Having a Telephoto Zoom Lens will give you the flexibility of enlarging or reducing the size of the subject simply by zooming the lens. Think of Zoom Lenses as a large collection of Prime Lenses in one small package. If you’re shooting inside a building, sometimes you can’t get back far enough to shoot the entire room. Advantages of Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. With Wide Zooms, you can adjust the focal length of the lens so that you can see more of the scene around you. On the minus side, at 200mm, you can feel disconnected with the model. If you are shooting a subject that is moving around, you can sit in one spot and Zoom your lens to keep the subject at the same relative size. Sexy effects. For instance, a 24-70mm “Standard Zoom” has 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 70mm, all in one unit. If you constantly shift to and use different equipment, mastering your camera and lens will prove to be difficult because you won’t have time to familiarize yourself with what your tools can do. Some of the highest-quality lenses such as the new NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct will have a specific name designation after the letter “S”. Let’s break it down into Pros and Cons. But additional lens elements and more moving parts can sometimes add up to a greater likelihood of something going wrong than in the case of a prime lens. While in general lenses with a fixed maximum aperture tend to be more expensive and thus have a larger aperture, this is not always the case. If you’re willing to put up with extra weight, in exchange for big apertures, then a fast Zoom Lens would suit you well. To summarise, some quick benefits of travelling with a zoom lens include – Compact and easier than carrying multiple prime lenses. All-in-one extreme zoom lenses—those that go from wide-angle to telephoto—offer some solid benefits for a nature photographer who’s on a road trip. Versatility. Telephoto lens creates more background blur. Sign in or create an account to access your information. But Fast Zoom Lenses cost and weigh a lot more. This is reflected in the type of new lenses Canon has introduced. What Lens to Buy: 24mm Prime. For non-zoom lenses, internal focusing probably means that the bellows effect (in which air is sucked into the lens) is minimised since the outside of the lens probably won't move during focusing. If they got up and moved closer to, or further from, or to the other side of their subjects, they’d see a whole new angle of things. On many zoom lenses the maximum aperture will change as you zoom because these zoom lenses have a variable aperture. Nikon S vs non-S Lenses. If you prefer to travel light, and don’t want to carry too many lenses, then a smaller, cheaper, slow Zoom Lens may be the right choice for you. Zooms are popular for their versatility and convenience of being able to contain a range of focal lengths in one easy to carry lens; as opposed to carrying individual prime lenses for each focal length you might want to shoot. These lens are used by semi professionals and serious photography enthusiasts to shoot animals and birds. I mean when producers of camera lenses try to stow a wide range of focal length in one lens, does it affect the quality? Wide angle lenses, on the other hand, exhibit more depth-of-field at a given aperture than telephoto lenses. Fast lenses can be used in lower lighting conditions, and don’t force high ISOs. Benefits of zoom lenses. Zoom lenses do have some disadvantages compared to prime lenses that you should take into consideration. Provides multiple composition possibilities; Get close to subjects without needing to physically get too close (ie. They can replace whole range of prime lenses and save you the time wasted in changing lenses. Zoom lenses are fast too. Zoom lenses may utilize a fixed maximum aperture like f/4 or a variable maximum aperture such as f/3.5-5.6. Zoom Lens Benefits The advantage of a zoom lens is versatility. Focal length range 3. But 24mm lenses aren't just for photographing landscapes during the day. 24-105mm – Won a TIPA award as “the best DSLR standard zoom lens”. One significant disadvantage with a zoom lens over a lens with a fixed focal length such as 35mm, 50mm or say 70mm is that people tend to zoom in close and center their subject. Maximum variable aperture range from wide to telephoto 4. So, now that we’ve defined the lens types, let’s take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages. When it comes to the advantages of a zoom lens, it’s apparently more versatile. Zoom lenses built into cameras are normally classified by "zoom magnification," which is calculated by dividing the tele focal length by the wide-angle focal length. Heavier, more professional zoom lenses work better in low light because they have a … Grade name If you were to compare an image taken with a 50mm lens side-by-side with an image taken with a kit zoom lens, you'd see a marked difference in the sharpness. If you’re considering upgrading to a dSLR, seriously consider the two types of cameras and whether you need the super-zoom. A big benefit to using prime lenses is that they give you the option of letting more light … When you first start out in photography, it is hard to get a feel for the benefits of a wide angle lens. The most obvious advantage is image quality. A zoom lens like this might have an f/3.5-5.6 aperture range, which means at the wide end of the zoom the aperture will be f/3.5 but as you zoom into the scene, the lens closes down to an f/5.6 maximum aperture. Higher zoom magnification means a more complicated lens design. NIKKOR Z 1 00-00mm 2 f/0.0-0.0 3 S 4 1. When photographing animals) Alter perspectives and compress a scene to bring objects closer Especially when considering that the equipment doesn’t make the photographer. Generally speaking, prime lenses are sharper than zoom lenses. Zoom Lenses. Its big and heavy, but not really any heavier than carrying around 3 prime lenses. “Fast” lenses have large maximum apertures, and “Slow” lenses have smaller maximum apertures. You would think that having a zoom would always prove to be a benefit over a prime – having that flexibility in focal length all in one lens is fantastic. Full Frame: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens. Any time you’r… Another is that a zoom … Carrying four lenses can really add to the weight of the bag you have over your shoulder. With Wide Zoom Lenses, the same advantage is given, except in a less obvious way. In this post, we are going to discuss the pros and cons of Zoom Lenses. A zoom lens is usually not as sharp as prime lenses. Canon. Zoom Lenses. