Why I Prefer Prime Lenses

For anyone who has known me for any length of time, or been out with me with the camera, one thing you’ll almost always see is that along with my one camera, I almost always have one lens at one focal length. I’ve written about this in the past (see here, here and here), but it’s been a long time, so I thought I would write about it, and my feelings and reasons now I’m still doing it in 2024.

What is a prime lens?

Let’s get this out of the way first, so there is no confusion, just in case you are new to photography, or are just an passerby reading this article. A prime lens is a lens of a fixed focal length (as opposed to a zoom lens that covers multiple focal lengths). In general, the output of a prime lens is sharper than a zoom lens, although in this day and age, zoom lenses have come on a long way. Also, many prime lenses have wider apertures than zoom lenses and can be much smaller and lighter.

Why In prefer to use a prime lens.

Now the basics are out of the way, the first question that many people ask is why would you want to restrict yourself to a single focal length?

The answer is consists of quite a few reasons, and these are in my way meant to sway your way of thinking or the way you use a camera. We are all different, so do what is best for you. So then, here are the reasons I use a prime lens much more than a zoom lens.

• A wider aperture – This is a big one for me. The wider aperture means two things that are important to my style of photography. Firstly, having a narrow depth of field, so that the subject stands out more is important to the way that I want things to look. This could be as simple as flowers or insects, or as complicated as a model or wedding couple. Secondly, the wider aperture means that the lens is better in low light. Although I have a camera that is great in low light, I like you keep my shutter speed at above 1/80 without touching the ISO if possible. In practice, a F/1.8 or F/2 lens allows to do this.

• A smaller lens – Keeping things small and light is always important to me. If I’m carrying a camera and lens for a few hours, I want it to be easy to carry, and not that obtrusive to anyone I’m taking photos of.

• More creative – I’ve always found that being limited makes you more creative. In this case, the limitation is the focal length, but that is overcome with the extra abilities for bokeh and low light.

• Image Quality – There’s just something about the look of a prime lens, and you can’t deny that they can be nice and sharp. Shooting wide open you get a look that you just can’t replicate with zoom lens.

• Foresight – Before you even look into the viewfinder or back screen, you know how your composition will look. It can make you work for the image, leading to more thought going into the image.

What are my favourite focal lengths.

I have always been a lover of 35mm over 50mm, but when I moved back to Nikon I bought a small 40mm lens, and this focal length has really changed my perception. For all intents and purposes, it feels like a 35mm lens, although when needed, it also feels like a 50mm. It’s hard to explain, but it’s the perfect length for so many types of photography.

My second favourite prime focal length is 20mm. I love wide angle, and replaced my 16-24mm beast of a lens for a 20mm F/2.8. Again, it is a tiny lens, and weighs next to nothing. But it’s the focal length that stands out, being wide enough to capture plenty in front of you, but not silly wide where everything is distorted (I’m talking about you 16mm!). It’s a perfect walk around lens in built up areas or where there are beautiful buildings, but not one I’ve used for weddings, events or portraits.

What prime lenses do I own.

Now that you’ve had my thoughts, I just want to share with you my prime collection and what I use the lens for. Of course, sometimes I mix things up, but this is a general guide. I’ll start with the widest and work up;

* 11mm F/2 (Fisheye) – My “fun” wide angle, at 11mm it is an classic fisheye, but the lens can be easily de-fished, to create a ultra wide standard lens (around 13mm).

* 20mm F/2.8 – A walk around lens for landscape, architecture and street shots. I haven’t used this in events yet, but it is a lens I want to try at a wedding or portrait shoot.

* 40mm F/2 – My go-to lens that lives on my camera. I’ve already described it’s priorities, and I use it as a main lens, from a walk around, portraits, events, weddings, landscapes and more!

* 85mm F/1.8 – This is my portrait and event lens that gets almost exclusively used for these two things. It always blows me away when I use it, but I don’t use it much.

In conclusion…

There are those who enjoy zoom lenses, those who enjoy prime lenses and some people who will use whatever. I kinda fall into that third category. I prefer using prime lenses, but I will use my zoom lenses when I need to, and I have no issues with that, because at the end of the day, your camera and lenses are just tools.

Many will notice there is no 50mm prime lens there, and there used to be! It’s because that 40mm focal is so perfect for me that I never used or have use for the 50mm.

I’m sure there are other reasons I keep using and going back to prime lenses, but perhaps that is for another day. I hope you’ve found this interesting, please feel free to leave your thoughts below.