Fixed focal length or zoom?

Bill Pierce

Bill Pierce

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Fixed focal length or zoom? Being an old person who actually took pictures in the pre zoom era (which was followed by the not-very-good zoom era before we got to the really good zoom era) my tendency is to use fixed focal length lenses, sometimes adding a zoom to cover a range of longer focal lengths. There are two reasons beyond living in the past that I cans use to justify my concentration on fixed focal length lenses. 1 - Fixed focal length lenses are usually faster, and I tend to shoot at the higher shutter speeds that can make possible. 2 - I find myself fine tuning, i.e. fussing with, the zoom to the degree that I sometimes miss the moment.

That said, I certainly can see the advantages of a single camera with a small zoom that provides a range of useful focal lengths and am beginning to try to break old habits and see if it will work for me. What are your thoughts, what is the way you choose to work and why? I could certainly benefit from your thoughts.
 
Generally, I prefer primes... specifically a 50mm equivalent supplemented by a 35mm and 75mm equivalent when I feel like it. I like the size, the speed, and knowing what will be in my frame before I even bring the camera to my face.

However, when I travel... I use a 28-85mm equivalent zoom since I`m not sure what I`ll encounter.
 
I mostly have prime lenses. I've tried a few zooms, and have not kept most of them. Either I didn't like the weight, or the speed, or the image quality. I kind of liked the 20-35mm f/2.8 Nikkor, but sold it after encountering reliability problems. But one zoom I have come to regard as essential is my 28-105 Nikkor. It is a little slow, and the build quality is a bit plasticky, but the focal range is very useful, and the image quality shows that "this is not your grandfather's zoom!" And now I'm trying gout the 17-35mm f/2.8 Nikkor. The image quality is as good as I need (it's very good). And it allows quickly trying out the extreme wide angle views, at the flick of the zoom control, without having to change lenses. If it looks good, i can press the button; if not, I can dial it back to 28 or 35mm, no time lost. It is too heavy. I can walk with it for one hour comfortably enough. After an hour and a quarter, I have to put it down and return to using a prime.

However, I think enough of the lens that I went to Target and bought a 12 pound dumb-bell. I get up a little early and go to the basement and do curls with it. It may be helping. If it works out, maybe I'll get the 24-70mm zoom Nikkor, which is definitely too heavy. But first, I will need to go buy the 15 pound dumb-bell.
 
I like how using primes makes me move around to get the right framing. I was recently trying out the Sigma SD Quattro H and became frustrated that the only way I could afford focal length lenses I like was to buy Sigma's zoom lenses. Using those reminded me how much I miss small medium speed prime lenses.

That said, it would be fantastic if some company would come out with an APS-C or full-frame sensor camera with a fixed f2.8 24-50mm zoom lens. Something like the Fuji X100 camera. Maybe even have lens' focal lengths discreet: 24, 28, 35, 50.
 
Generally primes. I have a 50~90 f3.5 Zuiko for my Pen F. Sometimes, when I cannot stand where I need to with a prime, it comes out, but I don't carry it around normally.
 
Jamie Pillers said:
I like how using primes makes me move around to get the right framing. I was recently trying out the Sigma SD Quattro H and became frustrated that the only way I could afford focal length lenses I like was to buy Sigma's zoom lenses. Using those reminded me how much I miss small medium speed prime lenses.

That said, it would be fantastic if some company would come out with an APS-C or full-frame sensor camera with a fixed f2.8 24-50mm zoom lens. Something like the Fuji X100 camera. Maybe even have lens' focal lengths discreet: 24, 28, 35, 50.
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the fuji 15-45 (app.24-70 equivelent) is small, light and sharp & cheap...i use it with the 60 macro as a street kit.
as for zooms normally...i tend to stay away from them as they slow me down...or i am slow using them, much harder for me to compose with a zoom.
 
Jamie Pillers said:
That said, it would be fantastic if some company would come out with an APS-C or full-frame sensor camera with a fixed f2.8 24-50mm zoom lens. Something like the Fuji X100 camera. Maybe even have lens' focal lengths discreet: 24, 28, 35, 50.
Click to expand...

I have often wished for this. A Fuji X100 with such a zoom would be perfect. The discrete focal lengths would help the designer to optimize the lens for the specific focal lengths. Leica actually did this with at least one P&S model.
 
I have 16-35 f2.8 zoom, it is as good as Leica 21 2.8 , 24 whatever, 28 2.8 and 35 2.8 primes. And it is very usable on 16mm.
It has AF and it works with real TTL flash on film and digital cameras.
But it is big lens and digital camera is also big, yet, film one is as small as film M and lighter.

If I want best and most accurate framing, plus fast focus - I'm using my AF zooms.
If I want to feel fancy and have compact setup it is primes.
 
