Why fixed standard zoom?

[LeftBehind]

Ideally, I'd love to see a 50 f/1.4 and a 20 f/2.0 for around the same price, $200, but I dont think I will be able to find a 20mm prime for that cheap, or one around there.

 

[gizmo2071]

Without sounding rude (I hope), but for most peoples level of shooting on here a decent zoom (zoom meaning you can change focal lengths) lens will be more than sufficient.
Of course a prime lens and prime telephoto lenses are very good, an average consumer shouldn't worry about it too much, imho.
I wouldn't worry to much about the difference between buying a decent (I do say decent, not a bad) zoom compared to a professional zoom or a prime.
I think a zoom lens will just be much more useful and then get a decent flash for low light conditions instead of worrying about have super wide apertures.
Even the best primes are soft at their widest and don't usually get sharp until closed down by a couple of stops.

 

[fmw]

I see how - for instance - people swear on the 50mm when it comes to portrait but why use a fixed standard zoom and not one where you can change the length on desire? Whats the purpose of a fixed standard zoom then and why use it when you can have more flexibility wit hthe others?

Fixed focal length lenses are faster, lighter, sharper and contrastier. In other words they are better optically. There is a trade off for variable focal lengh (zooms) and that is that they are slower, heavier, softer and less contrasty.

 

[DRodgers]

Prime lens =fixed focal length and fixed aperture at the chosen setting.
When shooting with a zoom in manual you have to change your shutter speed when moving the zoom in and out.(the fstop changes to compensate for light coming in)
This can be a pain for macro shooting ,indoor ect.
Then theres the distortion that zoom causes usually ext ,edges loose sharpness and sometimes pincushion and barrel distortion also.

 

[Iron Flatline]

I believe the 50mm is the standard bearer because it's been around for as long as small-format film (35mm film, the now-classic 24x36mm neg).

In my mind the standard portrait lens is the 85mm lens. At that point you're really beginning to exclude facial distortion.

 

[Alex_B]

an average consumer shouldn't worry about it too much, imho.

The average consumer is something very hard to define

Even the best primes are soft at their widest and don't usually get sharp until closed down by a couple of stops.

Well, I have seen rather cheap primes being way better than expensive pro-zooms in that respect.

 

[EOS_JD]

Prime lens =fixed focal length and fixed aperture at the chosen setting.

Not sure I understand this.... Fixed aperture?? Shoot with a quality zoom and you'll not need to change your aperture setting when zooming.

When shooting with a zoom in manual you have to change your shutter speed when moving the zoom in and out.(the fstop changes to compensate for light coming in)

Firstly the correct term would not be fstop or shutter speed - replace with the word "exposure" as you can amend ISO, fstop or shutter speed to maintain a correct exposure.

Also shooting with a zoom or a prime makes no difference in this regard. Zooming is effectively the same as moving your prime lens closer/further away and therefore the same thing will happen..... as you move your prime closer or further away the exposure will change (particularly when very close to your subject like in macro photography).

the answers were better put in the above posts.

 

[kundalini]

I love my 50mm f/1.8 and use it about 75%.....okay.....well over 50% of the time. It's not an issue for me to acutally move my feet to get the composition I want.

 

[EOS_JD]

I love my 50mm f/1.8 and use it about 75%.....okay.....well over 50% of the time. It's not an issue for me to acutally move my feet to get the composition I want.

Depends on the situation you're in. For weddings, I need the flexibility of a zoom in my arsenal. Being restricted to one focal length in places I'm asked not to move in would be bad news for me. But you're right, use your feet to zoom.