Zoom vs Prime Lenses - Which One Is Right For You?
Today we are going to be discussing lenses, specifically zoom vs prime lenses and how to choose which one is right for you!
One of the main benefits of owning a DSLR or mirrorless camera is that you have the ability to change lenses to suit what type of photography you do, what your subject is, where you are and what you want the scene to look like.
Which means when you are ready to progress beyond the kit lens, and you start to look to add a new lens to your collection, you will undoubtedly start to ask yourself: should I buy a zoom lens or a prime lens?
It's a very difficult question to answer because there are a lot of factors that you need to take into consideration! Your preferred shooting style, your available budget, what your main subjects are going to be, plus where you're going to be shooting are all factors you’ll want to take into account when deciding which one is going to be best for you.
Which is why I'm not going to be able to give you a blanket answer as to whether to get a zoom or a prime! (sorry!)
But what I will aim to do here today is to give you some things to think about when you are comparing the two so that you can choose the right one for YOU.
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What’s the difference between a zoom lens and a prime lens?
So let's kick off by looking at the main difference between zoom lenses and prime lenses.
Focal Lengths
Zoom lenses are the ones that pretty much everyone is familiar with because they are found on all levels of cameras (and they're sold as the kit lens to your DSLR)
Zoom lenses have a range of multiple focal lengths in one lens.
All you need to do is turn the zoom ring on the barrel of your lens, and then you can zoom in or out - meaning that you can fill more or less off the screen with your subject just by turning the ring on your camera, rather than having to physically move closer or further back from your subject.
Prime lenses on the other hand, only have ONE fixed focal length.
That means if you want to have your subject fill more of the frame, then you need to physically get up and walk closer to your subject. If you want your subject to fill less of the frame, then you need to physically move further back!
So instead of having that range of focal lengths in one lens like you do with the zoom lens, you get one fixed focal length and that’s your lot.
2. MAXIMUM APERTURE
There is another difference when it comes to zooms and prime lenses and that is the maximum aperture of the lens.
(The maximum aperture means how wide your aperture can go!)
A really wide aperture lets more light into your camera, and helps give you more blurry backgrounds because you’ll get a very shallow depth of field.
A prime lens will generally open up to a nice wide maximum aperture, in other words, it gives you really low f numbers, for example, f 1.2, f 1.4 or f 1.8.
These kind of aperture numbers can be fantastic for letting in more light and for creating fabulous background blur.
Zooms, on the other hand, tend not to have such large maximum apertures, so they tend to sit around the f 2.8 to f 5.6 mark (the actual number depends on the lens)
But just to make things even more confusing, you get TWO different types of maximum aperture on a zoom lens.
The first is a variable aperture zoom.
What this means is that the maximum aperture changes as you zoom in or out.
For example, if you have a zoom lens that has a maximum aperture range of f3.6 to f5.6, then when you are zoomed out, you'll be able to shoot with a maximum aperture of f3.6, but when you are zoomed in, that reduces to f 5.6.
You also get fixed aperture zoom lenses.
These are usually f4.0 or f2.8, which means that you can stay at that aperture all throughout the focal range. So it doesn't matter whether you're zoomed in or zoomed out, you can still use that maximum aperture of the lens.
Before we start comparing zooms vs primes…
Now that we have that main differences between zooms versus primes, let's start looking at the advantages and disadvantages of each type.
But before I do that, I want to add in a little caveat!
Everything I say here is going to be a generalization of these lenses and I want to make sure that you take into account the quality of lenses to make sure that you're actually comparing like for like!
So for example, if I say that prime lenses are generally sharper than zooms, I mean, compared to a similar zoom of its class.
You can't reasonably compare a top of the line, $2,000 zoom with a bottom end, $50 prime lenses and then expect that the primes lens is going to be sharper!
By the way, if you want to see some example photos taken with different focal lengths, and get a guide to which focal length is best for different types of images, be sure to download my FREE Which Lens Kickstarter Guide, and you’ll get all that in one handy dandy PDF.
Advantages of a Prime Lens
Let's look at a prime lens first and see why you might want to choose one.
#1 - PRIME LENSES ARE MORE LIGHTWEIGHT
So generally speaking, primes are smaller, they're lighter, you can throw them in your camera bag more easily and they don't have a lot of weight when walking around. This does help make them a little bit easier for things like traveling and so on.
#2 - PRIME LENSES ARE SHARPER THAN ZOOMS
Now I'm not going to get into the actual makeup of a lens because I couldn’t care less what the inside of my lens looks like, only how it performs:-)
But generally speaking, because zooms have to have so much more going on inside of them to fit all those different focal lengths, they are less sharp than a comparable prime lens.
#3 - PRIME LENSES GIVE BETTER BOKEH
The bokeh that you get with a prime lens is usually much softer and smoother than with a zoom lens.
Again, that's just to do with the simplicity of a prime lens compared with the relative complexity of the internal workings of a zoom lens.
#4 - PRIMES GIVE YOU WIDER MAXIMUM APERTURES
That means that you can work with a very shallow depth of field, plus a wider aperture can be really useful in low light situations.
That’s because having a larger maximum aperture allows you to use faster shutter speeds (because you can let more light in via your aperture) which in turn allows you to use a faster shutter speed. And of course, they can also allow you to use a lower ISO number, which in turn helps with grain!
#4 - PRIMES ARE LESS EXPENSIVE THAN ZOOMS!
The other benefit of a prime lens is that they're usually less expensive than zooms. But major caveat here, you will need several to cover the same focal range of zoom!
