Ep.40 Zoom lens or Prime lens... which is best?

Hello Kelly. 

Hello Kevin.  

We're back. 

We are.  

Together. 

It feels like it's been ages.  

Never before in the history of two week gaps.  Has this gap felt so too weaky?  Hi, my name is Kevin Ahronson from Hampshire School of Photography and welcome to TOG Talk. 

Welcome back, Kelly.  It's always a laugh when you come over, isn't it? It's alright. Can you laugh, you know what I mean? 

It's the right laugh. 

Aye. I'll let you speak in a Lancashire accent. Yeah. 

It's strange because sometimes I go really Liverpool, and then I can't stop it, and it really annoys everybody.  

I could do Russian as well, I think if I try now, I'm just going to sound silly, so.

And you know me.  I don't like to come across. I don't like to sound silly. 

I don't like it. 

No, it's rubbish. I don't think Russian is very good for us this time. It's rubbish. 

What was that? 

I don't know. 

Anyway, good evening, good afternoon, good morning everybody. Welcome to another edition of Tog Talk.

Photographers in conversation. My name is Kevin Ahronson. And this is the very glamorous, glamorous, glamorous. Kelly Perrin. 

I'm just going to check the list. What number is this? This is episode, episode. Oh, episode 40. And not with me, it's not.  Congratulations on your 40th  episode. 

Yeah, 40. Also, it's the same as my IQ.

It's wonderful, isn't it?  Anyway, guys, it's great to have you listening. Thank you so much for your continued patronage and support. And I do hope that with all this mucking about, there's a serious context here. Because we are looking at the world of photography. And, uh,  I've been a photographer since 1969.  That's when I bought my first 35mm camera. 

You've been a photographer about a week, haven't you? No, 

I knew, as long as you. Yeah, but you bring your own stuff, don't you? 

My own finesse. 

Finesse. Finesse. 

Finesse. 

Finesse. Okay.  Okay, so what's the subject we're talking about today? 

Today's a good one. 

They're always good.

I know, but today we are talking about prime lenses versus zoom lenses.  Do you have a favourite? 

Yeah, I do. Yeah, I do. Do you? Yeah, I do. So do I. Everybody already knows mine, though, if they've listened to any of the other podcasts, because I talk about it all the time. 

You do.  No ad nauseam though. 

No.  

Right.

Okay. Well, um, let's, let's just, let's just open up, shall we? So should we declare our favourites up front for those who don't know? Or should we bring them in at the end and surprise everybody? 

Anticipation. 

Anticipation. Okay. So we do have favourite lenses. We talk about lenses. All right. 

So we're looking at telephoto. No, we're not. We're looking at zoom versus prime. All right.  

So, there will be people listening to this who actually don't know the difference. Can you believe that? But it is true. And I know this to be true because when I run workshops, I'll say, OK, so what's the difference between a zoom lens and a prime lens?... And everybody goes quiet. And these are people with very expensive cameras normally, so there's no shame in not really knowing the difference. 

But we are going to talk about that today. 

We are.  Tell us. 

What? 

Tell me, tell me the difference.  

So let's start with a prime lens. So a prime lens is any lens where the focal length is fixed.

Oh my God, you're going to say, what the hell is the focal length? It's how long it is. So I could tell you that the focal length is a distance between the point of convergence and the sensor, but will that mean anything to you? 

No. 

No. So focal length is all about distance. Let's keep it simple. How long the lens is.

Long focal lengths generally mean long lenses. Short focal lengths mean short lenses. Long focal lengths magnify like telescopes and short lenses do the opposite. They actually make things look further away. So they're great for landscapes. Long lenses are great for sports and wildlife and stuff like that.

Okay.  

Lovely. 

That's focal length. Right. So a prime lens.  Is a lens where the focal length remains static no matter what you do to it. So maybe when you bought your first camera, you got what's called a kit lens with it and it zooms backwards and forwards from a, you know, you can go in nice and close on someone's face or zoom back for a wide view so you can see the mountains and the trees and the beautiful lake in the foreground, a little cottage there with smoke coming out and then a little old lady attending to a rose's bud.

Right in front of you, and you can see the whole lot, but with a long lens, you only get her eyeball. Does that make sense? 

Yes. 

