Prime Lenses vs Zoom Lenses: Which Is Better and Why (VIDEO)


In the below video, Daniel and Rachel from Mango Street offer their take on the prime vs zoom lens debate. In the clip, they shoot with a Canon 24mm f/1.4 and Canon 35mm f/1.4 and compare the experience to shooting with the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

"A huge temptation that photographers have when they use a zoom lens is to kind of get lazy and rely on the zoom feature instead of moving their feet," Rachel says. "And when you do that, your shots don't feel as intimate. They have a definite different feel then when you shoot with a prime lens, where you have to get closer to your subject to actually feel the emotion in the photo."

Watch the video where they photograph a model in a variety of locations with the 24mm, 35mm and 24-70mm lenses, and show how the results stack up. Then go visit Mango's Street's excellent YouTube channel for more fun tutorials.