52
votes
Accepted
Why buy prime super telephoto lenses instead of zoom super telephoto lenses?
Who in the world buys large primes?
Wildlife and sports photographers, mostly.
I'm struggling to see how one would find use in a long focal length prime, 300mm and above for example: without zoom, ...
- 51.1k
25
votes
Is replacing all my Fujifilm gear with this Canon zoom lens an upgrade?
The 24-70 is an incredibly good lens - it's as sharp wide-open as just about any prime at every focal length across just about its entire field.
But it's only 24-70. As you're talking about a full-...
- 21.5k
21
votes
Accepted
How to avoid changing lenses all the time when shooting with primes?
I'm by no means an expert. But one thing that I've tried is having 2 bodies. It sounds expensive, but it doesn't necessarily have to be. I have an old Canon Rebel, and more recently bought a Canon 7D. ...
- 2,893
17
votes
Accepted
Can I work with ONLY a single fixed focal length lens?
I am on the edge of investing in the Sony a6000 ...
Ok, fallacy #1. :) You never invest in a camera unless you're a pro and can write it off on your taxes. Cameras depreciate. Even while new. Your "...
- 51.1k
16
votes
Accepted
Is replacing all my Fujifilm gear with this Canon zoom lens an upgrade?
Would switching to full frame Canon and getting that lens be an upgrade over my Fujifilm gear?
For some shooters it would be. For others it would not. For a true photographer it shouldn't make a ton ...
- 174k
15
votes
Accepted
Any tricks to escape the zoom lens trap?
I think this is a great exercise and can really help you with your photography — even if you end up using zoom lenses in the future. And, there is a commonly-used "trick" here — it's called One Lens, ...
- 143k
14
votes
How can a lens with a single focal length focus on more than one plane?
First, focal length is a property of a lens (by lens I mean a piece of plastic or glass that's inside your camera's photographic lens system). If you just have a single lens (think magnifying glass) ...
- 241
10
votes
What's the point in high quality rather expensive cameras with permanently mounted prime lens?
What's the point in high quality rather expensive cameras with permanently mounted prime lens?
To take pictures.
By creating a camera intended for only one focal length a lot of things cans be ...
- 174k
9
votes
What's the point in high quality rather expensive cameras with permanently mounted prime lens?
About a decade ago, prominent photography blogger Michael Johnston wrote an essay describing his ideal digital camera, which he called the Decisive Moment Digital, after Cartier-Bresson's phrase. The ...
- 143k
9
votes
Is replacing all my Fujifilm gear with this Canon zoom lens an upgrade?
You might also want to take into account the following:
That 24-70 mm doesn't cover even half your current range.
You really like the 90mm for portraits, and 90 mm is outside that recommended ...
- 3,161
8
votes
Any tricks to escape the zoom lens trap?
I wondered if it is a common knowledge how to "jump off" the zoom lens hook
I don't think this is necessarily a good idea.
The problem is basically sensor size. With a 1/1.7" sensor, it is easy to ...
- 8,504
8
votes
Is replacing all my Fujifilm gear with this Canon zoom lens an upgrade?
Stupid advice
This "pro" just sounds like an idiot with a camera. Don't listen to him.
Canon is indeed a good brand with many great lenses, but so is Fuji (and Nikon, Sony, ...).
Lenses
The 24-70 ...
- 2,273
8
votes
Dogs & Portraits: Should I buy the Canon 50mm f/1.4 or the Tamron 35mm f/1.8 for my APS-C DSLR?
Since the choice of lens is highly subjective, we can’t tell you definitively which to pick. Instead, I’ll offer a suggestion about how to make the decision yourself.
Each lens has many variables ...
- 289
7
votes
How can a lens with a single focal length focus on more than one plane?
Then, simple physics tells us that it should be able to focus only on one plane (at a fixed distance) in front of it. But in fact you can focus on objects near as well as far... What am I missing here?...
- 31.6k
7
votes
Why there is no image-stabilized Canon 50mm lens?
