[Sandy Hancock]

I love primes. LOVE them. When I shoot for personal satisfaction, I shoot with primes. The exception is my DA10-17 fisheye, which no other lens I own can replicate and isn't much bigger than a prime anyway.

When I'm shooting events under pressure of expectations from others though, my premium zooms are indispensable.

[Wild Mark]

I use and love primes because, as you say, they force you to think about composition and technique. You also get the best IQ when using the prime (good fast ones), as they often focus better (shallow depth of field).

The draw back is the lens swapping and bag full of choices (and weight).

Notwithstanding, I absolutely love my Sigma 8-16, Pentax 10-17 and Pentax FA* 80-200mm 2.8 .... sometimes a zoom is indispensable.

[ivanvernon]

My Pentax primes are great for image quality and artistic character, not to mention light weight. My zooms are fantastic for convenience and capturing shots that might have gotten away from a prime. I love both of them for different reasons and different photographic occasions.

Two best primes are 43 and 77 mm limiteds, with the 31 limited as an aspirational LBA choice. Another favorite prime is the Canon FD 55 mm f 1.2 in K-mount conversion, quite similar in IQ to Pentax 50 mm f 1.2.

My best zooms are the Pentax 24-90 and the Tamron 17-50 f 2.8. The kit lens 18-55 WR lives on my K-20 for instant availability when I want to take photos in the middle of a rainstorm. The Tamron 70-300 macro is nice for flower closeups and birds. I have steered away from the newer, normal-range extremely high quality zooms, not wishing to substitute zooms for my current prime usage.

[jwc77]

I mainly use primes in my shooting. My reasons are the same as most here...size, IQ, and forcing you to slow down and think about what you are doing. I have the DA 21, 40 and 70 limiteds which I use most often. They are such an incredible little trio to have (and as small as they are barely make up the size of a typical singular zoom). My main macro is the Tamron 90 which renders beautifully along with an old Vivitar 55 f2.8 which was my first macro. I also have a 28, 50. and 200 tak which gets some use (especially the 50 1.4 as it's my fastest lens). The other manual lenses I have kept in my arsenal are some M lenses which I really enjoy...the 50 f4 macro which is awesome, the 100 f2.8 and the 135...all of which are small and a pleasure to use.

I only have a few zooms. The DA 10-17 fisheye which gets as much use as my primes...one of my favorite lenses. The Tamron 28-75 which I use if I know I'll be in a situation where I need to photograph a lot of different types of scenes and won't have time/environment to change often. And for a little reach I have an F 70-210 which I don't use a whole lot.

[Sagitta]

I use zooms so I can figure out which primes I should pick up.

[gofour3]

I have quite a few older Pentax K, M, A & FA zooms in my lens collection that I use occasionally when traveling, for the sole propose of convenience. (Fewer lenses to carry on the plane)

However I usually try to use primes most of the time, because:

1) They are faster
2) They are usually smaller
3) They have better optics & less distortion
4) I can use hyperfocal focusing.

Phil.

[savoche]

I like to go out shooting with a couple of primes, however if I am walking around with my family, as like as not, I will have a zoom (16-50) on my camera, just because of the flexibility. In those sorts of situations, I am not necessarily looking for ultimate image quality, but more capturing memories.

There is no doubt but that primes are smaller, more flare resistant (at least Pentax primes are) and provide better sharpness at similar apertures. All of that makes me want to use them wherever I can.

I have quite a few older Pentax K, M, A & FA zooms in my lens collection that I use occasionally when traveling, for the sole propose of convenience. (Fewer lenses to carry on the plane)

However I usually try to use primes most of the time, because:

1) They are faster
2) They are usually smaller
3) They have better optics & less distortion
4) I can use hyperfocal focusing.

Phil.

This pretty much sums it up for me too. On holiday with family convenience trumps (almost) all else.

