| The first thing you need to decide on when | | | | possibilities. You can easier freeze and capture |
| buying or setting out to use a lens is whether you | | | | high-speed action situations (big aperture and |
| want a zoom lens or a prime lens. That is, a lens | | | | short shutter speed) and you can easier take |
| with only one fixed focal length. Zoom lenses may | | | | hand-held pictures in low-light conditions (big |
| look like the obvious choice for many, since | | | | aperture and longer shutter speed). Just notice |
| you’ll get all the different focal lengths it | | | | that when you’re using a big aperture, the |
| covers in one-and-the-same lens. It is very flexible | | | | area of sharpness (the ‘depth of field’) |
| and you don’t have to carry extra lenses and | | | | becomes smaller. Things in front an behind of |
| waste time swapping from one lens to the other. | | | | your focus point will be rendered unsharp. |
| Want to capture the grand landscape? Zoom out | | | | That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, it |
| and click. Want to capture someone’s face | | | | can help to attract attention to the main subject |
| expression? Zoom in and click. These are | | | | of your photo and away from any background |
| definitely big advantages over prime lenses, | | | | clutter. The larger the aperture and the larger |
| where you’re stuck with the same focal | | | | focal length you use, the smaller your focus area |
| length. But prime lenses have their advantages | | | | will be. |
| too. Generally speaking, they’re smaller, | | | | But back to prime lenses being simple |
| faster, cheaper, sharper, have less distortion and | | | | constructions, their other advantages I mentioned |
| are less prone to damage than zoom lenses. | | | | above were their superior sharpness and less |
| Worth considering suddenly, aren’t they? | | | | distortion. Especially the sharpness can be useful |
| Let’s have a more detailed look at the | | | | to you if you plan on submitting photos to a |
| primes. | | | | stock agency. Selling 10 to 20 Mega-pixel photos |
| A fast lens, you say? | | | | requires excellent performance from your lens. |
| Prime lenses don’t use as many lens | | | | And finally, because prime lenses can’t zoom, |
| elements (layers of glass) inside them as zoom | | | | there’s one less thing that can break! |
| lenses do. And that’s the key, they are more | | | | Choosing between zooms and primes isn’t |
| simple constructions and hence smaller and | | | | always that simple. Furthermore, some people feel |
| cheaper. Now what’s this about primes being | | | | that the single focal length of primes restricts |
| fast? It’s still a piece of glass, right? Not a | | | | them while others find it liberating that they have |
| racing car! Well, when photographers talk about a | | | | that one thing less to think about. Personally, I use |
| lens being fast, it’s actually a bit of nonsense. | | | | both zooms and primes. When I’m in a |
| What they should be saying is that the lens has a | | | | fast-changing situation with things happening all |
| big aperture which allows for more light to pass | | | | around me, I prefer the flexibility of the zoom. |
| through the lens, thus allowing the camera to nail | | | | But when I go out on a shoot with a special |
| the correct exposure faster. It’s just easier | | | | expression in mind, I prefer to use the |
| to say that ‘the lens is fast!’. Using one of | | | | appropriate wide or long prime lens. |
| these ‘fast lenses’ gives you a few extra | | | | |