Photography is both an art and a technique. To shoot well, you not only need to have good equipment, but also need to have good vision and creativity. Many novice photography enthusiasts are often attracted by the advertisement of zoom lenses when choosing lenses, believing that zoom lenses can meet various shooting needs, whether it is landscapes, portraits, macros, animals, sports, and night scenes, they can easily cope with them. However, this is a misnomer, as zoom lenses are not necessarily suitable for novices, and may hinder their progress in photography. Why?This article will analyze from the following aspects:
The biggest advantage of zoom lenses is that you can adjust the focal length and shoot different images without changing lenses. This may seem convenient, but it actually has a drawback, which is that it makes people lazy. Why?Because the zoom lens will make people ignore the essence of some photography, such as composition, light, color, atmosphere, etc., and only pay attention to the change of focal length, which leads to a lack of creativity and personality in the shooting. Some people will even think that as long as you twist the zoom ring, you can shoot a good **, which is actually a wrong thinking.
Fixed focal length lenses are different in that their focal length is fixed and cannot be changed at will. This requires photographers to walk with their feet, observe with their eyes, and think with their hearts in order to find the best shooting position and angle, to organically combine the elements in the picture, and to shoot with layers, depth, and stories. The prime lens forces the photographer to think about how to create infinite possibilities with limited resources, thus cultivating the photographer's creativity and aesthetic ability.
Many people think that the higher the zoom lens, the better the image quality, which is also a misconception. In fact, the design and manufacture of zoom lenses is a compromise process, and it is very difficult to ensure the sharpness, sharpness, color, distortion, vignetting and other aspects of the picture at different focal lengths.
Therefore, zoom lenses often have some unavoidable defects, such as blurry, soft, chromatic dispersion, distortion and so on at certain focal lengths, which will affect the effect of image quality. Moreover, the aperture of the zoom lens is often relatively small, which cannot receive a large amount of light, and is not conducive to shooting in low-light environments**, or creating a background blur effect with a shallow depth of field.
Prime lenses, on the other hand, are designed and manufactured as a focused process that requires only a fixed focal length to optimize all aspects of the image to achieve a high standard. Therefore, prime lenses tend to have better image quality, clearer, sharper, fuller, and more realistic images, with fewer defects such as distortion and vignetting. Moreover, the aperture of the prime lens tends to be larger, which can receive more light, and is also more suitable for shooting in low-light environments**, or creating a background blur effect with a shallow depth of field.
There are many types of zoom lenses, from wide-angle to telephoto, macro to fisheye, low-end to high-end, cheap to expensive, you name it. This may seem like an advantage, but for newbies, it can be a nuisance. Because novices often don't know their own shooting style and needs, they don't know which zoom lens to choose, or after they choose, they don't know how to use it.
Some people blindly pursue high-magnification zoom lenses, thinking that bigger is better, but in fact, such lenses often have poor image quality and are also very heavy, making them inconvenient to carry and use. Some people will randomly switch between different zoom lenses, thinking that more is better, but this is often a distraction, ignoring the timing and content of the shot, and increasing the risk of lens wear and tear and dust.
The choice of a prime lens is relatively simple, you only need to choose a suitable focal length according to your preferences and purpose, and you can start shooting. The focal length of prime lenses is generally divided into three categories: wide-angle, standard, and telephoto. The wide-angle lens is suitable for shooting wide scenes such as landscapes, buildings, and people, and can show the breadth and depth of space, but it is also prone to distortion and distortion.
Standard lenses are suitable for shooting ordinary scenes such as portraits, still lifes, and daily life, and can restore the angle and proportion of the human eye, but they are also prone to appear bland and boring. The telephoto lens is suitable for shooting distant scenes such as animals, sports, details, etc., and can magnify and highlight the features and expressions of the subject, but it is also prone to the effect of shaking and false focus. Novices can choose a focal length they like according to their own interests and goals, and then master and use it carefully, and they can shoot with their own style and characteristics.
To sum up, a zoom lens is not necessarily suitable for novices, but may hinder the progress of photography for novices. The fixed focal length lens can better cultivate the photography ability of novices, allowing novices to think and create from the aspects of composition, light, color, atmosphere, etc., and shoot with layers, depth, and stories. Of course, that's not to say that zoom lenses aren't useful, or that prime lenses are omnipotent. Each lens has its advantages and disadvantages and applicable occasions, the key is to choose and use it reasonably according to your actual situation and shooting purpose.
For novices, it is recommended to start with a prime lens, be familiar with and master the basic skills and principles of photography, cultivate their own photographic vision and creativity, and then appropriately increase the number and variety of zoom lenses as needed to expand their shooting range and style. I hope this blog is helpful to you, if you have any comments or suggestions, please leave a message and communicate with me. Thank you for reading.
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