Shooting only with primes?

dan_yorkshire

dan_yorkshire

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Dan
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Anyone shoot with only primes?

I'm a keen amateur and people photography makes up 95% of what I enjoy shooting and I find myself preferring to shoot with primes than a zoom.

Obviously the quickness of the lens helps and the bokeh is usually pretty nice.

However I just find a take better shots with them, probably because I have to think more about composition than zooming in/out a bit and firing, almost becoming pretty lazy.

Anyone else of the same thinking?
 
I think you need the right tool for every job. Primes may deliver sharper pictures with DOF effects. In some cases, like portraiture or macro this may be very beneficial. Some jobs like landscape and photojournalism prefer zooms. It is not wise to move step off the ledge, walk far in to the sea, etc to compose the shot. It may also require sudden lens changes, when there is little time. And how about a 22mm or 32mm prime? Cropping loses IQ very quickly...
 
Agree, shooting with my 50mm does make me think more and also allows me to be a little more creative. There are cases though when you really do need the zoom though.
 
I use 35mm and 50mm primes only. And have done for the past two years. The kit lens has been sat in the cupboard since I bought them.

I'd love to have something wider. But I'm not made of money unfortunately
 
For a typical trip out (when I'm not looking for wildlife / sports shots) I'll just take my 5D with Carl Zeiss Distagon 28/2.8, Planar 50/1.4 and either Sonnar 135/2.8 or Pentacon 135/2.8 (if I need the bokeh :)).

However, I'm going to New York next year so will probably pack my Nikon 20/4 too :)
 
daugirdas said:
I think you need the right tool for every job. Primes may deliver sharper pictures with DOF effects. In some cases, like portraiture or macro this may be very beneficial. Some jobs like landscape and photojournalism prefer zooms. It is not wise to move step off the ledge, walk far in to the sea, etc to compose the shot. It may also require sudden lens changes, when there is little time. And how about a 22mm or 32mm prime? Cropping loses IQ very quickly...
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Totally see the arguement where zooms are massively beneficial, and street portraiture would be a type of people photography where it would benefit.

When I shoot portraits now, I get the composition of the shot with a prime and then spend time posing and getting exposure correct. Where as if I use my zoom I find myself with more variables to tinker with.
 
hmm... interesting thread, I was thinking of posting something similar to this myself. :)
I've recently really got into shooting with just my 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.4. Just seem to be getting a different sort of image, and enjoying the process of having to think where to position myself. I wouldn't do it though if I couldn't shoot with two bodies, changing lenses is not always convenient.

I even went as far as looking up the other primes I'd need, in order to get rid of my zooms, though I wouldn't get rid of the 70-200mm, that's just too useful.
 
It depends on the type of photography you do - I love my primes - but for most jobs I couldn't get the pic without a zoom - in fact two bodies - and two zooms!
 
Love my 35mm and it is on most of the time, but when i use the zoom, you really appreciate the effects it can bring in. i.s zooming in on a body shot
 
I've only got a 50/1.4g and really like it and it's a great standard lens on FX. Previously I had a DX body and 35/2 and never really felt the need for zooms as they are bulky and slow.

I think my next lens will be 85/1.4g but will take a while to save up but it looks so tempting!

I would really also like a 135/2g and there are rumours that Nikon might release one to compete with Canon's 135/2.

I just shoot for fun but I can understand that a pro shooting for a client will pretty much need to have something like the 24-70/2.8 to get those shots quickly and without having to "zoom with their feet" all the time!
 
i'd only ever use a prime where i needed to use an aperture wider than f2.8

with a zoom you could use it as a fixed length lens if you wanted and were disciplined enough.

in general use i think primes are great when you are control of what's happening, but with children or people who are moving unpredictable etc, a zoom makes it so much easier to reframe and not miss the shot.
 
cambsno said:
Agree, shooting with my 50mm does make me think more and also allows me to be a little more creative. There are cases though when you really do need the zoom though.
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I personally wouldn't say that a fifty, or prime, allow me to be creative. In fact, I find that I'm a bit limited by them which force me to be creative.
 
10-20
35mm
50mm
70-200
85mm

Is what makes up my lens catalogue - a stop of Aperture is way cheaper than a stop of ISO. Mind you, I do have the world's dirtiest sensor from always changing lenses.
 
Primes only? Lots of times, in fact most of the time.