There is a technical reason for not incorporating image stabilisation in a typical high speed Gauss type lens. Optical IS requires a moving lens component that displaces the image laterally without ...
- 191
7
votes
Can I work with ONLY a single fixed focal length lens?
Question asks for opinions, but the answer can be subjective and still be on spot.
The first thing to consider when taking photos is your skill, not the camera.
And unless it comes to professionals ...
- 609
6
votes
Accepted
Will a 14mm f/2.8 prime be useful for nearby action shots?
Probably not. The Rokinon/Bower/Samyang/whatever else it is being marketed as this week 14mm f/2.8 is a manual focus lens. That makes it difficult to use for photographing action. And while it is true ...
- 174k
6
votes
Are prime lenses sharp across the whole frame while zoom lenses are soft in the corners?
As with any blanket statement, it's not true in every case that primes will give consistent sharpness across the field and zoom lenses won't. To take one specific example, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II ...
- 21.5k
6
votes
Why buy prime super telephoto lenses instead of zoom super telephoto lenses?
You might buy one in order to get a balance of high quality, reasonable size and weight, fast aperture, and a lower price. As you say, people often get shorter primes because they like a particular ...
- 143k
6
votes
Accepted
Is an 85mm prime lens worth getting to blur backgrounds, if I already have a 50mm prime?
TL;DR
You will get a bit more and smoother blur. If it's worth the Investment is up to you. But be adivsed that the smoothness of the blur is highly depending on the lens-construction itself, so the ...
- 1,488
6
votes
How to avoid changing lenses all the time when shooting with primes?
Mount one lens and focus your mind to pre-vizualize your shots in that focal length. Keep focusing, forget the other lenses in your pocket. Or leave them at home.
Once your brain starts working in ...
- 5,215
6
votes
Accepted
Will primes become rarer in the 24-70mm range for DSLRs like they did for the 70-200mm?
Will primes become rarer in the 24-70mm range for DSLRs like they did for the 70-200mm?
Probably not. The biggest advantage of most primes in the 24-70mm range is the wider than f/2.8 aperture to ...
- 174k
6
votes
Accepted
Should I crop photos from a prime instead of using a zoom lens?
Short answer
Bright, sharp primes, when paired with high-resolution sensors, can be a viable alternative to slower, variable aperture zoom lenses and enable effective zooming. Constant aperture ...
- 251
5
votes
What are the pros and cons of constant-aperture zoom lenses, for a relative beginner?
It's an old question ( EG http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/2714173 ).
The short answer is that it is most advantageous for Video, because when you zoom in everything doesn't get darker.
For ...
- 1,803
5
votes
What software can show my most frequently used focal length?
The latest version of ExifToolGUI supports graphing and recursive search !
http://u88.n24.queensu.ca/exiftool/forum/index.php/topic,2750.0.html
http://u88.n24.queensu.ca/~bogdan/
https://sno.phy....
- 151
5
votes
What would be a better lens, 40 or 50mm prime, for walk around?
None of these lenses are going to approach L series lenses in terms of build quality and the ability to take punishment and just keep working as they should. There are reasons they offer near the same ...
- 174k
5
votes
Can I work with ONLY a single fixed focal length lens?
Don't be fooled by what others say about the kit lens. Sony has a reputation to live up too. The kit lens specifications has been chosen to provide a good entry level lens. Your best choice is to ...
- 38.5k
5
votes
Can I work with ONLY a single fixed focal length lens?
It’s very subjective, if the kit lens is good or not. Most people can't tell the difference between a photos taken with a high quality lens and a fair one, only the really bad lenses stands out for ...
- 227
5
votes
Any tricks to escape the zoom lens trap?
I used to use zoom lenses but now only use primes, which taught me how to frame better and to move to get the right shot.
If you are using a full frame camera you can always use the crop feature to ...
- 103
5
votes
Is an 85mm prime lens worth getting to blur backgrounds, if I already have a 50mm prime?
I'm not sure you've correctly understood how depth of field works. To a very good approximation, if you keep the same framing and the same aperture then the depth of field stays the same - as such an ...
- 21.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible