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If you want the very best image quality,
then prime lenses are the way to go, but
top-notch fast lenses do not come cheap.
Also, if you want to cover the most useful
focal lengths of a zoom lens, you need
to buy several primes. With a 24-70mm,
for example, that could mean getting
24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 70mm lenses.
Individually, they may cost less than
the zoom, but add them together and
you have a hefty bill. You may also fi nd
yourself swapping frequently between
optics, which means a slight delay between
shots and increased opportunity for dust to
get on your camera’s sensor. That’s why
wedding photographers who use prime
lenses often have two cameras, each with
a different lens mounted.
There’s no shortage of high-quality fast
prime lenses available from both camera
and third-party lens manufacturers, so
whatever camera you have there’s a great
prime lens for it. Fujifi lm, for example,
has a cracking range of fast primes that
includes two 56mm f/1.2 lenses and the
amazing Fujinon XF50mm F1.0 R WR
(£1,499). Sigma also has its excellent Art
range lenses with optics such as the 24mm
f/1.4 DG HSM Art (£629), 35mm f/1.4 DG
HSM Art (£649) and 50mm f/1.4 DG HSMArt (£599) proving very popular in a range
of mounts and making great choices for
low-light photography.
Canon and Nikon’s relatively new
full-frame mirrorless lens mounts are both
wider than their DSLR cameras’ and this
enables them to make faster lenses than
was previously possible. Consequently,
Nikon now has a couple of f/1.8 Z-series
primes, plus the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S
(£2,299) while Canon has introduced
the RF 35mm F1.8 Macro IS STM (£509)
which lets you get closer than normal for
half life size (1:2) reproduction and the
RF 50mm F1.2L USM (£2,329).Testbench LOW LIGHT LENSES
High-quality fast primes
Fast prime lenses don’t
come cheap, but they
offer the photographer
enormous versatility