Yeah. So,  a prime lens is a lens which is just one focal length, it's fixed. 

It doesn't have a zoom. 

It doesn't zoom. That's the option. If you buy a zoom lens, you can change the focal length by turning the lens barrel. 

You can change the focal length from one focal length all the way up to another.  Does that make sense? 

Yes. 

Yeah, I think so. 

Okay. You know, the experience of teaching in, in, in a podcast scenario where you've only got  Audio and no visual clues is so very, very different to being in a classroom in front of people where you've got lots of good graphical illustrations and animations and  visuals. And also you can read people and answer questions. That's a different place entirely to try to describe stuff on a podcast.  

But if you think that explanation works for you, then I'm happy to go with it. 

I think so. 

Good, good, good.  Alright, so that was the first question? 

Yeah, what are they?  

Okay, so one zooms in and out, the other one doesn't.

Good. 

There we go, and it's very simplest. Yep, yep, indeed. And it's simplest. The zoom, you can change the focal length, the prime lens, it's fixed. And I think there is a place for both. 

Absolutely. 

I don't think it's a case of what's better than the other. I think both  are needed.  I certainly use both types of lenses and I've got a mixture of both. 

Excellent.  

We can have our preferences,  but It is a foolish person. I'll say man. Yes. Shall I say man? It's a foolish man. Yes, you see. So when I say it's a foolish man, ladies say, yeah, we agree. But if I was to talk in generic terms using the word man in respect of something else, hey, hey, hey, what about women?

So I could say it's a foolish man or woman  who says, no, I only shoot with zooms. I only shoot with primes. Um,  They have their place. Yes.  I agree with you. But we have our preferences. 

We do. Yeah. Come on, what's my preference? 

Your preference is a 50mm prime. 

It sure is. 

And it's a fantastic lens. And the 50mm prime, in case you don't know guys, is singly the most popular lens around the planet. 

I've seen countless surveys over the years from photographers all the way around the world.  And when asked the question, what lens would you pick if you could only have one lens for the rest of your life? And it wouldn't be a zoom, it would be a 50 millimeter prime. But I know people who can't stand the 50 millimeter prime.

They're deranged. What? They're deranged, obviously. They are foolish, foolish people. Yes. 

But, you know, each to his own. There are some focal lengths which I have no interest in, and there are some zooms which I just cannot abide. So, I mentioned this on a podcast, ooh, a year or two ago, when I was with Tracy Clarkson, I think.

She's not married to Jeremy, 

no. Um, and we had this discussion. We both felt the same way. So, you know, in the professional world, um,  there are a couple of zoom lenses, which are more popular than any other. And also the very popular amongst the amateur photographer fraternity. And. Um, probably the most popular focal length zoom out there is a 70-200mm. 

Wow. 

Yeah. The second most popular is the 24-70mm. And I can't stand that lens. 

You've got that lens haven't you? That's so funny because I have both those lenses. The 24-70mm is the most used zoom that I use. I hate my 70 200mm.  We are polar opposites.  

Are we? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, okay. Well, that's good. That just goes to show you the point.

I mean, that merely illustrates the principle that I'm right and you're wrong. 

Okay, let's save that for another podcast.  

So, I must admit, if I had to pick one zoom, it would be the 70-200. Um, but I, um,  I don't want to speak derogatory if I'm serious about any particular range. It just it never suited me I never found it gave me the kind of shots that made me go. Well, it was a convenient lens I have the f/2.8. So it worked in relatively low light  But it just it was a good workhorse, but it was never Wow. Look at that picture  

Yeah, yeah, and I think it you know with all lenses it It depends what you're using them for, doesn't it? Yeah. So for me, when I'm in environments where sometimes I need to be at 24 and sometimes I need to be at 70, then it's the 24 to 70 is perfect.

The, 70-200 when I'm inside a small building.  There's no use for it for me.  

Okay. So in your studio, what's your preferred focal length? 

My 50  or my 85. 

Oh, you've got an 85. 

Yeah. 

Okay. That is for most people, the most popular focal length for portraits. 

Yes. 

It was mine. 

You can't fault the sharpness.  It's beautiful.

You got the 1. 4?  

1. 4, yeah. That's a good lens. 

Canon 85mm f1. 8 1. 4. I've recommended that to so many people. 

