Prime Lenses – an Introduction

Should I buy a Prime Lens?

In an age when zoom lenses are all the range – I’ve been surprised to be getting more and more questions about prime lenses of late.

Perhaps there’s a return to a more ‘pure’ or ‘back to basics’ form of photography going on?

A Definition of Prime Lenses

For those of you unfamiliar with the term ‘prime lens’ – lets start with a simple definition. A prime lens is one that has just one focal length only (in contrast to a zoom lens that covers a wider range of lengths).

Prime lenses come in a wide range of focal lengths from wide angles through to the very longest of tele-photo lenses used by many sports photographers and paparazzi.

While zoom lenses are ever popular and come as the standard kit lens with most DSLRs sold – prime lenses remain the favorite of many.

The main two reasons given by prime lens lovers are:

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