Ah, prime lenses.. in our opinion, one of the best ways to actually be creative. As you may already know, a prime lens only has one focal length. “What!? Why only one focal length? That’s not versatile at all!” Hold on.. calm down.. we can understand your logic.
Yes, a prime lens may not be the most versatile lens in your photographic arsenal. A single focal length may limit you in your creative endeavors. “So, why bother using a prime lens?” That’s simple.. simplicity.
See, when you only have one focal length to shoot with, it stimulates that grey matter behind the camera. Yes, your brain. For example, when shooting landscapes or cityscapes, people tend to use a wide-angle lens to capture as much of the scene as possible.. to really show the grandeur of the environment. What if you are limited to only one focal length, let’s say a 85mm focal length. Yes, it may be way too tight for what it is, but if it is the only lens that you have available, how are you going to make it work? This is exactly what I mean. This is where you are challenging your brain, and your creativity, to really think out of that limiting box.
Another positive aspect about prime lenses is the maximum aperture. Compared to zoom lenses, something that we will touch on later, prime lenses are less complex to design. With less moving parts, lens manufacturers, it is a whole lot easier to achieve a large maximum aperture for the lens. This will make it a whole lot more light-strong, allowing you to take better photos in low-light conditions, and utilizing faster shutter speeds when you need to.
If you aren’t lugging around a lot of equipment already, prime lenses are generally smaller and lighter in design. This does make it a lot more attractive to either just bring that extra lens, or just have a lot more fun with simply a lighter setup. Trust us, often having too much stuff is just holding you back. Would you enjoy it to hike that mountain with extra weight in your backpack? Would you enjoy traveling, if you had so much stuff to bring, that you had to put everything in a big suitcase? Would you enjoy spending money on larger-spaced accommodation, simply because all your belongings simply wouldn’t fit in a smaller place? The latter might possibly be an extreme example, but you could take it to these levels, and apply the same idea to your whole life.
Perhaps after reading this article you’re still not keen on using prime lenses. Possibly you’re more a zoom lens type of person. In that case, we have written a separate article for this type of lens. Either way, we are confident that you may just enjoy our next article about zoom lenses.