The creative possibilities of a fast aperture or macro can outweigh the limitations of a fixed focal length and assuming that you have a good lens there is still an image quality benefit even if you have to pixel peep to see it.
 
I started with primes only. 50mm and 135mm and a 1.4 tc. I absolutely love what they can do. Thinking about travelling though I decided to try a 17-55 and found my composition improved and I didn't need much cropping if any in post processing. More importantly, I wasn't preoccupied with swapping lens and missing shots due to the subject moving.

Now I'm very likely to get a 70-200 f/2.8 which has me wondering if my primes will be anything but a luxury for what I want to do which is people and animals.

I don't like the thought of selling my 135 but I can see me not using it.
 
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First off - love your big cat pics Carl, stunning!


I'm a bit all over the place, moved from the 18-55 kit lens and 70-200 combo on the D40 to a 18-200 on the D300, but have always had the nifty and love the AF on the D300. Just bought the 85mm 1.8 to go with it and before that the 10-20 Sigma

I seem to be moving more towards the 10-20 for architecture and prime combo for people. Not explored the DOF on the primes as much as I would have liked but get the feeling as I get into that it will probably drag me more towards primes.

I'm not sure what the ideal combo is, current thinking is

10-20
50
85
105 macro?

But still keeping the 18-200 as a walkabout lens

Never really went over the 100 mark in studio and not really got into wildlife yet as I'm guessing a good long reach is an outlay that I don't really want to think about

Mike
 
400 f2.8
300 f2.8
135 f2
85 f1.8
50 f1.8
35 f2

and I have a 17-40 zoom which is used for the 17mm mostly :)

I just dont get on with zooms... owned a few and never had one thta gives me equaly as good pics at each end..
 
I would dearly love to bin my zooms and shoot with the primes that I have sat in the bag, but in my line of work it's not an option - I do need that flexibility that the good, fast zooms offer.
I recently did a day's shooting using just my 50mm and 85mm lenses and it was so-oooo nice...

With the immenent opening of the studio, I'm hoping they'll be out of the bag more often.
 
Arkady said:
I would dearly love to bin my zooms and shoot with the primes that I have sat in the bag, but in my line of work it's not an option - I do need that flexibility that the good, fast zooms offer.
.
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Which makes no sense to anyone unless they know what line of work your in.. not everyone on TP for evermore will know? :) I would show off your line of work :)
 
KIPAX said:
Which makes no sense to anyone unless they know what line of work your in.. not everyone on TP for evermore will know? :) I would show off your line of work :)
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I do... see my flickr pages...:D

'Proper' website should be live by mid-December - if I get my finger out...:shrug: :suspect: :lol:
 
dan_yorkshire said:
Anyone shoot with only primes?

I'm a keen amateur and people photography makes up 95% of what I enjoy shooting and I find myself preferring to shoot with primes than a zoom.

Obviously the quickness of the lens helps and the bokeh is usually pretty nice.

However I just find a take better shots with them, probably because I have to think more about composition than zooming in/out a bit and firing, almost becoming pretty lazy.

Anyone else of the same thinking?
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The only reason I have a prime is for either a) super DOF effects or b) where I want a slightly more compressed perspective on things.

Everything else, my 17-40 zoom does better, covers quite a lot of situations from groups of people to ultrawide "fit it all in" shots.

I don't particularly like being restricted to one focal length, or having to change lens, but such is life, and if I want anything below f/2.8 I have to use a prime.

Lower f/ stop lenses also tend to mean lenses have a smaller zoom range, I know for a fact I could afford a 16-35 but I'd miss those last 5 mm probably more than I'd enjoy f/2.8.
 
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If we draw a parralell with art, shooting with only primes is a bit like painting a painting with only one brush

Yes it might focus the mind, yes it may make you produce some better work, but yes your hands are tied, and yes you will miss out on shots because you cant get located properly

Dont confuse style with substance

As a professional, I have to use the corect tool for the job, or the best tool available to me for the job, sometimes thats a prime lens, sometimes its a zoom. Someetimes we ditch the "professional" camera and use a sneaky compact rangefinder thingy

As somone who also shoots for pleasure.... I can do what I want, how I want, knowing if I miss a shot, the loss is only a shot lost to me. For sure I explore stuff for pleasure, that occasionall turns out to be a winner and crosses over into the professional modus
 
I mostly shoot with a 20mm (40mm equivalent) - I find it works well for most of what I want to do, but there are occasions where a different focal length would be handy.
 
