Primes Vs Zooms: Revisited
It’s 4AM and I’ve just woken from what can only be described as a fever dream. I think it was about the season finale of Gilmore Girls, but it might have been about a rich family in Arizona moving to a new house. I can’t be sure. Dreams are like that.
Politics? Again? Please, no
I spent the evening talking politics with some friends, followed by a tram journey home sat next to an insane woman on the tram. She had a bizarre odour, and over the course of about 15 minutes I’m fairly certain it seeped into my hair, because I can still smell it. Her ranting and raving similarly infecting my mind.
Or maybe it was the political talk.
I used to read a lot of Hunter S. Thompson, who was a politics junkie and worse, had to write about it for a living, ensuring he was permanently trapped in it.
He called one of his political books Better Than Sex, which neatly captures the seductive nature of it all. The only way I can see that being remotely true is if you’re one of those businessmen who pays a dominatrix to kick you in the groin over and over while telling you how pathetic and insignificant you are.
Sometimes I feel like that after reading BBC News.
So I don’t. Ever. It’s too depressing.
I sometimes wish you could lock the world’s leaders in a room with a bag of E’s and, just for one night, there might be some hope. Until the next morning, when they’d turn like vipers and it would all go back to power and money.
I had a friend who was a politics junkie and ended up having a breakdown. Now reformed, he keeps a healthy distance from it, but you can still see the light in his eyes flicker when he talks about by-elections and things of that nature.
Anyway, this is a long intro, inspired by a fever dream no less. Hopefully I can keep it on the tracks, although I’ve knocked back a sleeper as an insurance policy, just in case my own writing doesn’t do the job.
The Actual Article 🤷🏻♂️
So, we’re talking about zooms vs primes again.
I was showing my mate my camera last night (no euphemism), and I said I keep a 50mm on it pretty much all the time. I showed him a couple of photos I took at a Britain First × Antifa march.
For stuff like that—where you never know when you’ll need to be quick and efficient—a prime can be really useful. With a prime, you tend to know your distance from the subject. The photo’s already half-taken in your mind before you even raise the camera (in theory, anyway). You’re not faffing about reframing or zooming.
Doesn’t everyone use zooms?
He seemed interested in the idea, as a fellow photographer who doesn’t really shoot street, more general photography where the zoom is king.
It does seem like it’s mostly street photographers who punish ourselves with a single focal length. A lot of general shooters aren’t that familiar with the idea. Obviously, primes are everywhere in the pro world—sports, wildlife, weddings etc where fast lenses are essential.
I went out recently with a friend and brought a zoom (28–70mm) just to mix things up. I’d been bored shooting and thought I needed a change.
Anyway, I found myself getting annoyed by the size of the thing and messing up the framing on loads of shots.
With that kind of zoom range, I tend to stick to the extremes. Either all the way wide or all the way long. Anywhere in the middle and I’m fiddling, overthinking, and missing shots.
So… definitely primes then?
Not really.
I don’t think you have to shoot with a prime to do good street. I used to be great with a standard zoom but I shot with it for years.
A friend I used to shoot with was brilliant with a long zoom. She was mostly a “fisher”, happy to stand in one place for ages but when she needed to be quick, she didn’t miss much.
So there’s no neat conclusion here.
Shoot with whatever you want, just get properly familiar with it. If you do that, either will work. Its muscle memory under extreme pressure that dictates the shots you hit or miss.
For marches and unpredictable environments, I still lean towards a prime for speed and instinct. But if you don’t want to get too close, a longer zoom makes sense.
I don’t love the standard zoom range (24–70mm), personally. I’d rather commit; wide, normal, or long and take a prime. At that point, it’s just footsteps.
Don’t be lazy.
Right, that sleeping tablet is starting to wrap its tentacles around me.
I haven’t been writing much recently, but I’ve got a few articles planned:
Imposter syndrome
Videography for the street photographer
Everything to do with film
Take care. x