I think you probably 
recommended it to me.  Just a quick correction there. It was the 1.8, not the 1. 4. 

And it was ridiculously low price for the quality of that glass. Yeah, agreed. Um, and, and I use the 85 mil, sorry about this, the 1.2 for, for years as a wording photographer. Um, but,  um, I, I, I've changed, I'll be honest with you, I've changed over the last sort of five or six years and I've tended to err towards the 135. 

Mainly because here's the thing guys.  It has an, uh, it has a better what's known as compression of perspective. So when you use long lenses, perspective gets compressed, things look closer together. And I like that effect. So when you use it with a one, three, five, uh, you get more of that than you do. When you use the 85 millimeter.

So obviously a 135mm lens is longer than the 85. And as a result, you get more compression of perspective. Um, these days, of course, I rarely use full frame cameras. Um, um, I do have a full frame DSLR and I do have a 135 Canon lens that goes on it. But most of the time I'm using a crop frame camera. 

Which has got a 90mm lens, which is equivalent to a 135mm. And that would be the lens I'd pick for the rest of my life,  if I had to pick one. 

Really? 

So if I was full frame, I'd pick a 135mm. If I was crop frame, I'd pick a 90mm.  And I've only really discovered in recent years of my love for this focal length. 

Because 50, up until that point, was my favourite.  But I found that the type of photography I really enjoy most is a kind of street photography, but it's, it's not so much about capturing people as about capturing light, light and shade in all its guises. And that could be a building. 

It could be a person. It could be a motor car,  could be a reflection in a puddle, but it's where light interplays with shadow. And I find that the 135mm,  albeit in the form of a 90mm on a 1. 5 crop for those who are following, and I'm sorry if you're not, um, that means that I can, I can. Pick something out of a scene and focus on it, and I've got a really nuts depth of field so I can make stuff really soft in the background or the foreground if I want to, and it suits me perfectly,  but my second choice would be the 50mm. 

It's just such a good all rounder. It is,  

it is.  Okay, um,  so we haven't really talked a great deal about the advantages of zooms versus primes, have we? 

No, I mean, I think One of the things that people often say is the quality,  a prime lens, the picture quality is better. Is that true? 

Yeah, generally speaking, I mean there are a few zooms which  compete, but generally when you buy a prime lens, because the optics are less complicated, you haven't got moving lenses bits of glass inside, you know, to create you a range of different focal lengths. It's fixed. Um, the optics can produce a sharper image than, than zooms.  Um, the other big advantage, of course, you know, is what? 

I want to say aperture.  

You can say, go on, say it.  

Dead.  You can allow more light in, right? 

Yeah, yeah, you tend to get lenses which open up to wider apertures once they're primes.

Again, because of the  much more simple  glass arrangement inside the lens barrel. It's less complicated to produce, so you can let more light in. So you tend to get  what's known as faster lenses. Do you know why they're called fast lenses, by the way? And do you know what I'm talking about?  

I do know what you're talking about, but I don't know why they're called faster lenses.

Okay, so, Joe, in case you don't know, guys, lenses which open up to very wide apertures are called fast lenses. When I say fast and wide, you're probably talking f2, f1.8, 1.2. There are f1 lenses. There's even an f/0.89 lens. So those lenses open up extremely wide and they're called fast lenses. 

And the reason they're called fast lenses is because, and this was originally adopted as a term years ago before 35 millimeter film. Um, back in the really early days of cameras, if I've got this right, and please let me know if I've got this wrong, but I'm going for memory here. Um,  when, when cameras, film cameras were enormous great things, which you had to carry around on tripods and they were made of wood and brass.

Um, The negatives in the back were absolutely ginormous and therefore the size of the holes of the apertures to let the light in were quite tiny in comparison so it was not unusual to have an f64 aperture as kind of standard and then you could have an f32 to let more light in and it gradually as technology improved and cameras got smaller they got down to things like f, I don't know, f/16, f/16 was a revelation because that let in so much light for those old cameras that it meant they could shoot at faster shutter speeds  and because they were able to shoot at faster shutter speeds because so much light came in through the lens through the aperture they became known as fast lenses  and now of course fast lenses on 35mm film cameras and DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are now Everything's changed.

