Prime vs Zoom: I have heard many photographers say they shoot with a prime lens most of the time. Forgetting about F-stop differentials, is there a difference between shooting with a...

rizer Loc: Long Island, NY

I have heard many photographers say they shoot with a prime lens most of the time. Forgetting about F-stop differentials, is there a difference between shooting with a 50mm prime lens vs. shooting at 50mm with a 28mm-75mm zoom lens? It would seem to me the 28mm-75mm has more versatility.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

rszer57 wrote:

I have heard many photographers say they shoot with a prime lens most of the time. Forgetting about F-stop differentials, is there a difference between shooting with a 50mm prime lens vs. shooting at 50mm with a 28mm-75mm zoom lens? It would seem to me the 28mm-75mm has more versatility.

There is a difference if you compare top of the line lenses. The primes usually have a slight advantage, but you are not likely to see it unless at extremes.

However this is changing. The Sigma 18-35 f1.8 is a game changer.

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

No doubt about the versatility of a zoom. You may have heard that a zoom lens has a "sweet spot" that refers to the focal length at which the lens is sharpest (can also refer to the aperture at which it is sharpest). A prime lens is always at it's focal length "sweet spot" and a prime 50mm will be sharper that a 28mm-75mm (or any zoom) set at 50mm.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

wlgoode wrote:

No doubt about the versatility of a zoom. You may have heard that a zoom lens has a "sweet spot" that refers to the focal length at which the lens is sharpest (can also refer to the aperture at which it is sharpest). A prime lens is always at it's focal length "sweet spot" and a prime 50mm will be sharper that a 28mm-75mm (or any zoom) set at 50mm.

Actually primes have sweet spots too. That is something all lenses have in common.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Have you ever shot with a prime? If not I suggest trying it for a week straight.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Cdouthitt wrote:

Have you ever shot with a prime? If not I suggest trying it for a week straight.

There are good reason to have both in your lens arsenal.

treadwl Loc: South Florida

I shoot Nikon. I have the very excellent 24-70 f2.8 zoom lens and find it to be superb. that said I also have a Nikon 50mm f1.4 lens in my bag that goes everywhere with me. I am amazed at how often I pull the little guy out. It is a lens well worth having if you are a serious shooter. That 50 1.4 provides some excellent depth of field control, very very narrow when you want it to be, and it is also so darn fast when you really need that lens speed...

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

joer wrote:

Actually primes have sweet spots too. That is something all lenses have in common.

Yep, the aperture sweet spot, like I said. That's why I stipulated: A prime lens is always at it's focal length "sweet spot" ...

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

joer wrote:

There are good reason to have both in your lens arsenal.

I have both...zoom on one body, prime on the other.

amehta Loc: Boston

rszer57 wrote:

I have heard many photographers say they shoot with a prime lens most of the time. Forgetting about F-stop differentials, is there a difference between shooting with a 50mm prime lens vs. shooting at 50mm with a 28mm-75mm zoom lens? It would seem to me the 28mm-75mm has more versatility.

* The zoom has more versatility.
* The modern primes have better image quality, though it is not significant for everyone.
* The primes often have better bokeh, because the optical engineers can concentrate on that, since they don't have to worry about focal length changes and the associated maximum aperture changes.
* By f-stop differentials, do you mean to forget f/1.8 vs f/4, or f/1.4 vs f/2.8? Or do you mean that we should consider the lenses at the same f-stop, so the zoom will be a little soft wide open, but at that f-stop, the prime is already razor sharp?

Zooms have their advantages. Primes have their advantages. Balancing these is different for everyone.

rizer Loc: Long Island, NY

amehta wrote:

* The zoom has more versatility. br * The modern... (show quote)

With regard to the F-stop differentials, I wanted to forget the merits of f/1.4 vs f/2.8, but rather concentrate on just evaluating results using a prime vs a zoom at the same focal lengths.

rizer Loc: Long Island, NY

Thanks everyone for your input11

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Hi Rszer, I use a prime 99% of the time, it's a Sigma 19mm M4/3 lens which equates to 38mm in most cameras
It is a very bright lens ,F2.8 and has a wide sweet spot several stops each side of F8. As someone else has said try it for a week or so, you may have to move about to get the composition you want and, you can always crop in PP to get the zoom you wanted. I do have a 12-50mm zoom just in case I need a wider angle or some zoom but I rarely use it.
Cheers,
John

Patw28 Loc: PORT JERVIS, NY

Doesn't the expected size of your prints have a bearing on this discussion?
At 4x6, will I see an eyeball difference in 50mm prime vs a 28-300 zoom shot at 50mm?
If not, at what print magnification will I start seeing the difference?

And if you're going to say "At 13x19", at what viewing distance?

I have no quarrel with those who demand loupe standards for their own work but shouldn't usage be considered in responding to an OP on this forum?

anotherview Loc: California

The zoom has more versatility, as you say.

That said, at one time, not far in the past, prime lenses excelled in image quality for having only one focal length to engineer.

Nowadays, with advances in engineering, scarcely any difference exists between a prime and a zoom lens. But a prime may still have an edge. Read the reviews.

Typically, a prime lens has a smaller form factor which may prove a consideration.

A prime lens generally presents more of a challenge in doing photography from the necessity of physically moving yourself nearer to or farther from the subject.

A prime lens may look cooler mounted on your camera.

rszer57 wrote:

I have heard many photographers say they shoot with a prime lens most of the time. Forgetting about F-stop differentials, is there a difference between shooting with a 50mm prime lens vs. shooting at 50mm with a 28mm-75mm zoom lens? It would seem to me the 28mm-75mm has more versatility.