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Primes to Zooms


chouska

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I know many folks typically move away from zooms and into primes, however, I'm thinking about going the other way.  I'm primarily shooting shots of family & friends and in the summer heat moving into position with my 35mm leaves me hot and sweaty in no time.  Has anyone moved from a prime setup to the redbadge trio (10-24, 16-55 & 50-140)?  If so, what were some of the drawbacks outside of speed?

 

I currently have:

16mm (the one lens I would contemplate keeping)

35mm f2

56mm f1.2

90mm f2 

 

Thanks

 

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Guest welshkc

The most used lens in my kit is the 18-135mm.  It is weather sealed and performs well enough for family events and such.

 

I can't count the number of times that lens has been the difference between taking a shot and not.  Even on park strolls with the kid.  Instead of running up to try to get something, I can just twist the zoom and boom.  On the opposite side of things backing it down to 18mm gets everyone in and prevents cutting off heads.

 

There are some things to know.  

 

It is slow in dim lighting, so know what you want to do with it, but I think all of the low-end zooms will be that way.  However, it has OIS which really helps, but it isn't magic.  A little fill flash goes a long way.  

 

One example was this weekend, we were at a carnival with the family.  One of the rides had a darkened interior that spun around.  By putting a smallish flash on the X-T1 I was able to zoom into the spinning ride and get good face exposure with the 18-135mm stretched all the way out.  All my other fuji lenses would have failed due to the lack of reach.  The 18-135 is my only Fuji zoom.

 

I use a Canon FD 50mm adapted to the X-T1 for slow predictable stuff like portraits or plants.  I really like it and it was CHEAP.  Came on an A1 someone gifted me.

 

The point is that you don't have to give up your primes for predictable stuff and don't have to spend a fortune on a very versatile zoom for family stuff.  And the 18-135 is weather/dust resistant on the X-T1.  Bring on the water balloons!

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I've switched between zooms and primes more times than I can remember, for all all systems. These days, I'm using a mixture. I've boiled it down to the following mentality:

- Using primes will mean I miss some shots, but the shots I do take are most likely going to be better, on average. I'm more likely to pick my shots better, and people will be more relaxed around smaller lenses.

- Using zooms means I won't miss a single shot, but I'll have to take 150-200% more shots to ensure I get the shot. I'm more likely to be too busy over-shooting to think about what it is I'm shooting, and people are more likely to be uneasy around the larger 2.8 zooms.

 

I pick which I use on any given day depending on what I'm expecting to shoot. Some days I only use primes. Some times, only zooms. Often, a mixture of both. 

Precious family event which will never be repeated? Use zooms. You'll be able to capture absolutely everything.

A nice family day out, but perhaps one which is just one of several that year? Use primes, you'll miss a shot here and there but you'll probably be able to enjoy the day more and you won't annoy everyone else as much.

As far as Fuji goes, specifically, I've not noticed any particular difference in AF speed between the XF primes and zooms, in most lighting conditions. It's only very low light where the primes start to be faster than the zooms, and even then, it's a minimal difference. Optically I find the primes are mostly better than the zooms, except the 50-140 which, for me, beats all the primes except for the 60mm. For harassing your relatives and friends, there's essentially no difference in speed or quality. I only notice the quality differences when I'm on a job and I have to be really picky.

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