When I made the decision to switch from a full-frame DSLR to an APS-C mirrorless, the decision wasn’t one that I took lightly. One of my biggest compromises? I traded in a kit that was largely zoom lenses for a bag full of nearly all prime lenses.
When I traded in my DSLR for mirrorless, I considered a handful of different options, but I fell in love with Fujifilm colors. My biggest hesitation, however, was that I would be downsizing my sensor for those colors. As a portrait photographer and lover of bokeh, I didn’t want to lose light and background separation in the switch.
My compromise? I traded in a 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens for a 50mm f/1 and an 18mm f/1.4. My gear bag for portraits and weddings is now all nearly prime lenses, including the 18mm, 50mm, and a 90mm. I was hesitant enough in the switch from zoom to primes that I made one concession and picked up the 16-80mm f/4 as a kit option, a lens that I still have in my bag.
The trade allowed me to gain back some of the light and blur that I lost in making a step down from full-frame to APS-C. Could I have picked a full-frame camera with a bright prime lens? Of course. But the step from a DSLR with zoom to a mirrorless with a prime and less time spent on color editing was the right move for me personally.
The biggest thing that I lost in the change was the ability to change focal lengths quickly. Instead, I now shoot with one camera on each hip and a different prime lens mounted on each. No, this isn’t quite the same thing as using zoom lenses, but it helps. Perhaps more importantly, I’m a wedding photographer and shooting a wedding without a backup camera is just asking for disaster, so I was already budgeting to purchase two bodies.
Most days, I find I don’t miss zoom. The 50mm f/1 practically lives on one of my camera bodies – it has that just-right focal length, and the bokeh is the stuff dreams are made of. When I’m shooting portraits, I don’t mind having to “zoom” with my feet – and I feel like I put more thought into the shot that way.
I do occasionally miss zoom – I took a weekend trip a few weeks ago and that kit lens spent a lot of time on my camera. Zoom is convenient, and there are plenty of scenarios where getting physically closer just isn’t possible. I’ve hovered over the “add to cart” button on the Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC Art on more than one occasion. I wish such a lens had existed when I bought my kit (no offense, 16-80mm lens).
Whether or not a zoom or a prime is the right choice, I think depends in large part on the genre of photography, too. I love my prime for portraits. But I love testing out telephoto zooms for wildlife photography, and if my primary genres were wildlife or sports, my kit bag would have a higher percentage of zooms over primes.
When I started out in photography, zoom lenses were my favorite – but if I could only keep one lens in my current kit, it’d be my beloved 50mm f/1.
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