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p.5 #12 · p.5 #12 · How often do you change your prime lenses when you shoot photos? | |
Younjulius wrote:
I was at a prom last week. I brought 24-105g for group shots and candid shots and 85mm for portraits. I switched between the two like ten times in the couple hours.
Since I’m not used to the event, and obviously had no control over what’s happening, I found myself with a wrong lens more often than not. I eventually just stuck with the zoom lens and gave up taking portraits with shallow depth of field. I wasn’t being lazy with lens switching but my inexperience didn’t help with using right lens for the right moments.
I thought a 2.8 zoom lens could get me bette4 subject separations, and then I don’t think I could handheld shots at 105mm with my shaky hands without the help of OSS....Show more →
That's one strong example of a situation where a TriLens is an enormous help. Two or three lenses immediately to hand at all times, easy switching back and forth between them, taking only a few seconds each time and with less fiddle and juggling than would otherwise be the case. I have used a TriLens often to photograph private events like proms, it's tremendously helpful for it. There are no disadvantages to such a gadget in these kinds of situations, it's not a pickpocketing or street robbery risk, just an enormous help. I get to use primes, with their lower ISOs (very relevant for indoor event shooting), high image quality and punchier depth of field, as I see fit, without the handling/convenience drawbacks - and rather than being limited to the various image quality compromises involved in using zooms.
"A set of primes plus a TriLens" is still distinctly slower to switch focal lengths than a zoom. But it nevertheless takes a lot of the delay, stress and fuss away - it makes a big difference. Honestly, your anecdote is a classic example of a situation where something like a TriLens would greatly alleviate your problem. I won't spam about it again unless directly asked (I don't own shares in these guys, honestly, I just find their gadget indispensable!), I promise, but this usage case was too obvious not to repeat my recommendation this one time.
I described the TriLens earlier in this thread-
GHarris wrote:
I use a much-derided accessory called a "TriLens" by "Frii Designs".
https://www.friidesigns.com/
It attaches to your belt and carries three lenses for quick changes.
It enables me to have three primes on the go rather than one. Two on your TriLens (leaving one slot empty on the Trilens), and one prime on your camera of course. When you want to swap lenses, you remove the lens from your camera, snap it onto the TriLens' empty spare slot, and then take one of the other lenses off the TriLens and snap it onto your camera.
It makes changing prime lenses very quick and easy. Just a very few seconds instead of long stop with a backpack - taking the backpack off, opening it up, fumbling around in it and with lens caps, closing it back up and putting it on your back again. Instead, hanging there on your belt, the lenses you might swap to are immediately available to hand. You have somewhere to immediately put down the lens you've just taken off your camera. The TriLens acts as the rear-lens-cap and holds your lenses for you like a third hand so there are less movements involved in each lens change, less juggling.
Of course, sometimes I might want to switch between *more* than 3 primes! And when I hit that limit I still have to take time to delve into my backpack to pick out a fourth lens to take out, and put one of the original three away.
But it is a huge convenience and quality-of-life upgrade for a prime shooter in many contexts, in my opinion.
You technically can hang large and heavy lenses off of the TriLens, it's strong enough for it, but I generally don't. It's best for smallish primes. Or maybe one large prime and two small ones (much more and it can get clumsy having all that weight and bulk hanging on your waist).
And it perhaps isn't a workable option in every environment and context. An incredibly busy crowd in a place renowned for pickpockets or street robberies would be a bad environment for it I guess (but, then, that might also be a bad environment for photography generally). But for photographing private events, or for peaceful walk-around shooting in public, or out in nature, I find it a very useful device. It takes away most of the convenience disadvantage of being a prime-lens shooter.
This is not a product advertisement, I have no relationship with Frii Designs, I'm just someone who backed their kickstarter way back when it was new, seeing something in it that was exactly what I needed - and I have been happy with my Trilens ever since.
I've seen the accessory enthusiastically mocked/criticised on this forum once or twice by people who don't own one. I admit it's not for everyone and it's not for every situation. But it has a role and a place and, for me, it's invaluable - precisely because it answers the question/problem posed by the OP. Thanks to the TriLens, I change my prime lenses rather often - much more often than I otherwise would - and I find it a lot quicker and less fussy/stressful to do so....Show more →
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