Just a few thoughts on zoom photography in general... I have just recently "discovered" the ease a small zoom gives me when I'm on vacation, and the help in framing it provides. As I get older, while I still love walking among the rocks and along the seashore, camera at the ready, I am not as much a mountain goat as I once was, and I find the lens does a lot of the walking for me...
Considering the past two trips I've taken, with photography a tie for first consideration in sight-seeing, I used my 135mm f/2.5, my 19mm f/3.8 a lot, and in between, the Pentax-A 35-80mm zoom was always on the camera. In lieu of one of my 50mm f/1.4s... This is the first time I've used the zoom extensively, and found it a real boon to help me get just a little closer, or include just a little more in the frame, when I couldn't move to accomplish the same thing... The enjoyment while taking the photos was one thing, and enjoy the trip I did. However, when I got back and had the prints made, I suddenly realized a significant change had taken place in my vacation trip photography. With few exceptions, there was little difference visible, or better said, to distinguish between, the 19mm, the 35-80 zoom or the 135mm prime in the prints. I had no particularly unusual angles, or such, that would favor the use of one over the other, other than remembering that in this shot, I needed the 19mm to get what horizontal expanse I needed, etc. But, other than that, all were just good representative examples of portraying where we'd been,what we did, and what we saw along the way. There was none of the "Oh yeah, that was the 135mm," or "...that was definitely the 19mm." All images seemed to fit the subject, with rare exceptions, and there's no other way to say it but that there was no sense of the lens chosen. No particular uniqueness to any given shot. All just about s good and well framed as I would have expected them to be... Maybe you've experienced that, but this is the first time I haven't changed prime lenses back and forth like musical chairs, and quite frankly, it was a real pleasure! All to my purchase of that little 35-80 zoom I got on eBay! I have one other low range zoom, a Pentax-A 35-70mm f/4.0 that I got from one of our PDMLers, but it was in having a CLA done on it while I was on this trip... I look forward to using it next trip. Thing is, I'm now hooked on good quality low range zooms like that, and fine them very useful! Just my take on the matter... keith whaley Mark Roberts wrote: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] (John Dallman) wrote: > > >In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >(Mark Roberts) wrote: > > > >> For those who haven't checked this week's "Sunday Morning Photographer" > >> yet, Mike has a few things to say on the subject of "Zooms vs. Primes": > >> http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-03-07-13.shtml > > > >Thanks; I've not seen his writing before. I think I agree with him on this > >subject - when I've tried using zooms, there always seems too much to > >fiddle with, and hunting for a zoom ring seems more complicated than a > >step back or forwards. > > I generally agree with him on this, too. I only have two zooms, a > 28-70/2.8 and an 80-200/2.8, only the latter of which sees general use. > The 28-70 comes out only when I know I'll be doing a lot of shooting in > a situation in which I won't be able to switch lenses conveniently. > > -- > Mark Roberts > Photography and writing > www.robertstech.com