Technology has got to the point where, um, that we can actually produce f/1 lenses.  So  basically, if the lens opens up to really wide apertures, enabling you to shoot at much faster shutter speeds, it's called a fast lens. It's a, it's a term used by photographers.  Everywhere around the planet. Oh, I've got a fast lens.

That means oh, I've got an f2 or a 1. 8 or 1. 6 Something like that. It's really really that really wide aperture letting in loads of light and now and allowing you to shoot at shutter speeds Which are quicker than normal?  

Thank you for that. You didn't know that. No. Okay, that's 

good. I'll have taught you something today.

I learned something every time. 

Yep. Yep 

So let's just talk a little bit about versatility and convenience. So I find it is convenient to have my 24 to 70 on me. When  I'm in situations,  quite often I walk into situations where I'm not sure what I'm going to be shooting.  So for me, I like to have a couple of different zooms.

So that I can,  you know, not have to keep on switching the lenses during a job.  Let's talk about that a little bit.  

Sounds like you already have.  So why do people prefer Zooms? And why do people prefer  Primes. 

Yes.  

Well, you're telling me that you prefer zoom because they're convenient. 

No, I don't prefer them.

Ah  Sometimes it's more convenient to have 

Yes, 

the zoom with me, which is why I have the mixture I guess. Okay. So what what situations? When you're doing photography, do you find it? More convenient to have a zoom.  

Okay. Um, to immediately spring to mind. So the first one is something which not a lot of photographers would regularly have this as an issue.

And it's working in a studio. I actually prefer to shoot with a 70-200 in a studio because, um, particularly if it's quite a small studio, because it gives me a variety of shots from one, from one  position. 

Mm-Hmm. . 

Um, but I'll tell you where it's really helpful.  in landscape photography. So, um, I would never use one in street photography because anything that you put on a camera in street photography needs to be as unobtrusive as possible.

And zooms tend to be quite large, even small zooms, they're a big piece of glass on the front, so I tend not to use them.  The problem is that sometimes you want to get closer to someone and what you do is you walk closer to them.  It's a bit of a cliche to say you let your feet be the zoom. You know, you can zoom in and out by walking closer or walking further away.

And that's tends, that, that's pretty much it. Primarily what tends to happen with street photography.  Um, and that's mainly because they don't use zooms because zooms show up as a big piece of glass. So unobtrusive piece of prime lens on the front. So your feet do the zooming now, you can't do that with landscape because if you're trying to walk closer, you might walk into a lake  Well, we step backwards.

You might go over the cliff So, you know to get what you want framed the way you want you've got to use zooms And if I'm out doing  I'd usually only take two lenses with me  and I take a lens, which is equivalent to a 70 to 200. And I take another one, which is equivalent to a 15 to 27. I think it is  on a full frame.

So those two give me just about all I need.  which is great because those particular two lenses on my fuji they both have the same filter diameter on the front so i only need to buy one filter adapter and it'll work on both cameras so it's a good cost saving so um with landscape absolutely really good idea  but there are landscape photographers who will only shoot with primes because prime will give better detail 

And of course now that we have things like Topaz software using AI to sharpen pictures in post processing,  you can almost shoot through a piece of milk bottle  and then sharpen it up afterwards because it does such a good job. So, you know, software AI is coming along now and changing the way we work. 

You could buy a really cheap lens. And don't worry, because Topaz will sort it out afterwards. 

Hmm, crazy. 

Yeah.  

So, I've heard it said before that using a prime lens makes you a better photographer,  because you have to think more.  about your shot.  Do you think there's any truth in that?  

Yes, I do. And that's what I teach in the workshops.

So quite often I'll set, uh, if someone joins one of my master classes, which are a one year course, I suggest they get a 50 millimeter lens so they can learn from the principle of working with a fixed lens. Because when you buy a camera these days, the chances are it's going to be supplied with a kit lens, which is a zoom 18 to 55 millimeter  and.

People get lazy with the zoom. They stay in one place, zoom in and out, and don't learn the process  which  I believe to be essential in developing the creative eye  and you get that by moving around.  If you've got a fixed focal length lens, if you've got a prime lens fitted to your camera, you can't stand still and zoom in and out.