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Discover our high quality range of over 40 interchangeable camera lenses including A-mount and E-mount lenses crafted for a range of shooting situations. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. If it’s too far away, we tend to just lower our expectations, and accept an image that is less than ideal. 85mm f/1.2L II – Best Canon full frame prime lens for portrait photography. Zoom lenses built into cameras are normally classified by "zoom magnification," which is calculated by dividing the tele focal length by the wide-angle focal length. For example, I shoot about 90 percent of my assignments with a Canon 16-35mm zoom on one camera body, and a Canon 28-70mm zoom on another body. Prime Lens Advantages. Advantages of a telephoto lens. If the subject moves away, we zoom some more. Gone are the days of simply looking at powerpoint slides – or the days of Instant … This is particularly helpful if you’re photographing sports or safari animals. No matter how expensive a super-zoom camera is, the camera and lens combined often cost less than a professional quality zoom or telephoto lens for a dSLR. Let's see some of the advantages of zoom lenses over prime lenses. i used to be an all prime shooter.. i used to be able to tell a difference with a prime lens and a zoom.. but these days the zooms are really really good.. Thankfully, things have changed and they have become more popular as the quality has improved. For the very reasons stated above, prime lenses can be produced much more cheaply and with greater sharpness than zoom lenses. More Light. Who will find this feature most useful? To summarise, some quick benefits of travelling with a zoom lens include – Compact and easier than carrying multiple prime lenses. A zoom lens will almost always be heavier than a prime, creating the feel of a more substantial or higher quality lens (more on weight in a minute). Prime lenses have a fixed focal length, meaning that you can’t zoom it at all. Zoom Lenses tend to make photographers lazy. It allows you to get more different shots in the same location. They’d be in the habit of switching lenses as needed, whenever their subject matter required it. Or perhaps your budget only allows for one lens. Some options include: 12-24mm, 16-35mm, 18-55mm, 18-140mm, 24-70mm, 24-120mm, 28-300, 70-200mm, 80-400mm, 200-500mm and on and on. Another advantage of a wider aperture is the additional light. If it’s heavy and fast, it won’t be cheap. the 80’s? From a lens design perspective, when there are fewer focal lengths to have to accommodate for, it’s easier to create a lens that produces sharp images. They are ideal when you are photographing a variety of subjects such as landscapes and portraits, and you just want one lens for both situations. Because of this, Zoom lenses have a high level of convenience about them. It allows you to get more different shots in the same location. For instance, the CX2 has a lens with a 10.7X zoom factor that covers the 28 mm-300 mm range. You would need multiple primes lenses to cover the focal range a zoom lens offers, and the combined weight of these may well exceed the one zoom lens. DIL (digital interchangeable lens) cameras, which are mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (ILC), also use lenses that are listed by their focal length, rather than an X zoom number. As long as you understand the limitations and you can work around them, then you’ll manage quite well. The wider the aperture can go on a lens the more light it will allow in to the sensor, allowing you to shoot without a flash in low light. What do we gain and lose when we use a Zoom Lens? First, I want to clarify - a zoom lens is one in which the focal length can be changed, and there are basically two types: * Telephoto zoom lenses, which most people think of - they take in a narrow field of view and make the subject look closer. 5 CREATIVE WAYS TO OBSERVE WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY, HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT LENS - think orange, 10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE TRAVELING TO INDIA, THREE GREEK ISLES - think orange - Enewsgate, THE BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE THE GREEK ISLANDS. It’s easier to optimize optical performance on a prime lens than a zoom. These zooms certainly don’t have all the benefits of a fixed normal lens, but they do have some. Zoom lenses allow you to change how close you want to get to a subject while keeping your physical distance. Or perhaps you are a purist, and feel that you get more creative juices flowing when you use fixed Prime Lenses, and Zoom Lenses just don’t appeal to you. Zoom Lenses have their place in your camera bag, and you should probably use them. Flexibility: Super-zooms tend to be single-purpose cameras. A zoom lens will almost always be heavier than a prime, creating the feel of a more substantial or higher quality lens (more on weight in a minute). A major advantage of Zoom Lenses, particularly Telephoto Zoom Lenses, is that it allows you to stay put in one spot and “bring the subject to you”. Zoom lens. When it comes to wildlife photography specifically, you can’t always get as close to subjects as you’d like, and sometimes, you want to work from a safe distance. This would enable you to capture more of the scenery, yet still have that fabulous telephoto effect of compressing near and far subjects closer together. Tamron 85mm f/1.8 – A great alternative prime for portraits at a cheaper price. Higher zoom magnification means a more complicated lens design. Although this seems obvious, what may not be apparent is that the photographers gained an advantage by moving around. Using a zoom lens allows you to quickly frame your shot and experiment with different options of the same scene without physically needing to move either away from—or closer to—your subject. It’s never a win-win situation with Zoom Lenses. Often the sheer convenience of having less equipment is worth it alone. In other words, they let you zoom in and out of a scene as opposed to primes. What it is: As the name describes itself, this is a lens that zooms… Or if you want to … Why use a zoom lens instead of a prime? Generally, professional photographers … That is, if you use a 24-70mm, chances are pretty good that most of your photos are shot at 24mm or 70mm. They are ideal when you are photographing a variety of subjects such as landscapes and portraits, and you just want one lens for both situations. You can therefore easily capture the wide landscape and zoom in to whatever physical feature you want, and in an instant.