hazril : Flipside 300! Get from me! XD Engineering maths la what next haul calculation. LOL

not now la moo..earliest by middle/end of this month...bonus comes in early,i hauliau la...

Aiseh! Cepat kerja kuat kuat. So dapat more gaji buy from me faster! XD

In an effort to make the thread more photography related without yakking about hauls and wishlists and going OT, I have a topic up for debate. Hope you guys can put in your 2 cents worth...



Taking an image or making an image?


Nowadays, zoom lenses are all the rage. No photography forums lack any mention about lenses like the 24-70 f2.8 or the 70-200 f2.8 lenses. Then there's the 16-35mm or the 11-18mm.

There's nothing wrong with these lenses of course but I feel that zooms tend to make you shoot in a more hasty fashion. Zooms can sometimes be impatient and lacks 'personality'.

Primes on the other hand, tend to make you work for a picture. It does not allow you to 'take the easy way out', so to speak.

Zoom lenses tend to make the photographer more pre-disposed to taking an image as opposed to making an image. How do I explain this?

If you have always used and zoom lens and seldom used a prime, you will no doubt have this habit:

- You see a scene in front of you that you want to take some pictures of. You raise your camera to your eyes and then you zoom in and out trying to find a frame to shoot.

That's taking an image. Not making one.

If you had a prime, you know you cannot zoom. You see a scene in front of you and you begin to think. How can I get this image here inside the frame? Do you want to show everything? Or will part of it suffice? What angle will work the best? You begin to 'look' for a picture before you even raise the camera to your eye. When you have a rough outline of what kind of picture you want, you then move yourself into position to get that image.

That's making an image.

The difference? When you are out making an image, you have to have a picture of the final result in your head (at least roughly) before you press the shutter. When you are taking an image, you just zoom in and out until something looks good and you press the shutter. There's no pre-conceptualized image in your head.

Does it matter? That depends. If you're happy just to click away and have images that is sharp, clear and noise-free, then it matters little. If you want to tell a story or show something a little differently, then it makes a world of difference.

For that reason, I think that every photographer should learn to live with using just prime lenses before opting for zooms. Especially premium zooms with constant aperture. Once you have learned the basics of photography with the 18-55mm kit lens, ditch it for a 28mm or 30mm prime if you're on APS-C, a 50mm prime if you're on full frame and shoot with that for an extended period before deciding on your next lens purchase.

You can get a 28mm/30mm/50mm prime for less than RM800 and I believe it would be the best investment you can make.

Do you agree or disagree? State your reasons why and let's discuss.

1st May, 2010 - Learning to shoot horses, here're my early attempts.
Still do not know which angles etc best for shooting horses.

C&C appreciated.

Photo #1 - "Tia Maria" the name. The only Appaloosa (ie breed) horse in Sabah (to the best of my knowledge)


Photo #2 - "Duchess", she's a pure Thoroughbred


This post has been edited by Banzai_san: May 3 2010, 12:27 PM

yes i agree with u ...with prime i need to think...sumore shot a few time from different angle just to see which fits right

agree with u 110% bro...since i got my 50mm,i really need to think 1st b4 snapping the picture...sometimes u will think the way u never think of before....like u said,more subject or more background...???its fun to play with primes thus increasing one's knowledge how to compose a picture...

I use a zoom and I do have to think... think whether to zoom in or zoom out...

This post has been edited by Banzai_san: May 3 2010, 12:46 PM

although i use a zoom lens, i usually zoom it to the max or just use fixed focal length to frame my shots. does that count?

will get a 50mm prime after buying my tammy 17-50.

go get the 50mm prime, nice lens, below is sample taken with 50mmF1.8

That's what I am talking about. You zoom to the max and say, "Let's see what we can get here..." as opposed to using a 50mm or an 85mm prime where you know your frame is limited to one such focal length. You will have to think about what kind of pic you want.

Zooms tend to make you zoom first and think later and your thinking is usually limited to "It's too far... or it's too close so I'll zoom out just a little..." It seldom makes you think if you want that particular angle or if you want to include the background or if moving to the right or left will give you a better shot.

A prime will force you to do so. If you snap and it does not work, you have to do something different. Not just stand there and turn the zoom ring.

To give an example, you're shooting with a 50mm prime on full frame, trying to get pictures of showgals in PC Fair. You know you cannot zoom so you have to move to get the best angle. Do you want a high angle or low angle shot? Do you want to include the background? Half body shot or just face shot? All these questions have to be addressed before you even look through the viewfinder.

With a zoom, it's "Oh! There's this guy in front of me that's in the frame... Nevermind lar.. just zoom in closer to move him out of the frame.." and your half body shot now becomes a face shot - not because you want a face shot in the first place but becuase there's a fella in your frame. See the difference?

did that on an aps-c and i felt like buying barriers for all the kambings around that were stepping on me in the ballroom

i got a question...when we use spot metering and local AF points,where does the camera meters...???center point or the local point that we selected...???

hazril : IINM, the camera will meter the local point selected.

well still good by the way, zoom lens although zoom in and out but you still can train your patient like fixed it a focal length in a zoom for certain shots

as for me I usually use 35mm and 50mm for portrait while 17mm and 24mm for landscape however most of the time I just keep on remain on 35mm focal length

thanx for the clarification bro!

From my POV, having a prime is a good thing to teach you about framing and finding a good angle for the picture you're about to take/make. Better yet, you can use a M42 Prime lens to teach you about focus too! But you have to remember that some photographers, even pros, don't have time to change lens from a certain focal length to another. If you're a nature/wildlife photographer, then it's a different thing.

Imagine yourself as journalism/event/fashion photographer, during and event or shooting for a story, they don't have the time or liberty to change lens every few moment coz every shot is precious to them coz it's their bread and butter. That's why fixed aperture zoom lens is their choice of lens. And for me, I'd go with the Fixed aperture Zoom rather than a prime. A few prime would be ok during a wedding shoot though...

hmmm appearantly i won a RM100 jusco voucher from tm.. ahhahah..owh well consolation also oklarh

when u master using a prime,a zoom lens is much more easier to use as u got used to a certain focal length already....thats my POV...

RM 40~RM50 for a used Phottix battery worth it?