Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Fuji Forum | Join Upload & Sell

  

Archive 2017 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom

  
 
col4bin
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


I have always been a zoom kind of person for the flexibility....or so I thought. I recently returned from a trip and brought with me the 10-24, 18-55 and 23/2. As I examined my shooting behavior, I noticed that I tend to gravitate towards the extremes on the zooms. Further looking into my catalog reveals similar behavior. That's not to say that I don't shoot at the in between focal lengths but it seems like I could lightened my load with a prime trio. With 24mp on the x-t2, I have room to crop if I cannot achieve the perspective I want with my feet. Changing lenses on the fly is not burdensome to me. Extra weight is.

Before I go on my next trip, I am going to look to acquire the 14/2.8 and 50/2. the 35/2 may find a place in my bag but it is a low priority focal length for me.

What were some of the factors that made other zoom shooters move to a prime kit?



May 29, 2017 at 01:06 PM
Elisha82
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


Low light wide open is normally my main motivation to use a prime.
I do sometimes miss a zoom but never indoors.



May 29, 2017 at 01:21 PM
ontime
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


For me personally, shooting with primes is more about an enhanced shooting experience (and to a lesser extent, IQ). When you try to compare them to zooms from a practical perspective, the arguments for shooting primes fall apart. For example, if you're looking to lighten and simplify your kit you could just leave the 23/2 at home, or shoot with only the 14 and the 18-55, which would allow you to leave the 23/2, 35/2, and 50/2 at home.

Exceptions: if you shoot a lot of low light, you need subject isolation via dof, astrophotography.



May 29, 2017 at 01:55 PM
col4bin
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


I like the 22/2 for a nighttime walk around lens. Any other prime could also serve as double duty in that regard. It's a just a matter of what I am willing to compromise.

ontime wrote:
For me personally, shooting with primes is more about an enhanced shooting experience (and to a lesser extent, IQ). When you try to compare them to zooms from a practical perspective, the arguments for shooting primes fall apart. For example, if you're looking to lighten and simplify your kit you could just leave the 23/2 at home, or shoot with only the 14 and the 18-55, which would allow you to leave the 23/2, 35/2, and 50/2 at home.

Exceptions: if you shoot a lot of low light, you need subject isolation via dof, astrophotography.




May 29, 2017 at 03:33 PM
Lee Saxon
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


There's also this aspect of it all:

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2017/02/things-you-didnt-want-to-know-about-zoom-lenses/



Jun 08, 2017 at 05:14 PM
ofafeather
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


Personally I usually find myself coming back to zooms most of the time. I haven't shot with the Fuji system yet (waiting for it to arrive still) but with my Canon gear I usually end up with a zoom except in rare cases, such as low light, non-flash images or extreme shallow DoF. That said, there is something different shooting at a single focal length. It makes me compose differently, which I like. It will be interesting to see which way I go because I just bought a set of lenses from someone here. 18-55OS, 14/2.8. 27/2.8 (I like this for its ultra compact size), 35/2. I probably would have picked up the 23/2 if he had it and might have passed on the 35 but we made a reasonable package deal so...

The other interesting thing is that with modern file sizes and resolution we have room to crop hard and still achieve good results. Guess we'll see what we see. I don't know if I'll need a telephoto lens. I mean, I bought this kit for more discreet shooting and travel! I always have my Canon rig for other stuff...or maybe I should just take the plunge and Fuji all the way!

Shoot what makes you happy. Buy used, experiment and sell what doesn't work for you. Minimal loss and great fun. Sometimes all of the options make my head spin.

Sorry for the ramble.



Jun 10, 2017 at 08:00 AM
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


While I've had so many zooms over time I tend to pick up a prime 80 percent of the time. Zooms I only used at event work and such where I'd have to switch often, so I'd take two or once in a while even three bodies and two zooms plus a macro or perhaps an extremely wide lens.

