• The Canon Rumors Forum has officially been shut down as of July 10, 2026.

    All data will be deleted on September 16, 2026.

    the ad free experience will return by July 17, 2026.

Prime vs zoom

Do you use primes, zooms, or both

  • Only primes

    Votes: 12 11.7%

  • Zooms when I can, specialized lenses for Macro, TS-E, super telephotos

    Votes: 12 11.7%

  • Zooms all the time

    Votes: 5 4.9%

  • Both primes and zoo

    Votes: 74 71.8%
  • Total voters
    103
Status
Not open for further replies.
Sort by date Sort by votes
RGF

RGF

How you relate to the issue, is the issue.
Jul 13, 2012
2,817
37
22,151
#1
Do you zooms or prime lens. In my case I will use a zoom if I can but I need a specialized lens 14mm UWA, Macro, long glass.

I don't have any primes that overlap with zooms (16-35, 24-105, 70-200) but have been reading how great some of the primes are.
 
#5
I own a 25-105 f/4L IS... and I'll use that if I am uncertain of how close I will be to my subject and presuming there is good light.

I had a 50mm f/1.8 and I have a 50mm f/1.4 that I use when I know there will be low light situations and 50mm on my crop sensor (60D) equals about 80mm on a full frame... and while most people will say that is too long, it isn't a bad distance for me. I used to use my f/1.8 exclusively over my 18-55mm... I really liked the depth of field and the bokeh.

I have recently been using a 100mm f/2.8L Macro for most of my sport shootings (football, basketball, track). It's very sharp, I get great shutter rates in sunlight (1/6000 of a second), at f/2.8 it is sharp and I really prefer using it. Actually I had a 70-200mm f/4L USM and I much preferred the 100mm, then I had a 70-200mm f/2.8L USM and again the 100mm was my lens of choice.

I also have a Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 fisheye that I stop down to around 8 or higher, and I tripod mount it and I'm fond of the results.

I'm mulling over getting a 300mm f/4L IS or maybe a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS mkii. It's really a puzzle... I buy and sell gear and right now I'm cash rich... so I have more money than I do needs...
 
Upvote 0
#6
It really depends on what I'm shooting. If I can afford to, primes all the way. However, there are plenty of conditions where you simply have to have a zoom.

If I can take my time and prepare for don't have to rush to swap lenses, I'll stick with my 50, 85, 100, or 135. However, if I'm on foot (exploring a city), I'll usually stick with my 24-70mm.

So for me, it's really a combination of both! But if I had to pick, I prefer the picture quality of my primes.
 
Upvote 0
#7
I'm not a pro, so I am never under pressure to "get the shot". I also have plenty of access to my primary subjects. So it's primes all the way for me (35L/50mm f/1.4/siggy 85/135L and on a panasonic gf2 the 20mm f/1.7 and the 45mm f/1.8)

Having said that I owned the 15-85mm EF-S lens and it was quite nice for outdoor shots -- it would make a fine travel zoom. It was very good for what I used it for (outdoor walkaround-ish shots), it's just that I didn't take these shots very often. I liked it very much as a wide angle lens (where I am more likely to want more depth of field and hence aren't bothered that it's a slow lens), I didn't use the tele lengths on it as much.

The primes: 35L : my "wide lens". Siggy 85: my "indoor portrait lens". 135L : my outdoor tele. 50mm f/1.4 -- this one's a bit of an odd duck (it was my favourite lens for APS-C and I couldn't bear to part with it) but when I have to choose exactly one lens, this is the one.
 
Upvote 0
#8
I've been using primes 20:1 over zooms.
That is about to change I think. I just bought a 70-200mm f/2.8, ordered a 24-70mmL today, and have a 16-35mmL and 100-400mmL. I'll sell my little used 70-200mm f/4 IS, and probably my 24-105mmL
This leaves me with a few primes, 15mm f/e, 17mm f/3.5 Tokina, 35mmL, 100mmL, and 135mmL. I sold my 85mm 1.8 and two 50mm 1.4's and a 50mm 1.8 MK I last week. I also have some older consumer zooms that I will sell, but they do not amount to much. A 22-55, 28-200, and 50-200 that I've had laying around. I also have three TC's.

I'm trying to reduce the number of lenses that I use, but I'm prone to buying more. I am concerned about the ability of the zooms to function well in low light, of 2704 images at a recent shoot, 1550 were greater apertures than f/2.8, and many of the others were shot by a person who had a smaller aperture lens.
what I can get aw

I typically use a pretty fast shutter because there is movement, but I'll find how slow I can go very soon.
 
Upvote 0
#9
I mostly shoot with zooms. I usually do not shoot in very bad light but that could be because of the zooms I have :)

Most of the time either the 24-105 or the 100-400 is on my camera. Unless I am shooting macros... There was only one evening that I shot exclusively with the 40mm...
 
Upvote 0
#10
I prefer zooms for wide angle, but a f gets longer you can't beat primes.

10-20 is just irreplaceable
17-55 is very nice.... I borrowed one and it will probably be my next lens purchase....
The 70-200's (any of them) are sharp, but the 100L is SHARP!

I like the 400f5.6 more than the 100-400 or the Sigma 120-400.... whenever Canon updates it, I'll add one to my kit.

and for drooling after but can't ever afford, 600F4.0. OMG THAT IS SOME FINE GLASS!!!!!
 
Upvote 0
#13
Mostly primes.

For that matter, the zoom I've been reaching for the most recently isn't even really conceptually a zoom...the 8-15 is really just two fisheye lenses in one, the one full-circle and the other 180° diagonal, with convenient markings for those who use it on APS where it's just a 180° fisheye.

I haven't touched the 16-35 in a while. The 24-105 I'll grab as a walkabout when I have no clue why I have the camera in my hands. It also makes for a good viewfinder to decide which prime to use. The 70-200 f/2.8 (non-IS) I'll use for telephoto landscapes, especially with the Moon in the frame...being able to recompose quickly as the Moon moves about the scene is nice.

But I probably use the TS-E 24 more than any other lens, and I'm not afraid to stick on the 1.4x on it, either. Basically, if I can think of an excuse to use the TS-E 24, I do.

Cheers,

b&
 
Upvote 0
#15
For street photography, the convenience of my 28-70mm 3.5-4.5 is hard to beat, but I prefer the pictures that I get from my primes, the 40mm 2.8 and the 85mm 1.8 (especially for portraits). If you're on a restricted budget, primes are the way to go in my opinion, if you want to achieve those magical shots.
 
Upvote 0
#17
I used to shoot zoom (and had a couple primes)... until one day I started looking at all the framed photos on my walls and realized that all but one or two were taken with the primes.

Zooms may have been 80% of my clicks... but all the keepers came out of the smaller set of prime shots.


Now I shoot all prime... which caused an unintended consequence that led to a very tricky and expensive problem: I'm out of walls.
 
Upvote 0
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Richard-CN
The Best Super Zooms for Canon in 2025
Replies
3
Views
1K
bf
B
S
Canon’s disdain for APS-C users.
Replies
34
Views
4K
EricN
EricN
S
RF 24-105 f4-7.1 vs RF 24-70 f2.8 in daylight
Replies
20
Views
2K
Michael Clark
Michael Clark
O
Lens Design?
Replies
18
Views
1K
neuroanatomist
neuroanatomist
A
Absence of something wider than 18mm on crop sensors
Replies
6
Views
2K
AJ
A
Top Bottom
Home
Forums
Media
Menu