Why should I buy a Prime Lens?
Zoom lenses may be the most common form of lenses being used today; however there is another type of lens which used to be all the rage and is starting to make its way back into mainstream photography. I am of course talking about Prime Lenses. Prime lens photographs have always been viewed as a more basic or “pure” form of photography and there are many reasons why owning at least one prime lens can benefit your gear collection immensely.
Prime Lenses Defined
Before you decide whether or not you need a prime lens you must first understand what a prime lens actually is. Simply defined a prime lens is a lens which only has one focal length. This means that unlike a zoom lens which may have a focal length of 18-55mm, a prime lens would only have one focal length such as 50mm.
Prime Lenses are available in a wide range of different focal lengths. They range from the very low focal length lenses which are used for wide angle and panoramic shots all the way up to the very long telephoto lenses which are used by many sports and wildlife photographers.
Even though zoom lenses are very popular and come with every new standard DLSR kit, prime lenses still are and will remain the favorite of many veteran photographers.
Reasons to buy a Prime Lens
Maximum Aperture – The most common argument for the use of prime lenses is the speed that prime lenses are able to produce compared to zoom lenses. For example, in the Canon line up the fastest zoom lens you will be able to find is f/2.8 where as the fastest prime lenses go down to f/1.2 (Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens
Quality – Prime Lenses have always been known for their superior quality and advanced optics. Generally they have less moving parts and because of this manufacturers are able to focus their efforts in the quality of the glass. This also leads to a longer warranty period then other lenses in some cases.
Price – Generally because prime lenses are simpler and easier to make they are often cheaper to buy as a result. Of course this is not true for all prime lenses. Some of the high end professional prime lenses may be more expensive than their zoom counter parts but generally in the amateur market prime lenses will save you lots of money. Prime Lenses will generally run you between $130 and several thousand dollars.
Weight – Because these are simpler lenses and have less moving parts they are often much smaller and weigh less. This means you can generally have more lenses in your bag if you are using primes.
Creativity – Prime Lenses often force the photographer to be more creative with their shots. The reason for this is that you have to move around in order to frame your shot. With zoom lenses you are often able to stay on the same piece of ground and just take shots at your leisure. However since prime lenses have only one focal length you will have you move your body to get the same results. This can lead to interesting shots that you would have otherwise not noticed with a zoom lens.
Questions you should ask yourself:
- What will I be using the lens for? – Do you need a macro lens to do flowers or bugs? Or perhaps you are looking more for a telephoto to do wildlife?
- Do I need a faster aperture? – Are you finding that f/2.8 in your usual light settings is not enough? Perhaps you should try a prime lens then.
- Do I want to be constantly changing my lenses? – Depending on whether or not you are exclusively using prime lenses it can involve a lot of switching lenses which can cause dust to enter the camera.
- How many lenses do I want to carry? – Is weight or space an issue?
- How much can I spend? – Do you want to go for the high end prime lenses or perhaps the cheaper entry level models?