My dad had some crappy zoom he used on his Yashica SLR; it was terrible! Scarred me for life, I think. Primes for me, or fixed lens. Also, I'm lazy. Focus AND pick a focal length? No thanks.:p
 
It depends what camera I'm using. On a Canon 5D/6D I usually kept the 24-105mm f/4 on it all the time except when another lens was specifically called for eg a fast 50 or a longer focal length. I wanted to keep lens changes to a minimum to avoid salt air (I live on the coast) and dust off the sensor. I no longer have a standard zoom lens for it and now use the excellent Canon EF40mm f/2.8 STM pancake, which makes for a very light (and relatively small) combination for a FF DSLR.

With film Nikon SLRs I prefer the primes I've collected over many decades. A recent exception is a Nikkor 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5 AF lens on my F80. I like it because it's as compact as a prime and it takes the same 52mm filter size. The IQ is "acceptable" for film use. It makes a nice walk-around lens.

My favourite carry-everywhere camera is a Barnack, of course zooms are not applicable.. I just love the small prime lenses and everything about the Barnacks.
 
I've always shot primes in my manual-focus film cameras. They're faster, lighter, generally sharper, generally have less distortion, and are easier to focus. I tend to visualize based on the focal length I have mounted on the camera.

Recently I bought my first digital/first auto-focus camera, a used full-frame DSLR with a 24 - 105 zoom and a 17 - 35 zoom. These cover all the focal lengths I normally use and I can't afford to buy a new set of primes, so I will learn to use these.

I think I will approach these new zooms, at least at first, as I would primes. I will visualize in terms of a chosen focal length, set that focal length, look through the finder, and make subtle adjustments to focal length, if needed, to aid composition. What doesn't work for me is zooming through a wide range of focal lengths while looking for a suitable composition.

- Murray
 
Mostly zooms with digital, although I do a lot of studio product shots with macro primes. With film, it is strictly primes--Zeiss didn't make zooms for my Contax IIIa!
 
charjohncarter said:
Fixed focus, zoom is just another stupid thing to mess with when trying to shoot a frame.
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Agreed but sometimes I have to.
All primes for me except one Canon 70-200/2.8 when I`m covering a course of jumps for horses.

I did however cover a course today with a prime but it would have been a lot easier and safer with a zoom.
 
35mm (~75%) and 85-105mm (~10%) fixed focal length lenses cover most of my photos.

Reasons for choosing fixed focal length lens are the usual ones:
Sharpness, speed, ease of focusing and selective focus.

I do own a couple of moderate range zoom manual focus SLR lenses but seldom use them.

Chris
 
I prefer simple and smaller primes. The only zoom I’ve used that challenges my primes is the canon 24-70 2.8ii. I still generally prefer the 35L/135L combo though and my fiancé takes the 24-70. 2.8 will Never be 1.4. Also, since using my M’s for a while I can’t get used to carrying around huge lenses anymore.
 
Bill Pierce said:
Fixed focal length or zoom? Being an old person who actually took pictures in the pre zoom era (which was followed by the not-very-good zoom era before we got to the really good zoom era) my tendency is to use fixed focal length lenses, sometimes adding a zoom to cover a range of longer focal lengths.
Click to expand...

I started taking pictures in the pre zoom era. I only shot medium format, black & white roll film, with one prime lens.

Later, I began to shoot 35mm small format, black & white roll film, with interchangeable prime lenses.

During the "not-very-good zoom era," I purchased my first zoom lens ... a Nikon 43-86mm f/3.5 that was so bad that it soured me to zoom lenses for decades.

During the "really good zoom era," I was given a Tamron 28-200mm f/3.8-f/5.6 auto focus as a gift that impressed me so much that I decided to give zooms another chance.

I now shoot with primes and zooms on my small format film and digital cameras. Most of my zooms are fixed aperture because I prefer them to variable aperture.

I now shoot color and black & white roll film on my medium format cameras but only use prime lenses.

I now shoot black & white sheet film on my large format camera but only use prime lenses.

Two of my favorite zooms are the weather resistant 16-55mm f/2.8 & 50-140mm f/2.8 for my APS-C Fuji digital cameras.


16-55mm f/2.8 & 50-140mm f/2.8 Fuji Lenses by Narsuitus, on Flickr
 
I work with prime lenses, mostly, for several reasons related to size, weight, performance, etc.

But the most important one is that I don't go out looking at things and then try to find the focal length that best fits them: I go out looking for things with the context of a particular notion in mind to begin with, which includes what focal length and what aperture settings I'm going to use. Even when I carry a zoom lens, I only rarely change the focal length or aperture from what I had in mind at the outset of the photo session.

A zoom sometimes changes that and then I find myself forgetting what I had in mind due to the surfeit of focal length choices.
 
It depends on the system. With the Canon digital I use for work, it's mostly two zooms. For my own work with film cameras, almost always primes. I do have two good Nikon manual focus zooms - the 25-50 f 4.0 and the 80-200 4.5. But they mostly stay home; I learned on primes and still prefer them.
 
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