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Both prime lenses and zoom lenses have their strengths and as with so much in the world of photography, preferences are very personal. Some photographers use zooms almost exclusively and others swear only by prime lenses. The majority of photographers use a healthy mixture of both prime and zoom lenses though, and we’ll present the strengths of each so that you can get an idea of when each type might be the best lens to use. Keep in mind — there is no perfect lens for every application, there are just lenses which are better suited to certain types of photography than others.
Zoom lenses are by far the most versatile and convenient, even more so for casual photographers who tend to photograph anything and everything and haven’t decided on a specific type of photography to focus on. Many modern zoom lenses are able to fit a wide focal length range into a smaller lens and make use of stabilization to counteract the effects of camera shake, meaning that even if their maximum aperture isn’t as wide as a prime lens, they can still be used in low-light conditions. Prime lenses used to reign supreme when it came to image sharpness, but zoom lenses, especially those designed for professionals, can increasingly hold their own against primes, although high end primes usually still have somewhat of a competitive advantage.
Now, let’s take a look at how prime & zoom lenses differ and what the benefits are of each type!
Prime lenses have fewer optical elements and provide a single, fixed focal length, limiting the lens to just one unchangeable angle of view. You’ll recall from our earlier explanation of angle of view that this refers to how much of the scene in front of you the lens can “see”.
Prime lenses often have very wide maximum apertures which helps to capture a very shallow depth of field in a photo — perfect for isolating the subject from the background, as seen in this shot taken with a Sony A7 and Sony 55mm f/1.8 prime lens.
Very few zoom lenses have a maximum aperture that is this wide, making primes a great choice for photographers who want an ultra-shallow depth of field in their close-up photos.
Weight
Prime lenses nearly always weigh less than zoom lenses. The reason for this is that fewer glass lens elements need to be used in a prime lens and there’s no need for the more complicated mechanisms zoom lenses use to shift the optical elements around inside the lens barrel.
Size
Again, because less needs to fit into the lens barrel, prime lenses are usually much smaller than zoom lenses. If you find yourself using one focal length more than others, using a prime lens in that focal length can save you space in your camera bag.
Depth of Field
With fewer optical elements squeezed into a small space to allow the lens to operate at multiple focal lengths, a prime lens is devoted to just one focal length. More optical elements means the lens can gather less light, so prime lenses are usually much faster, meaning they have a wider maximum aperture than zoom lenses that cover a similar range of focal lengths. A faster maximum aperture means that a shallower depth of field can be achieved — perfect for getting smooth, creamy bokeh.
Low Light Shooting
Because the entire optical arrangement of a prime lens can be devoted to just one focal length, bigger optical elements can help to gather more light with a wider maximum aperture. The fastest prime lenses let in more than twice as much light as the fastest zoom lenses, making them ideal for photography in low light conditions.
Sharpness
The optical elements in a lens are optimized so that they reduce aberrations which decrease the image quality. Prime lenses have a reputation for being sharper than zoom lenses, because it’s easier to optimise a lens with relatively few optical elements to sharply resolve a single focal length. Generally, inexpensive prime lenses will produce sharper photos than inexpensive zoom lenses.
Price
With fewer moving parts and glass lens elements, prime lenses usually cost less than zoom lenses covering a range of similar focal lengths. There are some exceptions of course with very high-end prime lenses like the Canon 85mm f/1.2 L which is both heavy and expensive, but this is because of the huge glass elements needed to achieve such a wide maximum aperture.
Zoom lenses have a focal length which can be adjusted within a range of maximum and minimum focal lengths, which you’ll find displayed on the lens. A zoom lens such as the Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS lens can be used as a 10mm lens, an 18 mm lens, or any focal length within this range such as 12mm or 16mm. With their variable focal length, zoom lenses allow you to change your angle of view, so that you can capture a narrower or wider portion of the scene without changing where you are standing.
More Variety in your Photos
Being able to vary the focal length without having to move from where you’re standing means that you can change your perspective on the scene easily. Some photographers insist that prime lenses promote creativity, but the truth is that zoom lenses can as well! If you’re out for a day of photography and have one lens with you, you’re likely to get a wider variety of perspectives from carrying a zoom lens than if you only carry a single prime lens.
Convenience and Flexibility
When you’re out in the field, you never know what kind of scene you’ll come across. Zoom lenses can provide an unparalleled level of flexibility that enables you to zoom in or out of a scene without needing to change your position. A photographer with a Nikkor 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 lens could zoom in to the 85mm focal length to fill their frame with a bird on a branch, while a photographer using a Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens would have to actually walk much closer to the bird to fill their frame with it.
Space Efficiency
Instead of carrying multiple lenses on a trip, you might be able to carry just one or two lenses. While you might need several prime lenses to adequately cover a wide focal range of say, 120mm to 400mm, a single zoom lens like the Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 can cover this entire range.
Although the choice between prime and zoom lenses is important, you’ll also need to research and decide whether you want to stick with lenses made by your camera brand of choice like Sony, Pentax, Canon, and Nikon or whether to try third party lenses made by companies like Sigma, Zeiss, Tamron, and Tokina which are usually less expensive — often quite significantly so. In the past, lenses made by the major camera brands brands like Nikon and Canon specifically for their cameras were typically of superior quality and had autofocus systems which worked quicker, but many modern third party lenses rival the quality obtainable by even the best proprietary lenses and boast very effective autofocus.
If you’re considering buying a third party lens, be sure to check the reviews. Some lenses pair with a camera’s autofocus system better than others, and if you’re paying for a lens that can be autofocused, you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.
Other third party lenses like many of those made by Samyang, Rokinon, and Bower are designed as strictly manual focus lenses. You might think that manual focus only lenses wouldn’t be very popular in the modern world, but these lenses are actually excellent for many applications like long exposure star photography. Since autofocus requires ample light and contrast to work, autofocus is useless in the dark and a manual-only lens does the job just as well.