What, am I a zoom shooter after all?

Marc Sabatella · 07-18-2010, 10:16 AM

For some reason, the title of this thread got me thinking of Jeff Foxworthy's "you might be a redneck" shtick. And now I'm imagining a whole series of jokes:

You might be a zoom shooter if....

and

You might be a prime shooter if...

FWIW, I consider myself a prime shooter, but I don't kid myself that this has anything to do with the quality of my images. Heck, I'm perfeclty happy with the image qulity from my 18-55 and 50-200 on the occasions when I use them. For me, it's all about the shooting experience and how I feel about it. I'm fine using the 18-55 and 50-200, but they are the two largest/heaviest lenses I use (!). If they could make f/2.8 zooms in packages no bigger or heavier, I'd be all over them.

OK, maybe not especially funny, but:

If you arrive at a jazz club and when they ask you where you'd like to be seated, you find yourself gauging the distance to the stage from each table and thinking about which lens that means you'll be shooting with most, you might be a prime shooter.

If the first the first thing you do upon being seated is to clear off the knick knacks from your table and then lay all your lenses out to get them ready, you might be a prime shooter.

dragonfly · 07-18-2010, 10:33 AM

Originally posted by Marc Sabatella

If you arrive at a jazz club and when they ask you where you'd like to be seated, you find yourself gauging the distance to the stage from each table and thinking about which lens that means you'll be shooting with most, you might be a prime shooter.

I'm not a big fan of my kit lens, and I much prefer having to manually meter and focus my 55mm lens.

The one zoom lens that is on my shopping list is the f 35-70mm. I think I can afford that one.

Nimrad · 07-18-2010, 10:42 PM

The reason I shoot primes are not that I think I'll get that much better pictures out of the 15/4, 31/1.8 and 43/1.9 compared to my earlier 16-50, but I won't get f/1.8 and I won't get it as small as the limitedlenses. Weight and size matters a whole lot to me as I'm mostly a travel photographer.

kalison · 07-19-2010, 09:44 AM

I've really gone from being a zoom to a prime shooter since switching to Pentax. I love the primes, but lately for some of the events I like to attend, the primes are slowing me down a little. I may be switching back to zooms soon.

But who knows. I love shooting with primes. All I want is a 5-500 f/.9 that's the size and IQ of the FA 31.

Then.

**mattb123** · 07-19-2010, 10:14 AM

I love my primes too, but I wonder if I had a nicer zoom maybe I'd be more of a zoom shooter?
A big difference for me is I can (barely) afford some of the Limited primes (I have 2). But a top quality zoom is typically in a whole new price range that is kind of out of my league right now. I have a couple of so-so zooms and they are ok, but they do not add the "magic" to my images that the limited primes seem to.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
A point and shooter	onesidedcoin	Welcomes and Introductions	2	02-28-2009 03:34 PM
First Person Shooter!	jeffkpotter	Post Your Photos!	18	02-08-2009 08:34 AM
Old shooter New to forum	mkbriddell	Welcomes and Introductions	1	01-25-2009 05:38 PM
I saw another Pentax shooter?	vievetrick	General Talk	42	03-25-2007 08:35 PM
Assistant shooter	shadowrulz3164	General Talk	2	02-16-2007 05:08 PM

07-18-2010, 10:16 AM	#16
Marc Sabatella Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,685	For some reason, the title of this thread got me thinking of Jeff Foxworthy's "you might be a redneck" shtick. And now I'm imagining a whole series of jokes: You might be a zoom shooter if.... and You might be a prime shooter if... FWIW, I consider myself a prime shooter, but I don't kid myself that this has anything to do with the quality of my images. Heck, I'm perfeclty happy with the image qulity from my 18-55 and 50-200 on the occasions when I use them. For me, it's all about the shooting experience and how I feel about it. I'm fine using the 18-55 and 50-200, but they are the two largest/heaviest lenses I use (!). If they could make f/2.8 zooms in packages no bigger or heavier, I'd be all over them. OK, maybe not especially funny, but: If you arrive at a jazz club and when they ask you where you'd like to be seated, you find yourself gauging the distance to the stage from each table and thinking about which lens that means you'll be shooting with most, you might be a prime shooter. If the first the first thing you do upon being seated is to clear off the knick knacks from your table and then lay all your lenses out to get them ready, you might be a prime shooter.

07-18-2010, 10:33 AM	#17
dragonfly Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: on the wall Photos: Gallery Posts: 715	Originally posted by Marc Sabatella If you arrive at a jazz club and when they ask you where you'd like to be seated, you find yourself gauging the distance to the stage from each table and thinking about which lens that means you'll be shooting with most, you might be a prime shooter. I'm not a big fan of my kit lens, and I much prefer having to manually meter and focus my 55mm lens. The one zoom lens that is on my shopping list is the f 35-70mm. I think I can afford that one.

07-18-2010, 10:42 PM	#18
Nimrad Inactive Account Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Stavanger, Norway Posts: 150	The reason I shoot primes are not that I think I'll get that much better pictures out of the 15/4, 31/1.8 and 43/1.9 compared to my earlier 16-50, but I won't get f/1.8 and I won't get it as small as the limitedlenses. Weight and size matters a whole lot to me as I'm mostly a travel photographer.

07-19-2010, 09:44 AM	#19
kalison Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Utah Posts: 376	I've really gone from being a zoom to a prime shooter since switching to Pentax. I love the primes, but lately for some of the events I like to attend, the primes are slowing me down a little. I may be switching back to zooms soon. But who knows. I love shooting with primes. All I want is a 5-500 f/.9 that's the size and IQ of the FA 31. Then.

07-19-2010, 10:14 AM	#20
mattb123 Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Colorado High Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,872	I love my primes too, but I wonder if I had a nicer zoom maybe I'd be more of a zoom shooter? A big difference for me is I can (barely) afford some of the Limited primes (I have 2). But a top quality zoom is typically in a whole new price range that is kind of out of my league right now. I have a couple of so-so zooms and they are ok, but they do not add the "magic" to my images that the limited primes seem to.