What are Scott Kivowitz’s insights on choosing between zoom and prime lenses?

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?