Prime Lenses vs. Zoom: Which is the Right Choice?

When I started photography, I often heard the advice to use prime lenses for their sharpness and pronounced bokeh. Over time, though, I’ve realized that sharpness and bokeh are often overrated, and zoom lenses give me much more creative freedom and possibilities.

Edit with the Kodak Portra 400 Lightroom-Preset

Why Prime Lenses Are Often Praised

Prime lenses have a strong reputation, and for good reasons. They offer several advantages:

Generally, they provide higher image quality and sharper results than zooms.
Wide apertures create beautiful bokeh.
Being limited to one focal length forces you to shoot more intentionally and understand the lens's fixed perspective better.

These are valid points, but I often find that this limitation holds me back, especially when I need to respond to situations quickly and adapt my framing.

The Flexibility of Zoom Lenses

What I miss with prime lenses, I find in zoom lenses: flexibility. I can easily adjust my framing on the fly without having to move or change lenses. With a prime lens, I’ve often found myself too far from the subject. With a zoom, I can simply zoom in and frame the shot exactly how I want it.

In street photography, zoom lenses give me clear advantages. A wide angle (like 24mm) allows me to get up close to the action, while a telephoto (like 200mm) lets me highlight details and compress perspectives. This versatility enables me to work more creatively without constantly switching lenses.

Is Bokeh Really That Important?

Another reason many photographers choose primes is the bokeh. A wide aperture (f/1.2 or f/1.4) creates a strong subject isolation with a blurry background. As a beginner, I also played around with bokeh a lot, often using an open aperture to isolate my subject.

However, over time, I’ve come to believe that bokeh is often overrated. A well-composed image can work just as well without extreme background blur. In some cases, an overly blurry background can even distract from the subject. For me, a strong composition is now far more important than relying on shallow depth of field.

Why I Prefer Zoom Lenses

For me, zoom lenses offer much more room to be creative. I can respond to different subjects without needing to switch lenses. A zoom allows me to choose between multiple focal lengths and find the perfect framing without losing my freedom of movement.

Whether it's wide-angle shots or zooming in on details, the versatility of a zoom lens allows me to adapt to any situation and bring my ideas to life quickly.

Are There Exceptions?

Despite my preference for zoom lenses, there are exceptions where I love using a prime lens. One example is my Ricoh GR III X, which I adore for its compact size and excellent image quality. What really stands out about this camera are the stunning SOOC (Straight Out of Camera) images it produces. In particular, the Kodak Portra 400 profile gives the photos a gorgeous color palette, reminiscent of analog film, with a warm and natural vibe that needs little to no post-processing.

Examples

I just like the idea of cutting pieces out of the world, as if with scissors. For me, a zoom lens works best for that.

Edit with the Kodak Portra 400 Lightroom-Preset

Summary

Prime lenses are often praised for their image quality and bokeh, while zoom lenses shine with their flexibility. For my style of photography, zooms offer more creative freedom, allowing me to adjust to various situations.

Thomas L.

I am based in Austria with a deep passion for photography, design, and 3D printing. I strive to capture the analog film feeling in my digital photography.

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