The reasons I like primes more are mainly size and speed (which gives me flexibility, but in a different way than a zoom will). Shooting at an indoor party I would gladly choose the 43, with the 21 and 70 in my pocket, over a zoom.

Do primes make me think differently? Yes, but that doesn't mean zooms make me "lazy" - I still think perspective, not only framing, when using zooms. But primes do make shooting more of a puzzle to be solved, forcing me to look for different solutions - sometimes. After having shot with primes a lot it can be quite liberating to try a zoom for a bit.

[K57XR]

A little late here...

I’m mostly a zoom shooter since the majority of my photography involves sporting events where zooming in with your feet is practically impossible. Though I have been using primes lately for their size, speed and of course, superior image quality and the challenge of framing. First time I actually used a single prime for the whole event was a kid’s Christmas party last December. For that particular event the DA35/2.4 was the only lens I needed.

[jcdoss]

I use only primes, 100% of them K- or M- series manual focus primes. I used to be a 100% zoom guy, but I've found primes to force me to be more deliberate in what I choose to bring with me, more creative in how I deal with shortcomings in field of view, and it slows down the whole photo taking process. I still suck about as bad as I did before, but I am happier with the process and with some of the results I've achieved

[alamo5000]

It took the artist that painted this 11 years to complete this one work. With that in mind I don't mind taking a few extra minutes or even longer to try and get everything right before going out and filling up an SD card.

[redrockcoulee]

There are times you cannot zoom with your feet, such as a rodeo. I have tried with a DA 70, Tamron 90 and Nikkor 300 2.8. My Sigma 70-200 is much more useful. My most recent purchase was a FA 20-35 which I bought for something between 15 and 35 and also use able on a film camera.

Otherwise I use primes, 4 for Pentax, 3 with the Hasselblad and 3 for the view camera. I use 4 primes and 2 zooms and my wife 3 zooms and 1 prime for Pentax. My ultra light kit is the 15 35 70 combo with a belt mounted camera case just large enough to hold any 2 of the lenses.

[Drake Avenue]

I shoot primes exclusively.

[severalsnakes]

I "exercise" with primes. Most of my lenses are primes, and all of them are manual. It makes me more thoughtful and creative with composition, framing, getting in the "right spot" for the shot that I want. It's good for your soul. ;-) I only have a handful of zooms and they are only conveniences. I would rather compensate the composition and have a shot with better IQ (image quality), the IQ you only get with fixed focal lengths.

[LeRolls]

I shoot primes exclusively.

Same here. The combination of better sharpness, faster apertures, and smaller size (especially Pentax) is just too tempting for me not to take advantage of. Get yourself the DA15 for wide angle, the DFA 100 WR for macro, and the FA Limiteds for everything else in between and call it a day.

That being said I could see myself eventually getting a used copy of the bokehlicious FA 85 f/1.4 and maybe the FA 200 f.2.8 for compression.

[Lowell Goudge]

Its not so straightforward. For my own pleasure I prefer the size and rendering of a prime (and even the constrains of a fixed focal length), however for events and touristic purposes a zoom (or two) is, IMHO, a better choice. It boils down to whether time, space and expected perspective are limited or not.


BTW, your lens lineup is where I want to be with my primes (except I'm planning DA15 instead of DA21).

I like to go out shooting with a couple of primes, however if I am walking around with my family, as like as not, I will have a zoom (16-50) on my camera, just because of the flexibility. In those sorts of situations, I am not necessarily looking for ultimate image quality, but more capturing memories.

There is no doubt but that primes are smaller, more flare resistant (at least Pentax primes are) and provide better sharpness at similar apertures. All of that makes me want to use them wherever I can.

I think you two have pretty well hit the nail on he head.

I shoot zooms primarily when out and about withy he family, on vacations etc, because I need to fit my photography into the vacation, and not the other way around. On my own, I have a large collection of legacy primes, which I use as a form of relaxation. I take one or two at a time, and work out how to shoot what I see with what I have