btbg

Probably couldn't get away with doing that today. Nice shot if you took it.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

My camera, self timer. Exakta VXII, 50mm, slide (probably Kodachrome). Young and foolish photographer who has more sense today.

I'm sure that today there is a fence set probably 10 ft back from the edge. (The ledge just a couple feet below the ground level is not seen in the photo).

btbg

When I was there four years ago there were portions of the North Rim that you could still get out to the edge. Don't know about the South Rim as I have not been there for years.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I believe this was the South Rim. My memory is not clear after 62.5 years.
At my age, my memory isn't even clear from yesterday.

btbg

It was the south rim. Tje view from the north is very different as the north rim is higjer.

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

I haven't used 'prime lens' since I was shooting film. In fact, I only had one zoom lens for a film camera, a 75-150mm Minolta MD lens, but I can't recall ever using it (I bought it at a garage sale for about $20).

As for my interchange-lens digital cameras (4), except for a 400mm long telephoto and 60mm macro lens, all of the rest are zoom lens.

For my Sony DSLR's, an A100 and an A65 (A mount), I have a 10-24mm Tamron, an 18-70mm Sony, a 28-75mm Tamron and a 75-300mm Sony lens.

For my Sony mirrorless cameras, an a6000 and an a6500 (E mount), I have a 10-18mm Sony, a 16-50mm Sony, an 18-135mm Sony and a 55-210mm Sony lens.

I've considered buying an 'E mount' prime lens, perhaps something like an f1.4 or f1.8 35mm lens, but just couldn't justify the cost.

ELNikkor

Zooms allow precise composition which is especially valuable when you are unable to "zoom with your feet". Lens speed is rarely an issue because of stabilization and the ability of modern digital cameras to shoot at high ISO while retaining decent quality, not to mention the denoising programs available.

gwilliams6

It really all is changing. No longer are ONLY primes sharp and fast. Look at the Tamron 35-150mm f2-2.8 and Samyang 35-150mm f2- 2.8 zooms, both with excellent IQ , fast apertures, and versatility, all in one lens, without having to carry separate primes.

Almost gone are the days when ONLY primes ruled for image quality.

Personally I have a mix of primes and zooms in my kit. With my best zooms being able to fully resolve the high megapixel sensors of my 50mp Sony A1 and my 61mp Sony A7RV, I am just as likely to reach for one of my excellent zooms as I am to reach for one of my excellent primes for my professional and personal work.

And if I am traveling for a foreign shoot and have limited gear I can take, I am more likely to take my zooms and maybe just one or two primes that might be specialty lenses or a special focal length for astro or architect work.

Here are the MTF- Standard Sharpness test results for over 200 fullframe E-mount lenses from Sony, Sigma, Tamron, Samyang, Zeiss, Viltrox and others, all tested on the high pixel density 61mp Sony A7RIV, the toughest test of resolving ability of these lenses. .

Notice in these test results that more zooms are testing as Outstanding, Excellent and Very Good, now equaling the sharpness of many of the best primes, which used to have the top ratings all to themselves. Times are a changing.

I love my fast, sharp primes, but I also love my sharp, fast and versatile zooms. Today's best zooms aren't your father's zooms.

https://sonyalpha.blog/2019/11/10/which-lenses-to-maximise-the-potential-of-the-sony-a7riv/

Cheers and best to you all.

Boris77

Yes.
Easier to carry.
Better in dim light.
Expendable, cost less.
Special purpose, fish-eye, macro.
One lens does not fit all categories.
BOris

rlscholl Loc: California

Two main reasons:
First is generally lighter, all else (focal length, f/ stop, etc) being comparable.
Second is image quality for when good enough isn’t.

User ID

Regardless of the issue and regardless of the attempted solution, its always better to have multiple main reasons for it.

RodeoMan Loc: St Joseph, Missouri

Primes are pretty handy for rangefinder film cameras.

btbg

The bigger the gear the duller the pix? Tell that to all tje great spkrts and wildlife photographers.

No relationship between what you shoot with and whether or not a person is creative.

User ID

Its not like theyre not at home on rf digital cameras, which is fortunate for future proofing your lens set. Even if you choose to roll over and die when film goes unavailable, your heirs will inherit lenses that are stilll marketable ;-)

Using several of those lenses on Z Nikons, Im sure Ive spent hundreds $$ on rf cams that I dont have any use for. Maybe the extra layer aids in the damping of the focus action.

User ID

The bigger the gear the duller the pix. Its a rather definitive quotient, clearly observable throughout photography. Your denial of that hints that you lean toward the bigger gear.