prime 'v' zoom

macvisual

macvisual

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Peter
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Do prime lenses have superior quality over zooms? (if so, why)..?

Love to hear views-experience-thoughts.


Thanks in advance!
 
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There are always plenty of threads about this subject.

Ultimately. Primes have better outright image quality, and the advantage of being faster, and lighter, typically....
 
For me the biggest advantages primes offer are wider apertures and macro. If you take those things away I'd see little reason for buying something like a 35mm f2.8 over a 17-50mm f2.8.

The image quality of the very best primes might be better than that of the very best zooms but it's up to each of us to decide if the difference is significant.
 
Prime = less internal parts needed = cost less + easier to get wider apeture. Easier to make a prime with better quality glass than a zoom. The quality will always be better £ for £ with a prime.
 
As a general rule a prime will always offer better IQ than a standard zoom. Put it this way, to get the same sharpness as an £80 Canon 50mm f/1.8 at say, f/5 with a zoom, you're looking at spending serious money on the equivalent zoom (around £600-1k).

The reason for this is the prime lens is made for that one single focal length with absolutely no compromises.

Take my Canon 18-135 IS. Its a great lens but is slow, as it has to cover such a big focal range, and wide open can be a bit soft. At certain lengths its sharper than it is at other lengths, and this is because the lens is trying to do a lot of things at once.
 
Not always but usually, I have a Pentax 12-24 which outperforms equivalent prime lenses regarding sharpness.

IQ isn't only just about sharpness though and primes often render images in a more pleasing way, offering better colour/contrast than a zoom. The sharpness issue between zooms and primes also becomes far less significant the smaller the aperture so if you mainly shoot landscapes like me the differences do become much more about rendering than sharpness - portability is also one of the advantages that primes have over zooms

Simon
 
simonkit said:
Not always but usually, I have a Pentax 12-24 which outperforms equivalent prime lenses regarding sharpness.

IQ isn't only just about sharpness though and primes often render images in a more pleasing way, offering better colour/contrast than a zoom. The sharpness issue between zooms and primes also becomes far less significant the smaller the aperture so if you mainly shoot landscapes like me the differences do become much more about rendering than sharpness - portability is also one of the advantages that primes have over zooms

Simon
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Didn't know Pentax made a 12mm Prime :naughty:
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Didn't know Pentax made a 12mm Prime :naughty:
Click to expand...

They don't, they do make a 14mm which is quite big and bulky so no much advantage over the 12-24 and they also make the 15mm which is very compact and small but at 15mm it is not really all that wide.

They should really go and work on a 12mm or wider pancake prime even if it has to be relatively slow. I'd be all over it :)

-- Simon got there before me
 
12mm FA liimited....mmm

Suppose it would have to be DA though just to make it manageable size! meh, oh well, I can dream...
 
Probably is but it is also 1.5kg in weight and costs 1500£ :D

BTW A 12mm DA pancake would do me just fine! :D
 
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