How to Choose a Prime Lens: Expanded Edition

Book excerpt: Photographer and writer Shawn M. Tomlinson, author of the Photo Curmudgeon column and books, explains in detail the usefulness of prime lenses for photographers who typically only use zoom lenses in this expanded edition. He considers the uses of prime lenses, the advantages as well as the disadvantages, and provides a conversational approach to making the move to this type of lens. Prime lenses are sharper and have less distortion, less chromatic aberration and brighter maximum apertures than zooms, he reports. Tomlinson examines the most common prime lenses, how they are used and what a photographer can expect to pay. "In this short guide, I give you some pointers about what prime lenses do, what type you may need for your particular photographic vision and how to choose what you need," Tomlinson writes in the book.