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The walls are smiling ???

gwilliams6

Who mentioned anything Canon, LOL, LOL

Check out the MTF-Standard sharpness test scores of the best Sony G-Master E-mount Zoom lenses that equal some of the best E-mount primes. Fact, not fiction.
https://sonyalpha.blog/2019/11/10/which-lenses-to-maximise-the-potential-of-the-sony-a7riv/

Cheers and best to you.

zarathu Loc: Bar Harbor, MDI, Maine

IMO, this is a dual purpose portrait/macro lens. I do a lot of macro. Auto focus is (almost) worthless at even close to 1:1. And so I use a manual focus lens that has a higher lpi than the lens above. I use the Irix 150mm. The 150 length also makes it possible to use 150 mm of extension tubes and/or a close-up filter or teleconverter, and not have the subject inside the lens.

zarathu Loc: Bar Harbor, MDI, Maine

This is an open discussion. it is assumed that everyone does not have a Sony, or Nikon, or Canon. And so we share what we use: Canon, Tamron, Sigma, Nikon, Irix, etc........

Urnst Loc: Brownsville, Texas

Urnst Loc: Brownsville, Texas

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

I look at the 25 16x20 prints on my walls and more than happy.

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

Let's take the cost of some primes against the increase, if any, sharpness, and see if the hobbiest can justify that expense. Not worth it to me

zarathu Loc: Bar Harbor, MDI, Maine

For general use, primes are not of use to me. And as an example I gave my two sigma lenses(the 24-105 and the 100-400) to my wife for her use. I got an RF 24-240, to go along with my Tamron EF 17-35, both for general use and both sharp enough for my general work. But for my specialty area of macro & close up, and birds, I use a couple of upper mid-range lenses: the manual EF Irix 150 mm macro at $700, and the RF 800mm f/11 for the birds(along with a 1.4 tele extender) at $900. Both of them are very sharp and much sharper than any zoom into that range at their price.

Bill_de Loc: US

A person running a business needs to justify an expense. As a hobbiest, as long as it makes us happy it is worth the price.

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User ID

Seems you dont know how to shop.

machia Loc: NJ

I have 7 prime lenses and wouldn’t part with any of them. Each have a purpose, are fast and are extremely sharp. Can my zoom lenses achieve the same in a given mm setting? No, not mine anyway.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

My Pentax KP has wonderful low-light performance, so my 55-300mm F/4.5-6.3 is all my eyes could ask for.

User ID

Likewise ... even more so.

gwilliams6

As many others have said, and shown in linked test results, it all really depends on the quality of your zoom lenses.

Take Sony for example: Sony's latest 70-200mm f2.8 GM II, and 24-70mm f2.8 GM II lenses both test as sharp as the best Sony GM Prime lenses at the same focal lengths. And these modern Sony zooms have excellent micro contrast, color rendition, low to no CA or distortion, excellent flare resistance etc., same as the best Sony GM primes.
https://sonyalpha.blog/2019/11/10/which-lenses-to-maximise-the-potential-of-the-sony-a7riv/

There have been major advances in optical design and the best of the latest zooms are NOT your father's zooms, LOL. Overall primes may still generally have wider max apertures, but as Canon's RF 28-70mm f2 has shown, even that zoom max aperture barrier is now being overcome.

As a working professional, yes I have both top quality prime lenses and top quality zoom lenses in my kit, and I use them interchangeably as the needs of my photographic jobs dictates. I make my living giving my clients the best image quality I can, and that I deliver with both my top primes and my top zooms. I love and use my zooms as much as I love and use my primes.

Of course not all primes are created equal, and yes not all zooms are created equal either. But times are changing folks. and what was seemingly a rule about the unquestioned superiority of primes vs zooms is no longer an absolute truth anymore.

I hope you all get the opportunity to try some of the best latest top zooms and see for yourself what is the new reality.

In the meantime use what you like and be happy, primes or zooms, or a combo of both.

There is not a fellow pro that I personally know, or I bet a staffer of the top news services in the world that isn't using the best zooms alongside their best primes. Zooms versatility is now being matched with the best zooms' excellent image quality.

I know many AP staffers, as I used to shoot for them, and the kits of Sony gear that each staffer of Associated Press around the world got included the best of Sony primes AND Sony zooms. AP staff still photographers and staff videographers worldwide, exclusively use Sony Mirrorless gear, as does Canadian Press, UK Press and all Gannett media including USA Today. AFP (Agence France Presse) exclusively uses Nikon Z-mount gear and lenses for all their staffers worldwide.

1) A zoom shot of a Snowy Egret taking off from its watery perch on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten/St. Martin . Sony A1, Sony 200-600mm zoom lens, 319mm, ISO 1600, f6.3, 1/4000 sec. handheld, all natural light..

2-3) A zoom shot of a Great White Egret bending its neck to clean it's feathers on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten/St. Martin . First the full frame, then a tight crop from the same shot. Sony A1, Sony 200-600mm zoom lens, 591mm, ISO 1600, f6.3, 1/2000 sec, handheld, all natural light.

4) A zoom shot that was chosen as a Worldwide Photo of the Week by Sony Alpha Photographers in 2021. Environmental Scientist Brook H. in a slot canyon near Upper Antelope Canyon, Navajo lands, Page, Arizona, USA. Sony A9, Sony 24-105mm f4 G OSS zoom lens, 24mm, ISO 400, f4, 1/30 sec. handheld, all natural light.

Click on download to see better image quality.

Cheers and best to you all .

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