Now that you’ve taken your camera out for a spin using the advice from my previous post, it’s time to get to know your camera and what makes it tick. Keep in mind, the camera is just a tool. The real power and art behind the images you make are you yourself. That being said, knowing the ins and outs of your camera, and knowing its abilities, will expand your creative possibilities.

Zoom Lenses

In all likelihood, your camera came with a “kit” lens. It’s called that because when bought together, the detachable lens and the camera body are called a “kit.” Kit lenses are usually medium zoom lenses with focal lengths between 18-55mm. This gives you a nice variety of focal lengths to use for your photography, from a wide angle for landscapes to zoom in close for portraits.

These lenses can be of good quality, but they’re generally not “fast” and cannot handle taking photos in low light. They’re also what’s called a variable aperture lens, which means that when the lens is at its widest point, say 18mm, then the lowest f-stop for the lens would be f/3.5. When you zoom it all the way out to 55mm, then the lowest f-stop available is f/5.6.

I won’t go into the technical details as to why this is the case. The simple answer is that variable aperture lenses are cheaper and easier to make than “fast” zoom lenses. Fast lenses zoom in and out just like the kit lens, however, no matter the focal length, the lowest f-stop will stay the same, like f/2.8. In order to have a lens capable of doing this, it has be to bigger, heavier, and cost a lot more to produce. The reason they’re called fast lenses is with such a wide-open f-stop, the speed at which you’re able to fire the shutter is faster.

As an example, if you bought the kit lens that came with your camera by itself, it would probably cost between $300-$400. A fast zoom lens will likely start at $2000 and go up from there. When you are just starting out in photography, you do not need to worry about buying these lenses. As you progress in your photography, you will actually know when it’s time to make the leap to “professional glass.”

Prime Lenses

Prime lenses, as they’re called, have a fixed focal length. So they cannot change focal lengths from 18mm to 55m like the zoom lens. Instead, they are a single focal length, like 35mm, 18mm or 50mm. This means that if you wanted to shoot a portrait at 50mm, but you had an 18mm prime lens on your camera, you would have to switch out lenses.

The advantage of a prime lens is its sharpness and size. Since the manufacturer doesn’t have to accommodate multiple focal lengths, there is less glass in a prime lens (usually 6-12 glass elements in a prime vs. up to 20 for a zoom lens). Additionally, that glass can be specifically tailored to that specific focal length to provide the sharpest image possible. Also, because there is less glass, prime lenses tend to be smaller than zoom lenses (but not always). This is why a lot of street photographers carry around prime lenses as it keeps their setup small and light.

An obvious disadvantage of prime lenses is if you have a portrait lens on your camera, usually 50mm or 85mm, and you want to capture a wide vista, then you have to carry around a second lens and swap them out. Even though prime lenses are usually lighter, having to carry around two or three extra lenses can add considerable heft to your camera bag.

With all that being said, common advice seasoned photographers give to new ones is to put a 50mm lens on your camera and only use that for a month or so. You can always zoom in “with your legs” if you need to get closer or back up to get farther away from your subject. Using the single lens for a period of time makes you understand your camera better because you’re not constantly fooling around with focal lengths, etc. You will learn how to use the 50mm and what it can capture, what it’s good for, and why it may not be the best choice for a particular scene.

Now That You Know the Difference, Which Type of Lens Should You Use?

Picking between the two types of lenses depends on what kind of photography you’re trying to capture. Travel photography has different requirements than portrait photography. Landscape photographers and wedding photographers also have different needs and will choose different lenses accordingly. Lastly, it comes down to personal preference.

Travel photography is where zoom lenses really come in handy and have a big advantage over their prime brethren. If you’re getting on a plane, space is limited and you don’t want to pack four lenses to cover any and all contingents when all you have to do is have one zoom lens that covers it all. When my family and I traveled to Europe in 2013, I took along my Sony NEX-7 with the 18-55mm kit lens. It took great pictures, was compact and light, and I loved the images I took on that trip with that camera setup.

If you’re planning on shooting a lot of portraits, a prime lens is your best bet as you’re going to want to have the sharpest lens available. There are lots of arguments on the internet about which focal length is best for portraits, the two most popular being 50mm and 85mm. I personally think 85mm is the best because it gives a nice bokeh and less facial distortion. Keep in mind, none of these “rules” are set in stone. Some of the best portraits I’ve ever taken were with my Canon f/2.8 70-200mm lens.

Landscape photographers like to have wide zoom lenses, such as 16-24mm. They’ll also carry around a 70-200mm to get tighter compositions. There are also landscape photographers, like yours truly, who use prime lenses when going out shooting landscapes. I am part of a small niche, however.

Wedding photographers will likely have a mixture of zoom and prime lenses. They also almost always have an assistant to change lenses, cameras and deal with all other equipment issues. They use the zoom during the ceremony, primes for portraits and low light reception shots, and keep mixing up the two depending on circumstances and lighting.

But to get back to the question, you should shoot using the lens that came with your camera. And if you’re curious about prime lenses, go out and buy a 50mm 1.8 or equivalent. They usually don’t cost more than $200-$300 and you will fall in love with their sharpness. And to conclude this post, I’m going to sound like a broken record. Learning about your equipment is good, but nothing beats just going out and shooting. Get out there and take pictures until you drop. That’s the best way to get to know your equipment and to develop your style.