For for all of my shooting I tend to use primes. There are the usual reasons, but for me it's actually something else. I like that I can get to learn my primes much better in several ways. Flare can change on zooms in too complicated a way when you factor focal distance, aperture and the lenses idiosyncrasies. I can get my head around how the flare works on several primes because it becomes predictable after a time. Same with the field of view. I know as I walk to a scene expecting something to happen where to stop and stand and have field of view predictable before I raise the camera to my eye.

So with three or four primes, versus a zoom or two, it's actually a sense of comfort through predictability and knowing the lens well that I get, which leads me to a more zen like state. The camera disappears and I see and anticipate better. And of course people are much less aware when there is not a bazooka pointed at them

Zooms are convenient - primes put me in charge and make me work a bit more on fundamentals. I tend to like that. It's often not a need "need" but rather "enjoyment"



Jun 24, 2017 at 11:32 AM
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


Of course it should be added that I started with primes, back in the days before zooms and when zooms were awful.

I went with the engineering side of my brain and thought I should use primes so as they got to levels of high image quality I kind of felt compelled to get with the times.

But it was sort of like eating a low fat or low whatever diet. Yeah ok, great idea - but why am I always hungry for a fat juicy burger? I've still got a few zooms. I dust them off once in a while and really like the Fuji 18-55, which never needed dusting. I shoot it as as two primes however, I've noticed. It's a quick change 18 or a 55. Almost never anything else. I think that it's because I also find any focal length between about 28mm equivalency to about 60mm equivalent angle of view not my kind of excitement.

So my ideal perfect lens kit is a 18 or 21, 24, 90 or 135 and maybe a 300, in FF 35 terms, all I'd ever need. Where can I find a kit like that I wonder, both reasonably priced and excellent IQ, I wonder? Hmmmm.



Jun 24, 2017 at 11:40 AM
James R
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


Each has its purpose. The 16 1.4, 23 1.4 and 50 2.0 hit 80% of needs. The 18-55, 50-140, 56 1.2, and 9O go in and out of bag as needed.

Smart to look at your shooting habits prior to buying a lens. I would encourage you to take a look at the 16 1.4, it is one of Fuji's best. its 24mm equivalence is great as a landscape/travel lens.



Jun 24, 2017 at 03:34 PM
twelveish
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


For me, the thing is... I'm just lazy. I love using primes, but hate changing lenses, whether shooting for myself or covering an event.

After having acquired pretty much all the XF primes I need, I finally caved and picked up the 16-55 on a good deal.

Great lens. Also a terrible lens because now I use my primes way, way less.

I knew it.




Jun 25, 2017 at 05:29 AM
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


twelveish wrote:
For me, the thing is... I'm just lazy. I love using primes, but hate changing lenses, whether shooting for myself or covering an event.

After having acquired pretty much all the XF primes I need, I finally caved and picked up the 16-55 on a good deal.

Great lens. Also a terrible lens because now I use my primes way, way less.

I knew it.



Simple. Three Fuji Bodies for three Fuji primes. Changing lenses is so yesterday.




Jun 25, 2017 at 09:27 PM
Tony B
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


Pavel wrote:
Simple. Three Fuji Bodies for three Fuji primes. Changing lenses is so yesterday.



What would your 3 primes & 3 bodies be?



Jun 26, 2017 at 09:06 PM
vallejo
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


Pavel wrote:
Simple. Three Fuji Bodies for three Fuji primes. Changing lenses is so yesterday.



Unloading weight is what most of us changed to Fuji for, isn't it?



Jun 29, 2017 at 01:14 PM
charles.K
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · I feel like I should be shooting primes and forego the zoom


Personally I prefer primes for the IQ, size and weight. But with the FL eff range of 70-200 mm the 50-140/2.8 is superb with OIS. The change in FOV with the 70-200mm effective FL means you maximize your composition so you do not have to crop. Whereas often fixed lenses in this FL range you often have to crop so there are diminishing returns.

In the past I have had the 24-70mm effective FL zooms, but I rarely use them over a fast prime unless they are image stabilized.



Jun 29, 2017 at 09:25 PM





FM Forums | Fuji Forum | Join Upload & Sell

    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.