Why Buy A Prime Lens?

[LiveStrong2009]

I am curious why so many people use prime lenses. What are the advantages? I have noticed that many of them are relatively inexpensive and usually pretty fast, but don't their limits bother you?

I guess I am nearly convinced to buy a 50mm f1/8 just to see what everybody is so proud of.

 

[iAstonish]

They are usually much sharper, but cheaper to make, so the cost is less than a fast telephoto. It's like sacrificing the zoom range for better image quality.

Unless you want to buy a 2.8 telephoto, then you can have both, but the cost will reflect the quality.

 

[Neil S.]

Faster
Cheaper
Better IQ
They will improve your skills
Earns you some respect lol

 

[LiveStrong2009]

How do you decide which prime to get? I have seen many different focal lengths. The 50mm seems most popular but I also see the 24,28,35,85 etc...

 

[Neil S.]

How do you decide which prime to get? I have seen many different focal lengths. The 50mm seems most popular but I also see the 24,28,35,85 etc...

I would get the 135L if I was you.

Its a good deal, and they say the image quality and bokeh are outstanding.

 

[usayit]

How do you decide which prime to get? I have seen many different focal lengths. The 50mm seems most popular but I also see the 24,28,35,85 etc...

Bought and sold much Canon equipment and the following ended up "surviving" in my bag for many years:

24mm f/1.4L
50mm f/1.4
85mm f/1.8
135 f/2L

If necessary, I would add this one... leaving the 100-400L behind.

300 f/4L

I would pick and choose depending. I think those lenses are the wonderful balance between cost and quality. I never really had one but the 100mm f/2.8 macro is also nice for macro and portrait.

 

[Overread]

I am curious why so many people use prime lenses. What are the advantages? I have noticed that many of them are relatively inexpensive and usually pretty fast, but don't their limits bother you?

I guess I am nearly convinced to buy a 50mm f1/8 just to see what everybody is so proud of.

What limits are you thinking of in particular? The only real thing that primes "lack" over a zoom is the ability to change their focal length and allow you to zoom in and out. Thus leaving you to have to move either the camera closer/further or the subject in order to change the framing.

Other than that primes tend to have all advantages over zooms:
1) Faster max apertures - meaning a brigther, clearer viewfinder image; better light gathering for AF; the potential for using wider apertures for either creative or lightgathering effects (eg shooting in low light without flash)

2) Improved optical quality - generally primes (of good quality of course) are sharper than zooms, especailly when wide open

Price wise its moot - primes can be cheaper and also far far more expensive than zooms.

Also note that whilst primes might be better optically than zooms its not to say that zooms are not usable. In the past zooms were generally too poor in quality for pro use; today however there are many on the market that give very highquality results - maybe not as sharp as a prime, but certainly still giving very usable results.

There are also somethings that primes can do that zooms can't - like achive 1:1 (true) macro (I'm not aware of a zoom 1:1 capable macro lens).

In the end its about fitting your needs against your assests (budget) and seeing which lenses fit those requirements.

 

[Garbz]

How do you decide which prime to get? I have seen many different focal lengths. The 50mm seems most popular but I also see the 24,28,35,85 etc...

50mm is popular because it's cheap. You need to ask yourself what the goal is. Do you run around taking average sized portraits? A 50mm or 85mm is great for single shots of people. Take photos of groups of people, or with a natural looking perspective, then 35mm is for you on a modern digital camera. 24mm makes a good wide angle. 400mm is great for chasing birds (the winged kind) and getting birds to chase you (the boobed kind).

Don't buy a prime for the sake of spending money. Buy a prime to expand and improve what you love. I too have the popular 50mm. It rarely leaves my bag. 85mm and 105mm are the focal lengths for me.

 

[usayit]

yup.. they are right.. you should let what you are shooting drive your purchases.

I'd just like to add that sometimes people think in terms of Zooms VERSUS primes. That simply isn't the case. Often primes can supplement the zoom you have in hand. In my case, I ended up selling everything listed and simplifying. 24-105L + 50mm f/1.4. The decision to keep the 50mm wasn't because it was cheap but because it is an all around good performer and I like mild telephoto (1.33x crop). In low light at wide apertures, I tend to shoot subject (as opposed to story telling) type photos.

I now shoot primes with a different system (1.3x crop).. they tend to be one of two sets.

35 and 75

or

50 and 90.

 

[Petraio Prime]

How do you decide which prime to get? I have seen many different focal lengths. The 50mm seems most popular but I also see the 24,28,35,85 etc...

I own 28, 50, 90, 180, 350, and 560mm lenses. Want more!

 

[subscuck]

I would get the 135L if I was you.

Why? On a crop body, that's effectively 216mm. $1000 for a first prime that's only useable in certain situations? 30,35 or 50mm are far more usefull fl's for far more situations.

 

[KmH]

How do you decide which prime to get?

With an understanding of how lenses and photography work, deciding what lens to get is easy. You get the prime lens that does what you need it to do.

It's only hard to decide if you don't know how it all works.

 

[Derrel]

Primes are predictable and dependable--you always know where to stand, and what your framing will be with a prime lens. You know "how far away to stand" with a prime lens after using it for a while. After a good period of use with a prime lens, you can mentally envision what picture it will make...you get a feel for its depth of field, you learn how it renders its backgrounds (defocus, background blur, bokeh) and you learn what kind of apparent expansion of space (ultra-wides, wide-angles) and compression of space and background enlargement (telephotos) each prime lens will impart to the images shot with it.

When assembling a prime lens kit, it's often useful to think in terms of doubling/halving your focal length, such as 24/50/100/200. In my opinion, which includes a lot of years using only primes for most things, a few lengths come in really,really hand, and they are the 300mm f/4, a 200/4 or 200/2.8 or a 180mm, a fast 135mm either f/2.8 or f/2, and a 100 or 105mm lens of f/2.8 or faster, and the 85mm 1.8 or 1.4.

Out of those above, the 85mm/1.8 and the 300mm f/4 are probably the single most-useful, most essential prime lenses on either FF or 1.5x bodies. Both the 85mm and 300mm primes give a LOT of very useful capability to one's overall kit...they have very high optical quality, and the 85 is good in low light indoors, usually focuses very rapidly, and can be used for sports, portraiture,landscapes,and travel. The 300mm/4 is invariably a high-quality lens, of decent aperture speed, is usually fast-focusimg, and can be used for sports,nature,landscapes, outdoor people photography, and with an extension tube added, can be pressed into service as a bug-butterfly- pseudo macro lens.

 

[Neil S.]

Good post Derrel.

I hadn't even thought about the "You know how far away to stand" and "you can mentally envision what picture it will make" parts. :thumbup:

Primes do seem to help improve your skills in many ways. Thats one of the reasons I recommend everyone buy at least one or two. The non pro level ones are so cheap too, no reason not to.

I realized when getting mine that they force you to learn to focus better when shooting wide open. Most zooms arent fast enough to have a shallow DOF, so focus isnt quite as big of an issue for them.

 

[LiveStrong2009]

WOW! Thank you very much, these are by far the most helpful responses I have gotten on any of my threads.

Alright, So imagine that I may use these lenses to photograph architecture, landscapes, macro, and possibly some portraits, what focal lengths would you recommend?

What would you say are the best uses for each lens?
What is the best use for a 24mm, a 50mm, and an 85mm?