Everything has its two sides. The advantage of zoom lens lies in its convenience, and even has the function of "walking around the world with one mirror", such as portraits, scenery and so on. However, the internal structure of zoom lens is complex, and all aspects must be taken into account, which will greatly affect the shooting quality, and its aperture is not as large as that of fixed-focus lens. A lens with a larger aperture naturally ensures the appearance of high-quality pictures. Of course, portrait photography pursues excellent image quality, and a large aperture fixed-focus lens can naturally do it. So portrait photographers not only use zoom lenses, but also fixed-focus lenses.

(Photo taken with Canon lens 70200)

This is a wonderful question and fun. As I always say, zoom is only convenient, and fixed focus is the essence. Dayuan's various lenses are the top zoom in portrait photography, except 70-200, which is basically better than a simple and rude small focus!

Talking about scaling

Zoom lenses such as 16-35, 24-70, 70-200, 17-40, 24- 105, etc. The aperture is F4 and F2.8, the price is high or low, and the focal length coverage is relatively wide. The photos taken are really good, but these

Fixed focus lens-portrait lens

The first impression of a fixed-focus lens is that the aperture is very large. Except for the zoom lenses of some sub-factories, the original zoom is basically F2.8, and the zoom can reach the horrible F 1.2 or even higher!

With an appropriate focal length, regardless of the wide-angle focusing setting, there are many options for wide-angle portrait focusing setting, such as 50mm, 85mm, 135mm, 200mm and so on. These are very powerful portrait shots. Judging from these focusing settings, it seems that a 70-200 can be perfectly controlled. Wrong, the optical quality of focus setting is incomparable to zoom, and imaging is convenient for focus setting. Moreover, only three times gold zoom, such as big ternary, can effectively control distortion, and the optical quality of other three times or more zoom is worse, and the distortion control ability is even worse!

People who really like to take portraits, if they don't buy one or two portraits to focus on, I'm afraid they don't know much about the fun of photography!

Why do zoom lenses cover many fixed-focus focal segments, and even some people buy fixed-focus lenses?

Yes, this is something that a small number of people are pursuing and enjoying. They have zoom lenses ranging from 14 to 300 or even more, and the focal length of the lenses is continuous, that is to say, the focal length in the range of 14 to 300 is almost "full coverage", but they are still pursuing and buying fixed-focus lenses with different focal lengths.

Why are you doing this? There are only two answers: one is to pursue the ultimate in imaging quality; First, these people are rich.

Here we want to analyze the characteristics of fixed-focus lens and zoom lens.

First, the biggest advantage of fixed-focus lens is its excellent imaging quality. However, the inherent contrarian of fixed-focus lens is that the shooting distance is relatively fixed and inflexible, and high-quality images can only be obtained within a certain distance range. Moreover, fixed-focus lenses with different focal lengths are only suitable for shooting with different beats, and generally cannot be "balanced". The fixed-focus lens you choose for a fixed scene and a fixed distance, such as a studio, is not suitable for shooting the scenery of a large scene, nor for shooting flowers, insects and fish at a short distance. That is to say, although its imaging quality is excellent, its application of shooting distance is "rigid".

Secondly, the biggest advantage of zoom lens is that it can complete long-distance shooting. To exaggerate, you can not only shoot objects close at hand, but also shoot scenes far away, and you can also "stretch freely" and "fight thousands of miles".

Thirdly, from the development of photographic lens, the evolution from fixed focus to zoom is a leap in the practicality and convenience of lens; It is a leap from "rigid" to flexible shooting range.

The above analysis shows that there is always a reason for existence. For photographers in special fields and scenes, it is very necessary to have fixed-focus lenses with different focal lengths from the requirements of the quality of their works; Those who are very rich will still have fixed-focus lenses as long as they hear that the focal length is good; Those with special assistants will not care about the weight and inconvenience of the equipment, and "pulling the whole car equipment" will not get in the way.

Our suggestion is that for ordinary photographers, choose a zoom lens. For example, 24-70/2.8 and 70-200/2.8; If you look closely again, the wide-angle lens above 14 (the index value is greater than 14) and the zoom lens around 300 are more comprehensive. Reaching the above allocation standards, the province will become very "Gao Daquan", and there is no need to blindly compare with others and strive to be an "equipment party". The wind direction is southeast and northwest, and the applicable equipment is in hand. Just make good use of the existing equipment and create and shoot in a down-to-earth manner.

Although the zoom lens covers several focal segments, the fixed focus lens is still irreplaceable. The reason is actually very simple, and it is based on these points:

Image quality, aperture and portability.

Zoom lens seems to be more convenient than fixed focus. It contains several focal lengths, allowing photographers to choose different focal lengths flexibly in the shooting process, so as to achieve the purpose of shooting multiple focal lengths without changing the lens, but in fact, zoom lens is also a compromise product.

