When and why to take the Zoom Lens or the Prime Lens

 

For a long time, I lived under the misconception that zoom lenses are good for travelling only. There, they are indispensable for me. Having just a camera with one lens is freedom and lightness. On the road, I used the Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4.0 Art on my DX Nikon bodies exclusively.

But prime lenses have benefits too. In this posting, I like to share some ideas and many thoughts. There is rarely a clear winner in life, and that's so with zoom versus primes too.

Especially under the influence of YouTube, but also by reading books, I lured for more than my trustworthy travel zoom. The recommendation was always: Use prime lenses! This seemed to be the way to advance in photography. The message was that zooms are for lazy photographers, yield lower image quality, and are slow. This is all only party true.

Till now, I have shown images here which were all taken with zoom lenses. In fact, all of them would not have been so easy if the photographer was restricted to prime lenses. Only, if you are willing to actually go out for a photo shoot with your backpack and a collection of primes, you can cope with a zoom. But these images were taken at places where I was for the adventure and the experience, not for photos mainly. Too much equipment would have been in the way.

Versatility and compactness are good arguments for zooms. Not everyone gets joy from carrying a backpack with several lenses, especially while biking or hiking. Add a tripod, and the equipment may soon become a nuisance. 

You may say that this is my style, and others have another goal in photography. And you are exactly right. In fact, that is the point I want to make here. If you follow the following advice, it will spare you a lot of money.

Use the right lens for the job and don't just select a lens because it is excellent.
Most images can be done with the simple kit zoom just as well.

I have to back up this claim with facts. It is not the general opinion of advanced amateurs. Zoom, and especially kit zooms sold packaged with the camera, are usually looked down to.

For a first test, take your kit zoom and a prime lens and shoot a few images with the same settings. I.e., use the prime lens at f/4 or whatever aperture your zoom provides. You will be surprised how little difference you detect. Depending on your kit, you may still detect differences in sharpness and contrast. But they are minor, and I almost guarantee that they are gone at f/8. Consequently, the missing flexibility of a prime lens is just a burden for almost all images you take.

A fast prime must be used wide open. A macro lens must be used at macro distance.
Otherwise, these lenses are wasted.

That is the point I want to make here. The main reason to switch to a prime lens should be that it offers options which are not available with the kit zoom. We all know the feeling that an image taken along the way with a simple zoom would have been so much better if we only had used an expensive prime. Most of the time, this is not true. We either would not have taken the image at all because of the wrong prime, or it would have turned out the same.

Especially, the fine Nikon Z kits should not be underestimated. They are better than the previous F mount versions in almost any way. But other manufacturers have similar kits which are hard to beat by the primes in the corresponding settings. Don't get me wrong, however. There are differences! But I claim that those are minor. Good technique and post-processing are way more important.

This has been taken with the excellent Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 at f/4. It would look just the same with the 24-70 f/4 kit. You do not want to take f/2, because the DOF would be too small. And the same can be said in many situations.

A relatively inexpensive kit zoom nowadays can cope with an expensive prime
if used at the same settings.

There are differences still. And in some scenes and print sizes, those differences can be seen if you know what to look for. An expensive prime lens might have better correction in terms of chromatic errors and resistance to flare. It will also be sharper in the corners and often in the center. If you look at lab charts of such lenses, the difference appears exaggerated, however. It will not show that easily in real life, especially at apertures like f/8.

Here is a macro shot with the Nikon Z 105mm at f/14. Note, that f/14 might be the most open aperture the lens has at macro distance. This is probably good use of a macro lens. But I am not 100% sure if the magnification ratio is really high enough in this shot to prevent the 24-200 from taking the same image. Surprisingly, you can do closeups with that kit zoom too, as shown in the image below.

Even though it is only at f/6.3 the background is smooth. That is due to the 200mm focal distance. And the DOF needs to be not too small for the flower and the bug. Be aware, that the DOF is almost the same at all focal lengths and depends only on the f-stop if the same subject is shot to fill the frame. So, f/6.3 is probably needed for the DOF anyway. And this was made with a 24-200 zoom lens that I had with me anyway.

I repeat that my main point is not to keep you from using primes! They do produce better results, especially when used in ranges where the zoom cannot go. The point is that you should rather try to find and compose good scenes and apply the techniques to photography them at their best, than to carry around a set of primes.

There are three more good reasons to use a prime lens which I have not mentioned yet and which I find perfectly acceptable. First, you get a more compact lens and a cheaper one. Then, the main argument of many photographers is that they got used to the prime lens, and see the world and the possible subjects with the FOV of this lens. Those are valid reasons, and I too go out with the 50mm frequently. 

You can walk with only a prime.
But then you should look for compositions which showcase it. 

You could also argue in the contrary that a travel photographer like any other photographer has to learn to see the subject first and possible compositions second. Selecting a focal length from the focal lengths available on the zoom is simply a technical step.

In any case, do not get carried away with gear too much. 

Get excited about photographic subjects instead!
See the wonders of the world like a child would do.
And make beautiful images with whatever you have.