Advantages of Using Prime Lenses Over Zoom Lenses

Most professional movie cameras, as well as some high-end consumer cameras, use detachable lenses similar to those used by SLR still cameras. This allows you to use many types of lenses, depending on the kind of shots intended. All of these lenses fall into two categories: prime and zoom.

Difference Between a Prime Lens and a Zoom Lens

The main difference between the two is that the first one has a fixed focal length, while the zoom has a focal length that can vary according to the needs of the user. A zoom lens provides the user the flexibility to bring the subject closer or farther away. A shot of the same scene and subject will look different every time you change the lens used to shoot it.

Investing in Lenses

On the level of professional camera equipment, a prime lens, also referred to as a fixed-focal- length lens, is usually less expensive than a zoom lens of the same caliber. Yet, using more than one prime lens is important because, unlike a zoom lens that provides some versatility on the image composition with its variable focal length, a prime lens can only accommodate one specific focal length. This means that investing in a set of prime lenses, not just one, is important when shooting a movie.

Focal Length

If you have a 300 mm prime lens, this telephoto lens can shoot a subject from afar and render it on screen as if it's shot from just a few paces away. As an example, if you are shooting a boxing match from afar, you need a long lens to really capture the action happening in the ring. If you have an 18 mm lens, this wide-angle lens can shoot a subject from nearby and render it on screen as if it's shot from afar. It also makes the space around the subject look wider. In the case of a small room, a short lens makes it look wider, and at some point larger.

Although a zoom lens also applies the same concept as a prime lens, it can only accommodate a certain range of focal length, which may not be as powerful as what a prime lens can offer. For instance, one zoom lens can only accommodate a 50 mm to 150 mm range; another can accommodate an 18 mm to 85 mm range.

Image Quality

A prime lens generally provides better image quality than a zoom lens. It is typically smaller and lighter than a zoom lens, as well. It offers larger maximum aperture (the opening where the light that exposes an image passes through), which means better light-gathering ability compared with a zoom lens, which is designed to compensate its features with its varying focal length offerings.

In terms of overall quality, an inexpensive prime lens can provide as good, or even better, image quality than a high-end zoom lens.