Question
What are Scott Kivowitz’s insights on choosing between zoom and prime lenses?
1 answer · 0 votes
Scott Kivowitzzoom lensesprime lenses
Answer
From Scott Kivowitz0 votes
Hi there!
When I talk about zoom vs prime lenses, I frame it around your needs, not a “winner.”
Here are my main insights:
- Primes
- Often sharper with wider maximum apertures (great for low light and blurry backgrounds)
- Lighter, simpler, and can encourage more intentional composition
- Downside: you “zoom with your feet,” which can be limiting in fast-changing situations
- Zooms
- Extremely versatile for events, travel, and run‑and‑gun work
- Let you react quickly without changing lenses
- Downside: usually heavier, sometimes slower (smaller maximum aperture), and not always as sharp as a good prime at the same focal length
In practice, I use both: primes when I want the best look and low‑light performance, zooms when flexibility matters more than that last bit of image quality.
What do you mainly shoot—people, travel, events, something else?
