Prime tele lenses with EF mount

[Helios68]

Hi,

I know that Sigma has or had prime lenses with long focal lengths like 300mm f/2.8 or 500mm f/4.5.
I'm not sure weather Tamron had such or not.

But why the canon "alternatives" are releasing a lot of zoom lenses like sigma 120-300, sigma 150-600 or tamron 150-600, for example, and not prime lenses with good build and image quality?

With a fair price couldn't they make quite a lot of money with them?

Regards

 

[Steve]

It might be because its a difficult area to compete in. Sigma, Tamron, etc might be able to make a quality supertele prime but it might not be possible to do so while also making the price attractive. If the Sigma 600 f4 or whatever is $8-9k people would probably opt to spend a relatively small amount more to get the actual OEM version. Now, if they could do it for like $5-6k that would be something else, I think

 

[Helios68]

It might be because its a difficult area to compete in. Sigma, Tamron, etc might be able to make a quality supertele prime but it might not be possible to do so while also making the price attractive. If the Sigma 600 f4 or whatever is $8-9k people would probably opt to spend a relatively small amount more to get the actual OEM version. Now, if they could do it for like $5-6k that would be something else, I think

You're right. But I really hope they could do a honorable new 300mm f/2.8 for half canon's price. It would also push Canon to go down with the price

 

[jthomson]

People prefer zooms.

 

[Steve]

Sigma might be doing a 300 2.8 prime. I've seen various internet rumours and its definitely a lens they've made before. If they do, it would very likely be in the $3500 range, I would think. The only thing that makes me think they might not is that the new Global Vision plan seems to be moving away from directly competing on a price basis to competing on a quality basis (eg the Art primes) or a functional basis (the 120-300 2.8 ).

 

[Helios68]

People prefer zooms.

I can easily understand it. But zooms have also huge disadvantages especially with a x4 range:
-Distortions
-CA
-Vignetting
-Weight
-Size
-...

The primes are not as complex as a zoom and could really be optimized and for wildlife photography you are anyway at the longer focal length you have at least 95% of the time.

So are primes so bad at all?

 

[NancyP]

There are a lot more people walking around with EF 100-400 f/variable L IS lenses than EF 400 f/5.6Ls, comparably priced lenses. IS is a big part of the attraction, but frankly, even if the 400 had IS, most people would still opt for the zoom due to its versatility. I just think that the market for supertelephoto primes is limited, and that Sigma has done about as much as it could do with the 500 f/4.5, which is said to be a very good lens at a very good price, but people still want the OEM autofocus guarantee of compatibility and speed.

 

[jthomson]

People prefer zooms.

I can easily understand it. But zooms have also huge disadvantages especially with a x4 range:
-Distortions
-CA
-Vignetting
-Weight
-Size
-...

The primes are not as complex as a zoom and could really be optimized and for wildlife photography you are anyway at the longer focal length you have at least 95% of the time.

So are primes so bad at all?

Personally I prefer primes, I shot mostly with a 400mm f5.6L until i upgraded to a 500mm f4L.
But walking around with the prime you rapidly become aware that most people shoot with the 100-400mm, (which costs a couple of hundred more than the prime) or with the Sigma 50-500mm or 150-500mm. If people are only going to have one long expensive lens they are going to get the zoom for its versatility.
Long primes are great for nature, but not so good at the zoo or airshows

 

[mackguyver]

There are a lot more people walking around with EF 100-400 f/variable L IS lenses than EF 400 f/5.6Ls, comparably priced lenses. IS is a big part of the attraction, but frankly, even if the 400 had IS, most people would still opt for the zoom due to its versatility. I just think that the market for supertelephoto primes is limited, and that Sigma has done about as much as it could do with the 500 f/4.5, which is said to be a very good lens at a very good price, but people still want the OEM autofocus guarantee of compatibility and speed.

Well said Nancy. In all the years I owned a 400 f/5.6, I never saw another shooter with one, but I saw dozens of 100-400s and numerous 3rd party zooms. This is the same with pretty much every prime other than the 85L. I don't know what the ratio of zooms to primes is in terms of sales, but it must be quite significant. The 3rd parties are trying to make money and the R&D cost is generally best spent on zooms as they sell a whole lot more of them.