Archive for December, 2009

Happy New Year, everyone!

Just woke up and have to finish a few things before the day really begins. Waiting for two things to compile on my server at the moment. Have to output a ton of pictures and burn them to DVDs too. Finally starting to catch up with the back log that has been building up. Finished Johnny’s shoot yesterday and will have the gallery up hopefully by tonight. I’ve already started making picks from Torrie’s shoot which I plan to complete processing by tomorrow.

The wedding pictures and slide show have been completed for awhile now but the bride hasn’t had a chance to pick them up. I’ll have the gallery and slide show posted as soon as the bride gets a chance to look through them.

Here’s a picture taken yesterday while waiting for family at the food court of the local mall:

Till next time…

This is my AE-1. There are many like it but this one is mine. My AE-1 is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my AE-1 is useless. Without my AE-1 I am useless. I must fire my AE-1 true. I must shoot straighter than my competitors, who is trying to out shoot me. I must out shoot him before he out shoots me. I will. Before the L-series I swear this creed: my AE-1 and myself are defenders of my creativity, we are the masters of our subject, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no subject, but darkness. Amen. :p

In case you’re wondering where that’s from: (NSFW!) The Rifleman’s Creed

Till next time…

I’ve been taking tons of pics lately. Just finished going through the wedding pics (pics are being output to tiffs right now). Still have 5 photo shoots to go through and process. Not to mention other photos that need processing as well. Total I think I have about close to 1000 pics to do and plus a slide show for the wedding. I should be caught up by Monday so expect to see some pics and new galleries soon.

First off, I need to say that I love primes but I’ll try to be unbiased in this article. I’ll assume everyone knows what a zoom lens is. A prime lens is a fixed focal length lens. That means it doesn’t zoom. Why pick a lens that can’t zoom?! I’ll try to explain the pros and cons of each in this article. Keep in mind that I will be making “generalizations” and not everything I say about primes/zooms holds for all primes and zooms. As in most things, there will always be exceptions.

I will be talking about Canon lens because that’s what I shoot, but the information relates to other manufacturers. Canon has two lens “lines”: consumer and L-series. Canon L lenses can be considered as their “pro” series lenses and is denoted by a red ring around the front of the lens barrel. When comparing Canon lenses, we should compare L-series lenses against L-series and consumer level lenses with other consumer level lenses. Although, Canon’s consumer primes can equal and in rare cases surpass L-series zooms in sharpness or other image quality characteristics.

The single most obvious advantage of zooms is the convenience/versatility. Being able to quickly zoom in and frame a subject of interest allows the photographer to capture spontaneous portraits and other candid moments. The same is true if you need a wider angle. Zooms allow re-composition and proper framing without changing perspective. Perspective is a subject that many new photographers don’t understand. It can be a heavy topic so I’ll just mention it and that’s it. I might write an article about it later on. In order to frame a subject with a prime, you might need to move further or closer which will change the perspective (this is bad or good depending on what you want). Another advantage of zooms is the lesser need to change lenses. Changing lenses exposes the camera’s sensor to dust. Having a general purpose or street zoom (aka walk around) lens means having fewer lenses to carry to cover a wide range.

Over a decade ago, primes were the preferred lenses because zooms were expensive and their image quality were “substandard”. Primes are relatively simple to make compared to zooms. With fewer lens elements and moving parts, image quality is generally much better than zooms. The simplicity of primes usually translates to “faster lenses”. When we say a lens is “fast”, what we’re talking about is the width of the aperture. The wider the aperture, the faster the lens. If you’re having trouble understanding what was just said, check out my articles titled “Take Control of Your Camera” (there are three parts). Zooms are hard to make compared to primes. There more moving parts and more lens elements. In general, primes are faster than zooms. Although, this will change in the near future. Rumor has it that Canon has patented and developing a sub-2.8 zoom: the EF 28-35 f/1.6-2.1. A faster lens allows for faster shutter speeds in low light. Sharpness and wide aperture is the biggest advantages of a prime lens. The wider the aperture, the more blur there is (shallower depth of field) so that’s something to keep in mind.

When should you use a zoom/prime?

Zoom

• Vacation, walk around, general purpose
• Events where things are moving fast
• Basically anytime you need the versatility of a zoom
• If you don’t have a good zoom then get one first

Prime

• Low light
• Predictable events (say you know you won’t need to anything wider or longer quickly)
• When image quality is of the greatest importance
• Need to blur out the background

That’s not to say you can’t use a zoom for things that the prime is good for and vice versa. The decision is up to you, it is your money after all. I do recommend that you give both a try though.

Personal Opinion

For most things, I usually work in two focal lengths: 35mm and 50mm. For me, primes are best suited to my shooting style (at the moment). When shooting events though, I always reach for my zooms. This is slowly changing though. With a zoom I tend to be reactionary. Seeing the subject and reacting to it. With primes I don’t react. I watch my subjects and predict their movements (assuming the subject is alive) and reactions. Primes help train my eye. It trains me to watch and “connect” with my subject. In short, it makes me a better photographer.

Both have their place and I highly recommend that you at least try a prime. I’m assuming everyone already has a zoom with their camera (think kit lens). Canon’s 50mm f/1.8 aka the nifty fifty is their cheapest prime for under $100 brand new. At that price, there’s no reason for you to not try a prime. I purposely didn’t go into very much detail about why a prime is better than a zoom and vice versa. It can get quite technical. I hope this at least answers your basic questions about primes vs zooms.

Till next time…