Prime Movers

$138 lens

If you're a boring photographer you only use zoom lenses. No primes for you!
If you're a half serious photographer, you have at least one and possibly two prime lenses in your kit.
If you are a deadly serious photographer you own more prime lenses than pairs of shoes.

In discussing why prime lenses are so much better than zooms I'm going to avoid all the techno-talk and tell it layman's lingo.

Nikon 50mm f1.4 Prime

1. Primes have a dirty big hole in the front - they let in heaps of light. They are FAST!
2. Primes are lighter than zooms
3. Primes are smaller than zooms
4. Primes are sharper than zooms (fewer things to jiggle inside)
5. Primes can make the background nice and blurry. (Depth of Field control bla bla)
6. In many cases, primes are less expensive than zooms.

Before you race off and buy your next prime lens you might like to think about the following points:

$2029 lens

• Which focal length primes are ideal for landscapes, travel or portraits? They are all different!
• What is the difference between a $150 50mm prime and a $3000 50mm prime?
• Are third party primes (Sigma and Tokina) as good as the laeders (Nikon and Canon)?
• Which cameras do primes work best on? (yes, the camera DOES make  difference)
• Which mode P_A_S_M will make your prime lens work more efficiently?

Want to be a Prime Mover in photography, check out my UWA Extension Workshops.