maybe, and not as quick - but composition is easily done with a choice of crops.
Click to expand...

Make a choice:
Composition can be changed by using a different focal length primes or changing your shooting position.

If shooting in reasonable light levels, where you can shoot aound optimal apertures and your technique is good then a zoom may meet your needs otherwise a fast prime may be your only alternative..
 
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