You've actually got to change your position and that very process  helps build the synaptic  Pathways in your brain connected with creativity and composition.  Standing still, zooming backwards and forwards, not so much so. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that people who have learnt photography using prime lenses  develop that creative eye a lot quicker than someone who learns with a zoom. 

Yeah, I agree. I do agree with that.  Okay. And then the other side, I guess, um, that comes up with the prime lens is this whole, you have to zoom with your feet. So  I, when I'm in the studio and I've got the 85 on, sometimes I decide to get very close and personal with my subject and I get very close to them indeed.

And I've, I've worked around that by, I always make a joke, and I always say, you know, I'm coming in very close now. Um, but don't worry, it's not as close as it feels, because I think some people, when the camera is right in their face, can feel quite uncomfortable. Um, have you experienced that, and how do you work around it? 

Yeah, um, there are some techniques of photographing people in difficult lighting scenarios where you need to get a light reading of their face. And if you've got a short focal length lens and you want to get a reading of their face by, you know, basically filling their frame. Filling their face in the frame of the camera with no light coming in from behind them.

So you can press the, uh, a lock button to lock the exposure. Uh, you, sometimes you might have to be about a foot away from their face, depending on the focal length you're using. So yeah, it can be unpleasant. I remembered, um, back in around about 2000 and. Seven? I think it was.  I was involved in producing a video for a, um, a public meeting in the city of Croydon, of all places.

And, um, the idea was I, uh, the video was to last about a minute and a half, and it was to comprise of Hundreds of still images shot around Croydon of both the location, the town, it's,  it's famous places,  and it's people, lots of shots of it's people and all the different guises. And I remember standing across the high street from a couple of girls who were smoking.

I thought, oh, I haven't got any smokers in the shot, I'll do that.  So I pointed, uh, a 70 200, you know, on a Canon, so that's a white lens, it looks, it stands out a mile, and I'm pointing at these two girls smoking, and I'm just about to press the button, and this guy walks past, and he laid into me as being a, uh, Perv who's taken these pictures illegally of these girls and if they knew they would not be happy.

And I felt about two inches tall, went bright red and put the camera down. So then when I did, I thought, okay, well I'm my other camera body. I was, I had a cannon on both arms. The other one was the 24 to 70  . And I went up to 'em, I said, look, I'm doing this picture for da, da da da. Can I take a picture?

'cause I haven't got anybody smoking. And they were, yeah, they were fine. So what I did was I zoomed right back on the 24 mil. Super wide. And to get that shot of the two of them, I literally was less than a foot from her face.  And actually, she didn't batter an eyelid. And it was perfect. And I got the girl, a friend behind her smoking another one, slightly soft.

But the picture worked perfectly. But it was a classic example of where On this occasion, at least, I should have asked permission before I took the picture. And I ended up with a better picture because I was so close with such a wide lens.  The picture  told that story of how close I was. You could see how close I was. 

So, yeah, sometimes you have to get close. And for some people, that's very uncomfortable.  

Yeah, especially when people don't like having their photo taken. Yeah.  So let's talk about cost.  What is there much  difference in cost between the two types of lenses?  

So my answer on this one is it depends  because there are prime lenses that are more expensive than some  It's not unusual as a pro to spend two grand on a zoom and two grand on a prime lens. 

It really does depend on the quality of the glass. And if you're working as a pro, you do need lenses, which are going to  man up and do the job.  On the other hand, there are lots of amateurs who, and we've talked about this before, who like the very best gear and one quite happy to pay the highest prices for the best primes.

If you've got a mirrorless camera, um, And the bodies are quite lightweight and quite small. And you have a full frame body and you put a full frame zoom on, that's going to be a really heavy chunk.  Putting a prime on a lot less to carry around. So they tend to be lighter. They tend to give, this is a prime, they tend to be lighter.

They tend to work in lower light, which means, um, usually better image quality and less noise. You keep your ISO down in low light.  Uh, and they have the ability to. Give a lovely bokeh, that background blur behind people, more so than zooms.  Um, But, you know, there are some zooms, the, uh, most, most manufacturers, nearly all manufacturers produce stellar lenses for that 70 to 200 range, which,  uh, great definition, good contrast, good color, fantastic pieces of glass, but they are a lot of money.

