Why PRIME ?
Dec 7, 2019 08:59:04 #
wingclui44 wrote:
Prime lens is faster with wider max. aperture.
Not always.
Sigma makes an 18-35 f/1.8
There are plenty of 18, 24 and 35mm 2.8 prime lenses around.
Dec 7, 2019 08:59:11 #
Dec 7, 2019 09:23:40 #
gvarner
Loc: Central Oregon Coast
robertjerl wrote:
Because "shaped and polished chunk of glass that focuses light" is too long and awkward. 
😂😂😂😂
Dec 7, 2019 09:45:02 #
zug55
Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas
I think that the OP knows what a "prime" lens is. The real question is why it is called that, and not "lens with fixed focal length." Since I have been curious about that myself I did a little digging.
In German, a prime lens indeed is called "Objektiv mit Festbrennweite" (lens with fixed focal length), or simply "Festbrennweite." So our terminology in English works differently.
It appears that the term comes from the cine world where cinematographers generally had a primary lens they were shooting with. There was experimentation with varifocal lenses early in in cinematic history--the first patent goes back to 1902, and the first industrially produced varifocal lens was issued in 1932. The technology took off in the late 1950s.
In photography, a lens was just a lens as long as all the lenses were prime lenses. In the 1960s the focusing systems in varifocal lenses developed to the point where varifocal lenses became introduced into the photographic market.
With the advent of zoom lenses, people started to see their fixed-focus lenses as primary lenses, using the existing term from cinematography, hence the term prime lens. So the term "prime lens" is a retronym--a newer name for for something that existed for a long time to differentiate if from a more recent innovation.
Now somebody needs to ask why a zoom lens is called a zoom lens.
In German, a prime lens indeed is called "Objektiv mit Festbrennweite" (lens with fixed focal length), or simply "Festbrennweite." So our terminology in English works differently.
It appears that the term comes from the cine world where cinematographers generally had a primary lens they were shooting with. There was experimentation with varifocal lenses early in in cinematic history--the first patent goes back to 1902, and the first industrially produced varifocal lens was issued in 1932. The technology took off in the late 1950s.
In photography, a lens was just a lens as long as all the lenses were prime lenses. In the 1960s the focusing systems in varifocal lenses developed to the point where varifocal lenses became introduced into the photographic market.
With the advent of zoom lenses, people started to see their fixed-focus lenses as primary lenses, using the existing term from cinematography, hence the term prime lens. So the term "prime lens" is a retronym--a newer name for for something that existed for a long time to differentiate if from a more recent innovation.
Now somebody needs to ask why a zoom lens is called a zoom lens.
Dec 7, 2019 09:47:38 #
Yeah, what they above me said, it's not meat.
I will say that most prime lenses offer better optical quality than would a zoom at the same focal length unless you are using a budget 3rd party manufacturer, I own several primes and I trust their quality more than I do Canon L zooms but they do not offer the convenience of variable focal lengths.
I will say that most prime lenses offer better optical quality than would a zoom at the same focal length unless you are using a budget 3rd party manufacturer, I own several primes and I trust their quality more than I do Canon L zooms but they do not offer the convenience of variable focal lengths.
Dec 7, 2019 10:17:06 #
Alafoto
Loc: Montgomery, AL
jerryc41 wrote:
It's like your parents giving you a name. It's av... (show quote)
First you have to prime the pump
Dec 7, 2019 13:28:41 #
Dec 7, 2019 13:30:06 #
Alafoto wrote:
First you have to prime the pump
You have to be rib ing us.
Dec 7, 2019 14:18:33 #
JohnSwanda wrote:
From Google: The word “lens” came from the Latin name of the lentil plant. The scientific name of the lentil we most commonly eat is Lens culinaris. It was named after the legume because double-convex lenses look just like lentils.
Wow....now I never knew that..thanks.
Dec 7, 2019 15:08:03 #
zug55 wrote:
Now somebody needs to ask why a zoom lens is called a zoom lens.
Now somebody needs to ask why a zoom lens is called a zoom lens.
I think the word “zoom” originated in cinematography as shorthand for the “dolly in” shot. Varifocal lenses have a long history but they could not maintain constant focus. When lens makers came up with constant focus, variable focus length lenses (I have a vague recollection that Angenieux was the pioneer) they seem to have naturally acquired the name of the shot they allowed.
Andy
Dec 7, 2019 16:38:27 #
JohnSwanda wrote:
From Google: The word “lens” came from the Latin name of the lentil plant. The scientific name of the lentil we most commonly eat is Lens culinaris. It was named after the legume because double-convex lenses look just like lentils.
Good thing a peanut wasn't' shaped like that....
LOL
Dec 7, 2019 16:46:16 #
Hasviolin wrote:
How does a lens acquire the designation PRIME? Manufacturer, vendor, or user consensus?
Not a zoom lens and presumably offering better image quality than a zoom covering the same range. Although there are some excellent zoom lenses available from various manufacturers!
bwa
Dec 7, 2019 20:04:27 #
Lens might also be short for lenticular. Some eyeglasses are lenticular and clouds that are that shape are called lenticular clouds. That is also from the shape of lentils.
Dec 7, 2019 20:17:36 #
JeffL
Loc: New Jersey
Just to add my two cents. The Nikon 50mm lens I started out with many decades ago, frequently called a "Nifty 50", is a prime lens. As a matter of fact, for a long time it was my only lens. So, any closeups or landscapes had to be with me moving in the right direction to make the shot. Everything was manual, with just a builtin light meter. Post processing was an enlarger, dodging wand, and timer. Damn! I'm old.
Dec 7, 2019 20:47:07 #
DaveyDitzer
Loc: Western PA
billnikon wrote:
A prime is most any NON-zoom lens. A 14,18,20,24,28,35,50,85,200,300,400,500,600, and 800mm lenses are examples of PRIME lenses.
Prime lenses usually out preform zoom lenses, however, that said, there are a lot of very sharp zoom lenses out there that compete very well with optical quality with Prime lenses.
Nikon 70-200 2.8, 14-24 2.8, 24-70 2.8 are just a few lenses that compare very well with prime lenses.
Prime lenses usually out preform zoom lenses, however, that said, there are a lot of very sharp zoom lenses out there that compete very well with optical quality with Prime lenses.
Nikon 70-200 2.8, 14-24 2.8, 24-70 2.8 are just a few lenses that compare very well with prime lenses.
But the zooms you note are often all more expensive and much heavier, e.g., a 24 f2.8, 50 (f1.8) and an 85 f1.8 together weigh a little over half the weight of the 24-70 and cost together a little more that half the cost of the zoom. Nothing against the 24-70 zoom, but the glass is heavy and costs a lot.
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