For example, if I wanted the focal lengths of 24-70 zoom lens in primes, I would probably buy a 35mm, a 50mm and an 85mm to give me roughly that same range. By the time you've purchased all three, it will work out as the same value as the comparable zooms!
#5 - IF YOU HAVE A RANGE OF PRIME LENSES, YOU HAVE A BACK UP!
If you have a range of prime lenses, rather than just one zoom lens, you do have a backup one should one need to go away for repair.
So if you drop a lens and smash it, you've got another one sitting there in your bag that you can use. That's probably only of importance to you If you are a wedding or event photographer, but something to consider!
#6 - PRIME LENSES CAN FEEL MORE IMMERSIVE
Some photographers say that prime lenses allow them to get more creative, as they have to move with their feet and therefore think more about the shot.
I am one of those people!
I do believe that a prime lens makes me think more about where I have to be to get into the perfect position, and I find it helpful not have to think about zooming!
However, you are going to get other people who dislike that aspect, so this one is more down to your personal choice rather than being an advantage or a disadvantage.
Disadvantages of a Prime Lens
Let's look at the disadvantages now because there is some of them as well!
#1 - IT CAN BE HARDER TO FRAME YOUR IMAGES
So one of the main disadvantages of a prime lens is that it can be harder to frame your images because you have to physically love yourself into position in order to get the crop and the positioning of your subject in the frame that you want.
#2 - YOU MAY HAVE TO SHOOT WIDER AND CROP IN
When you have a prime you'll have to physically move closer or further back and that means that you may sometimes have to shoot wider than you wanted and then crop in and that does mean that you'll have less pixels in your image. Now, I have to say that given the amount of megapixels that we get in today's camera, this is not usually a deal breaker, but it is something to consider.
#3 - YOU MAY HAVE TO CHANGE LENSES MORE OFTEN
You may also have to change lenses for different focal lengths during any one type of session or shoot, for example to go from wide angle prime for a group portrait, to a telephoto prime for a portrait.
#4 - YOU’LL PROBABLY WANT MORE THAN ONE PRIME
This depends on what type of photography you do but in many cases you're going to need to purchase several lenses to cover a good focal range.
Advantages of a Zoom Lens
Let's do exactly the same thing, but this time with zoom lenses. The biggest advantage of a zoom lens is…
#1 - SHEER VERSATILITY!
You only need one lens to get multiple focal lengths, which means you can take a range of different images or shoot different subjects with just one lens.
#2 - YOU CAN FRAME YOUR SHOTS CORRECTLY WITHOUT MOVING
The second advantage is that they can allow you to frame more of your shots correctly first time because you can change your focal length before a moment is missed.
#3 - YOU WON’T NEED TO CHANGE LENSES SO OFTEN
Again, you don't need to change lenses so often because you've got everything in one lens! And depending on what you're photographing, you'll probably just need to take one lens out with you.
Disadvantages of a Zoom lens
Now let’s super quickly run through the disadvantages:
#1 - THEY’RE BIGGER AND HEAVIER THAN PRIMES
And if you're using a very heavy zoom, for example the 70 to 200. you can get arm fatigue if you're using them for any length of time! So most people will use a tripod for a heavy zoom lens.
So sometimes the versatility of having all the focal lengths in one lens is actually a disadvantage because they're heavy enough that you can't really walk around with them.
#2 - SMALLER MAXIMUM APERTURES & NOT AS SHARP AS ZOOM LENSES
I’m not going to elaborate of this too much since we’ve covered it already when talking about primes, but just know that zoom lenses don’t have as wide a maximum aperture as prime lenses, and they are generally not considered to be as sharp.
Choosing the right lens for your photography style
So as you can see there are reasons why you should get a prime, and there are reasons why you should get a zoom!
It really is going to depend on your specific circumstance, what you're photographing and what your limitations are.
Firstly, think about your ability to move around your chosen subject, and whether you need to get closer or further back without moving.
For example, say you photograph a baseball game and you can't really leave your seat. You're going to want to get closer or further back from the action so you’ll either have to keep switching lenses which is completely unpractical, so a zoom lens would be a much better bet.
But if you are a portrait photographer who can easily move in and further back from your subject, and change lenses during a shoot when required, prime lenses might be better for you. (Plus you’ll get that nice wide aperture and creamy background blur!)
Secondly, think about the light where you commonly photograph.
So if you shoot a lot indoors, or work a lot in relatively low light, then you're definitely going to want a primes lens as you're going to get that wider maximum aperture, which lets more light into the camera.
If you mainly shoot outdoors during the day, then it’s not so much of a factor for you!
And the final thing to consider, as always, is your budget.
Let's be honest, if we had all the money in the world, we would probably go for a mixture of primes and zooms, and have them cover every focal length.
But unless you’re Bill Gates, you’re going to have to compromise somewhere. In which case, just go for the type that suits you MOST of the time.
One more thing to consider about your budget is that it can be easier to spread the cost out by buying primes. For example, I started with a 50mm only, added on an 85mm a year later, and then a 35mm 2 years after that, so my bank balance didn’t take a hit all at once (and my husband was none the wiser 😉😉)
Phew! We covered a LOT today! Who knew there was so much to consider just between zooms vs primes!!
As always, if you have any questions you can leave them below, and I’ll see you again, same time, same place, next week for more photography goodness.
LINKS TO FURTHER RESOURCES
The Ultimate Guide to Camera Lenses