Two grand, three grand,  two and a half grand, somewhere around there. We'll get you one of those, but poor, you know, if you spent five grand on the, on the camera, why put crap lens on it? 

Mm. Exactly. Because you've spent all your money. Yeah.  

And most, most sensible photographers would argue that it's the lens that's more important than the camera. 

As geeky people, mainly men,  because, you know, we're less sensible than you young ladies, uh, we just want the latest gear with all the latest gadgets. So we keep upgrading the camera, but not necessarily the lenses. And that's, that's the problem. That's what would really nail great shots, the lenses. 

So,  you touched on weight there,  briefly.

Um, one of the reasons I love my 50mm is because it is so lightweight.  So for somebody who doesn't want a prime lens, they want a zoom, and they just want something  lightweight,  that can be kind of quite versatile, what zoom lens  

What piece of string? That depends on what they want to photograph. Well, let's 

just say they're, you know, they're going on their travels, they just want to have a camera for, you know,  

Okay.

Well, to be honest with you, the kit lens that comes is going to cover most of the focal ranges. The difference lies when you start spending the money, you get lenses, which are faster, which work in lower light. They're at their maximum apertures are much wider. If you can afford a lens, which would give you an F 2.

8 instead of an F 5. 6.  A, you can work in lower light and B, you've got much better chance of getting soft backgrounds if you're photographing the kids.  If you do get those soft. Bokeh backgrounds. You make the pictures of the kids pop out of the background. It's a very satisfying image. You don't have to do it, but it's very popular at the moment and everybody seems to want great bokeh.

A lot of criticism. No, that's not true. There is some criticism from certain parts of the photographic community on people wanting to bokeh everything. But, you know, it's, it's their hobby. If they like that, let them do it.  

Yeah, I agree.  I agree.  

Let me tell you a story. Okay.  So, prior to lockdown, I had 16 lenses. 

16 lenses? 

16 lenses. 

All for one camera?  

Uh, I had two camera bodies.  I sold one during lockdown and I sold some of the lenses during lockdown because like most businesses had no income coming in so I had to make the money somewhere so I sold gear. And it was painful. 

Photography gear, just to be clear.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah, I didn't sell it.  No, I gave away all my cannabis.  Um, and I was shooting quite a lot with both Canon 4 frame and Fuji crop frame. So I had 16 lenses across probably actually a total of three bodies. Okay.  But  of those 16 lenses, only three were zooms. 

That's because most of the work that I did required I work in low light conditions,  which zooms couldn't help me with.  And you know, when you work with primes all the time, you don't see them as a disadvantage. So if you've got someone who's used to working with a zoom, say that you just buy your first camera and it comes with a kit lens, it's got a zoom, your mindset then is, Oh, I must have a zoom. 

And you don't even think about having a prime, because it seems, why would I want that? It only does one focal length, I want to be able to change it. But when you're used to shooting with primes,  You will think to yourself, most of the time, why do I want to use a zoom?  It is what you're conditioned to. So I've been, I've been doing a lot of research on this and there's a couple of things which affect people's preferences, but one is the experience they have with their first camera.

Another one would be. The generational aspect, younger people tend to want things which are instant and fast, so they tend to go for zooms because they, they can stand still and instantly get what they want.  And the older generation are more affected by the fact they've probably grown up with film cameras, where most people had prime lenses, because zoom lenses back in the day were rubbish.

They were very poor quality and very expensive.  And there is a, a sense of If you work with a Prime,  you're a bit nostalgic, maybe? You know, there's a bit of old school, you're not moving with the times, whereas if you're going Zoom, you are a bit more switched on.  But the interesting thing is for me, if I'm having to shoot  on the fly, and I have to make quick decisions, a Zoom slows me down.

Because I have to make a decision. What focal length will I use? And I'm zooming in and out and in the end I've missed the picture because I've been too busy zooming. So I don't believe that zooms actually are the best solution if you're, if you're moving in speed. Because to me they would slow me down and I've met quite a lot of photographers who would agree with that. 

I've been caught out  a couple of times when I've been using my 50 prime and, you know, my camera settings are all set beautifully and I'm snapping away. And then I switch. And I put my 24 70 on, and I start snapping away. And of course I've, I've changed the focal length,  or I've, I've reset the camera, I've got it perfectly, and I'll take a couple, and then I'll zoom in a bit, and I'll take a couple more, and then I'll zoom out, and I'll take a couple more, and I think, yeah. 

