Photographers today are spoiled for choice with lens options. When I was a professional sports photographer, we didn’t have the luxury of superzooms that covered every focal length imaginable.
If you wanted to shoot anything properly, you had to carry half a dozen primes and switch between them depending on the moment. There was no such thing as a 180-300mm, 50-150mm or even a 100-500mm lens that could do it all. You had to plan ahead, travel heavy and commit!
I remember the kit I carried like it was yesterday. My bag always had a 70-200mm, a 200mm f/2, a 600mm f/4 and, just for balance, a 24mm f/1.8 stuffed in for good measure. That was the norm at the time. If you wanted flexibility, you brought multiple lenses and made do with the gaps in-between.
Now? You could replace half of that lineup with just two lenses and cover the same ground without breaking your back – or your bank account.
Which is why it bemuses me to see photographers today complaining about focal lengths or asking strangers on forums what lens they should buy.
The market has never been more abundant with choice. Sports, music, landscapes, street – you name the genre and there’s a zoom that can cover it. Honestly, photographers these days are spoiled for choice, and I say that with equal parts envy and admiration!
Of course, having too many options can be a curse. Back in the prime-dominated era, your choice was made for you. You packed the 50mm, 200mm or the 600mm and got on with it. If you wanted to get closer, you moved your feet. If you wanted wider, you moved again. It was a discipline that forced you to think and to anticipate.
Now, with something like a 50-150mm f/2, you can stay rooted to the spot and shoot half a dozen looks without even adjusting your stance. It’s genius engineering – but it’s also a bit lazy.
Don’t get me wrong, lens technology today is incredible. Sigma dropping a 200mm f/2 when Nikon hasn’t even replaced its classic version is a perfect example.
And then there are the hybrid zooms that seem to cram an entire kit bag into a single barrel. You can effectively have a 35mm, 50mm and 85mm all in one lens, then tack on telephoto reach for good measure. The performance is astonishing and I can’t help but be impressed every time a new lens drops.
But even with all this convenience, I find myself retreating back to primes. There’s a purity in knowing that you’re shooting with a fixed length, that you have to move and engage to make the picture happen.
Maybe it’s stubbornness, maybe it’s nostalgia, but nothing beats the feeling of locking in with a prime. I’ll happily die on that prime-focused hill, even as the industry moves into an era of all-in-one solutions.
Being spoiled is a double-edged sword. On one hand, you can achieve more today with fewer lenses than ever before; on the other, you risk becoming complacent, relying on convenience rather than craft.
For me, the challenge and joy of photography has always been in the limitations – and while I can’t help but marvel at the brilliance of modern zooms, I’ll always believe that the best work comes from embracing those limits.
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