Zoom Lenses Seem To Be Increasing In Popularity (Page 2): Disagree. When you're shimmying out on a log over a raging river and you can only take your camera and a lens, it had better...

TheDman Loc: USA

Apaflo wrote:

If, but only if, speed is important then a zoom is essential. For shooting events a zoom is more useful, for landscapes or studio portraits there is perhaps less or no advantage at all in using a zoom.

Disagree. When you're shimmying out on a log over a raging river and you can only take your camera and a lens, it had better be a zoom because you can't exactly walk closer or farther away.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

OddJobber wrote:

Don't blame the lenses. With zoom lenses, I'm still allowed to move forward, backward, left or right to get the shooting angle I want. Then zooming will give you a tighter crop or more inclusive view.

BTW, I have 15 lenses.
Nikon 50mm f/1.8G
Soligor by Tokina 135mm f/3.5
Nikon 400mm f/2.8
12 zooms from Nikon, Tamron, Tokina, Sigma from 11-16mm to 150-600mm.

I blame the primes. With a prime, my perspective is chained to my framing - once I've chosen my framing, my perspective is forced. Zoom allows me to choose my perspective, and then frame it totally independently.

mrpentaxk5ii

you have a great collection of prime lenses, I don't know about them being cheaper than a zoom that would cover the focal length of three to four primes but primes are faster..1.8, 1.4 and 1.2...........The downside is this there are times where changing your lens all the time would would allow a lot of dirt or sand to enter your camera body, and if you are shooting an event you would need a lot of camera bodies, you can't stop to change a lens all the time, you would miss to many shots.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

TheDman wrote:

Disagree. When you're shimmying out on a log over a raging river and you can only take your camera and a lens, it had better be a zoom because you can't exactly walk closer or farther away.

That fits precisely what I stated!

You don't change perspective by zooming, only by changing location. Nobody crawles out on a limb to get the right framing. But that may be the only way to get the right perspective...

TheDman Loc: USA

Apaflo wrote:

That fits precisely what I stated!

You don't change perspective by zooming, only by changing location. Nobody crawles out on a limb to get the right framing. But that may be the only way to get the right perspective...

You said that zoom lenses were not important to landscape photography. When you're out on the log, you can't exactly scoot back or walk closer.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

TheDman wrote:

You said that zoom lenses were not important to landscape photography. When you're out on the log, you can't exactly scoot back or walk closer.

That is not what I said! It is what you wanted to read. Don't cut off the last half of a sentence... The entire sentence including the last words as well as the first are part of the meaning.

TheDman Loc: USA

Apaflo wrote:

That is not what I said! It is what you wanted to read. Don't cut off the last half of a sentence... The entire sentence including the last words as well as the first are part of the meaning.

"For shooting events a zoom is more useful, for landscapes or studio portraits there is perhaps less or no advantage at all in using a zoom."

Sigh. Go ahead and let me know what part of that you didn't say.

Joe Blow

One thing I've not seen mentioned is when changing lenses, you increase the risk of dust on the sensor. You also increase the risk of dropping your lens.

Primes are nice in certain situations, but zooms are much more versatile. Their extra weight is negated by the fact one doesn't need to bring a bag carrying several lenses.

Sure primes may have better quality / sharpness. Few will notice the difference though. And yes, generally, primes are faster, but few situations need that extra speed and bodies continue to improve their low light sensitivity.

I wonder how many people advocating primes also drive a manual transmission.

ken_stern Loc: Yorba Linda, Ca

Joe Blow wrote:

One thing I've not seen mentioned is when changing... (show quote)

Glad you mentioned all that --- I use & most enjoy using primes - 5 of them (from 24mm to 135 mm) & 1 zoom 100-400 IS L II --- I also drive & totally enjoy driving a 2018 WRX a manual (6 speed) -- Not fast but damn quick !! -- My previous auto of 18 yrs was a Type R Integra (a real race car) which "only" came with a 5 speed gearbox --- I'm also 75 & more then healthy & willing enough to carry at times a somewhat heavy by your standards camera bag plus a "lightweight" Gitzo --- Canon cleans my 5DS sensor once a year & of course that is whether it needs it or not ----- As they say there is always more then 1 way to skin a cat or better yet to get the job done

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

TheDman wrote:

"For shooting events a zoom is more useful, for landscapes or studio portraits there is perhaps less or no advantage at all in using a zoom."

Sigh. Go ahead and let me know what part of that you didn't say.

Read this and look it up on any dictionary:

"There is perhaps less or no advantage at all in using a zoom." It is just as valid (not at all) to claim I said a fixed focal length lens is maybe more or less usefull! The statement is conditional, saying neither is absolute at all times.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

TheDman wrote:

"For shooting events a zoom is more useful, for landscapes or studio portraits there is perhaps less or no advantage at all in using a zoom."

Sigh. Go ahead and let me know what part of that you didn't say.

Good luck having him admit that YOU are right. Lol!

TheDman Loc: USA

Apaflo wrote:

Read this and look it up on any dictionary:

"There is perhaps less or no advantage at all in using a zoom." It is just as valid (not at all) to claim I said a fixed focal length lens is maybe more or less usefull! The statement is conditional, saying neither is absolute at all times.

I looked it up in the dictionary. Less than or none is not the same as more or less. Good Lord.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Mac wrote:

... I felt that zooms lenses were making me lazy ...

Yep, they do tend to bring inherent traits to the fore!!

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Joe Blow wrote:

One thing I've not seen mentioned is when changing lenses, you increase the risk of dust on the sensor.

Joe, that's just pure paranoia!!!
The sensor is hidden behind the shutter which is only open for 1000ths of a second, hardly enough time for the sensor to act like a vacuum and electrically suck all the dust onto it. The shutter is NEVER open while you have a lens off of it unless you're free-lensing!!
A shutter open for one second is almost an eternity in photography!!!
SS

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

SharpShooter wrote:

Joe, that's just pure paranoia!!!
The sensor is hidden behind the shutter which is only open for 1000ths of a second, hardly enough time for the sensor to act like a vacuum and electrically suck all the dust onto it. The shutter is NEVER open while you have a lens off of it unless you're free-lensing!!
A shutter open for one second is almost an eternity in photography!!!
SS

Not so quick, SS.
The worst case of sensor contamination I have experienced was changing lenses on a foggy morning by the river. Once I had introduced dirty air into the body chamber, the next step was for it to migrate to the sensor when the shutter was open.