Damn. 

They're all too dark. Yeah, so one of the other reasons why street photographers tend not to use zooms is they like the ability to take a picture with the minimum possible delay from the moment they see the shot Pressing the button and getting the picture. And one of the more common ways that street photographers set up their camera is to manualize most of it.

Now 

what I mean by that, I've just made that word up. To my knowledge, manualize doesn't actually exist, but it does now.  So they'll pre focus manually, they take off the auto focus, they maybe focus about, maybe 12 feet in advance, something like that. The distance that they think, oh, where most people are going to be that they're going to photograph on the street.

So they go roughly 12 feet and lock it off there. Then they pick an aperture which is going to give them a really wide depth of field and leave it fixed in their manual.  And then they pick a shutter speed, maybe about 250th of a second, which is going to capture most movement. And the only thing that changes is the ISO. 

The idea being, They see something, they lift the camera up to their eye, boom,  they snap the shot. If they've got to zoom as well, they could miss that moment.  So my preference personally is a prime, but not exclusively.  

And then let's just talk about the usage quickly. So for me,  I think prime lens, I think portraits, low light situations, um, and you know, if I want that really great depth of field control. 

And then zoom lenses, wildlife, sport, situations where things are  

And landscape. 

And landscape, yeah.  

So does this sound like we're coming towards the end? 

Yes, I think so. Okay, 

I'd love to know what people think, who are listening to this, if they let us know what they prefer, uh, primes or zooms, and, and why, and which prime and which zoom?

What, what are their favourite lenses? What lenses would they  not ever want to get rid of? 

I think the big question though, Kevin 

Mm hmm? 

Is, do people agree with you  that it's the 70 to 200? Or do they agree with me that it's the 24 to 70?  We need some sort of vote.  

Really? Yeah.  Okay. 

Set that up in the comments.

Why don't we put that into the Facebook group? 

Oh, and if you're not a member of the Facebook group, it's Hampshire Photography Network, go into Facebook and just search for Hampshire Photography Network. If you live in Hampshire or any of the surrounding counties, actually anywhere in the world, as far as I'm not bothered.

Yeah, 

everybody's welcome. 

Providing you're not a professional or a semi professional because we want everybody in the group to be relatively young in their journey it's no good if you're a really experienced photographer being in there partly because Um,  you'll be disenchanted by the fact that not everybody else is but there's a more important reason um There's lots of evidence to suggest that if you have a group like this and there were some superb Probably gifted photographers regularly posting pictures.

It is quite demoralizing for those who are just new on their journey because they don't think they can compete so they don't end up posting.  So yeah, Hampshire Photography Network and we'll post this in as a question in that network and we'll see what reaction we get. Should we do that? Let's do it.

Let's do it. Lovely. Thanks again.  Thank you 

for having me. 

Good sesh. 

Always. 

See you in two weeks time,  and I'm just going to turn around to look at the spreadsheet. Oh, what have we got in two weeks 

time? The spreadsheet. Oh, I like that one. Oh, can you see that?  

Oh, that's gonna, uh, that's gonna rock. 

Yes. 

That, that, I can, yeah, I could talk forever on that one.

Brilliant. I think 

I can  see your face.  It's good, goodbye from me. And it's goodbye from me. Bye. You never join in on the byes, do 

you? 

No. No.  

Hi everyone, it's Kevin Ahronson, and I want to tell you about some exciting changes I've made to the Photography Masterclass, my in person course that's been helping photographers grow since 2019.

Yep, this is an in person course in a classroom with me, face to face. This is not online.  As we approach our 10th  intake in January, I've made some significant changes to celebrate this milestone.  This masterclass goes beyond just technical skills. It's about learning to see the world as a photographer.

I've shifted the focus to give even more attention to creativity with three entire modules dedicated to developing your photographer's eye. I retained the more popular modules on shooting landscapes, photographing people, And there's a new one on black and white photography.  This masterclass is more than just a course.

It's a creative one year journey. You'll share with other passionate photographers growing together and forming lasting connections along the way.  Need more information? Visit GoHSP.  com click on courses and select masterclass. I'll also provide a link in the show notes below.