I mainly use zoom lenses, although I do have a couple of primes. The sharpness advantage of primes over zoom lenses becomes much less significant at smaller apertures so as I shoot mainly landscape I tend to find that I use the zoom option 95% of the time, I don't really agree with the suggestions that a prime helps you to think about your composition more either - I think you either do or don't regardless of the lens you're using :shrug:

One advanatage of primes though that isn't always mentioned relates to colour/contrast rendition - some (at least Pentax ones) do noticeably produce "nicer" looking images than zooms, something than can't necessarily be gained in PP

Simon
 
Richard King said:
If we draw a parralell with art, shooting with only primes is a bit like painting a painting with only one brush

Yes it might focus the mind, yes it may make you produce some better work, but yes your hands are tied, and yes you will miss out on shots because you cant get located properly

Dont confuse style with substance

As a professional, I have to use the corect tool for the job, or the best tool available to me for the job, sometimes thats a prime lens, sometimes its a zoom. Someetimes we ditch the "professional" camera and use a sneaky compact rangefinder thingy

As somone who also shoots for pleasure.... I can do what I want, how I want, knowing if I miss a shot, the loss is only a shot lost to me. For sure I explore stuff for pleasure, that occasionall turns out to be a winner and crosses over into the professional modus
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I think that'd be true if you shot with only one prime lens, but there's nothing to stop you changing lenses to a more appropriate focal length. And yes, I know that's technically the same as using a zoom, but...
I think that images taken on my 85mm f/1.4, while being no sharper, have a nicer look to them than those shot with my 70-200 set at 85mm...
Also my 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/1.4 shots have a nicer look to them than those on my 24-70 at 35 and 50mm...

There's also a sense of freedom or 'lightness' with using the primes that I don't get when using my zooms - nothing to do with the weight of the lens or the feel of the images - just an indefinable 'something' that comes from using fixed focal-length optics...:shrug:

I think it may be that being freed from trying to get the framing right by zooming in and out, instead I have mentally prepared myself for having to move in order to get the right frame... I noticed I was constantly moving to and fro, back and forth the other week on the shoot I mentioned earlier... It also gave me more time to consider the model as I was constantly dropping the camera from my eye to look around for different viewpoints...

Like you though - for hard news or press and PR work I'll still use the fast zooms...
 
awp said:
It depends on the type of photography you do - I love my primes - but for most jobs I couldn't get the pic without a zoom - in fact two bodies - and two zooms!
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You must be a wedding tog, because I had the same thoughts :)

I do have a few primes that come out when I have the B&G alone, but if I had to do the whole wedding only on primes, I wouldn't get very far.

I am pretty sure that Guy Collier (Radiohead on here) shoots mostly with primes. I think anyone able to shoot a whole wedding with primes must have a fantastic perception of what's going on around them and excellent anticipation.

I would love to try it, but couldn't risk it unless I was assisting someone else.
 
love primes and grew up with film and primes so all my zooms are now sold but theres not a great range of WA primes that are good IMO unless you pay top dolla!
 
Although im still pretty new to the whole photography scene my 50mm 1.8 is by far my favourite to shoot with, ive got a couple of zooms but for portraits i just seem to get much better results with the 50mm. Its just a pity that all the other primes are so much more expensive.
 
MnM said:
First off - love your big cat pics Carl, stunning!
Mike
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Cheers Mike! They were all using primes :-) But everytime the cats moved in for the kill I was missing shots (not that that necessarily matters).
 
cherokee1111 said:
love primes and grew up with film and primes so all my zooms are now sold but theres not a great range of WA primes that are good IMO unless you pay top dolla!
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What camera are you using? The Contax WA primes are superb and can be used on Canons (and you don't mind manual focusing).

Alternatively, I understand the Samyang 14/2.8 is pretty impressive as well.
 
I have had my prime on for the last two years mainly because I am pretty much only shooting my kids.

I think as they get older I may well want the zoom so I can capture them as they play.

sam
 
manualfocus-g said:
What camera are you using? The Contax WA primes are superb and can be used on Canons (and you don't mind manual focusing).

Alternatively, I understand the Samyang 14/2.8 is pretty impressive as well.
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Nikon D90, these Samyangs look very nice, wonder if they do any for crop sensor
 
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