From the perspective of image quality, there is indeed a certain gap between the zoom lens and the fixed-focus lens of the same grade. Compare it with the simplest entry-level lens. 18-55mm and small spittoon 50mm f 1.8 are lenses of several hundred yuan, and the imaging quality of small spittoon is much better than that of 18-55mm, and as a super entry-level fixed-focus lens, small spittoon has performed very well and is close to.

Zoom lens improves the convenience of use in variable focal length, but it also damages the image quality. Due to the design of zoom, it is necessary to use more complex lens structures, and these structures mean that the image quality will be affected. It's like carbonated drinks are delicious, but compared with pure water, the ingredients that satisfy the taste are not good for human health, and it is impossible to have both taste and health. Fixed-focus lenses do not design redundant structures for zooming unrelated to image quality. All the designs are for the image quality itself, so the convenience of zooming and the image quality of fixed focus can't have both. Even the top zoom bull's head, compared with the fixed focus bull's head of the same grade, has a compromise in image quality.

If the zoom lens with high positioning level is compared with the fixed-focus lens with low specification, will the image quality be similar? The difference in image quality is not obvious, but the fixed-focus lens has an obvious advantage, that is, the aperture is large.

From the aperture point of view, the fixed-focus lens can easily meet the lens standards of 1.8, f 1.4 or even f 1.2, and can shoot bright, transparent and blurred pictures. Zoom lenses don't have such strong aperture parameters. Generally, low-standard zoom lenses adopt the design of floating aperture. For example, lenses such as 18- 135mm all adopt the design of floating maximum aperture such as f3.5-f5.6, that is, with the change of focal length, the maximum aperture will decrease, and there is no small aperture such as f3.5 at the wide-angle end, and only a small aperture such as f5.6 at the telephoto end. This design cost is relatively low and the volume is relatively controllable. Higher-specification zoom lenses achieve a constant aperture, that is, the maximum aperture of each focal segment can be kept constant, but usually the maximum aperture is F2.8. The latest ultra-high-specification zoom lenses only achieve a constant f2.0 (taking Quan Huafu as an example). The zoom lens of this specification is very large and inconvenient.

There are still many benefits that a large aperture can bring, which can increase the amount of light entering, and can also take a relatively pure picture effect in a dark environment. It can effectively ensure the shutter speed in the fast range, and the large aperture lens is also called "fast lens". A large aperture can also take a beautiful blurred background effect.

A very important reason for using a fixed-focus lens is its large aperture. Even a low-specification fixed-focus lens can easily make an aperture exceeding f2.0, which has become a major advantage of a fixed-focus lens.

From the point of portability, the design of fixed-focus lens is very compact and portable. Even if the fixed-focus bull's head has very high specifications, the mirror is lighter than the zoom lens. If it is an ordinary fixed-focus lens, it is generally much shorter than a zoom lens.

The apsc frame fixed-focus lens of f2.0 above is a biscuit lens design, which is very light and portable.

To sum up the above aspects, we hope to have higher image quality, larger aperture and more portable volume, all of which need a fixed-focus lens to solve. Therefore, under the rules of optical physics, the fixed-focus lens will not easily fall out of favor and will coexist with the zoom lens for a long time.

Zoom lens and fixed focus lens have their own advantages and can play a complementary role in shooting. Moreover, fixed-focus lenses have many advantages over zoom lenses.

For example, the most direct difference is the aperture. The aperture of fixed-focus lens can usually reach above f/ 1.8, while the aperture of zoom lens with ordinary workmanship can only reach f/4, and the maximum aperture will be further reduced at the telephoto end. The maximum aperture of a zoom lens with a constant aperture is about F/2.8. Therefore, in terms of aperture, the fixed-focus lens has a larger aperture, shallower depth of field and more light input than the zoom lens.

The process of zoom lens is more complicated than that of fixed focus lens, so the cost of zoom lens remains high. In terms of price, the price of a good zoom lens will generally be around 10,000 yuan, while a high-quality fixed-focus lens may only cost 2,000 to 3,000 yuan. The price of a zoom lens can form a medium-to-high-grade fixed-focus lens group.

Because there is no complicated zoom system, the fixed-focus lens with the same focal length is better than the zoom lens, and a good fixed-focus lens will give more space in the later stage.

Fixed-focus lenses are also much lighter than zoom lenses and are easy to carry. The only drawback is probably the lack of elasticity, which is the strength of zoom lens. The complementarity of zoom lens and fixed-focus lens is also the reason why photographers need to buy additional fixed-focus lenses.

Fixed focus lens is the most effective means to help photographers escape from their comfort zone. No matter what kind of fixed-focus lens has a focal length, the first reaction for a beginner photographer is definitely inconvenient, even the mobile phone is not easy to use, but this is precisely the biggest benefit that fixed-focus lens brings to professional photographers: cultivating photographic vision.

People who are used to zoom lenses can shoot almost anything, stand in the most comfortable position, shoot the sky and shoot the air, zoom in far and zoom in near, and don't care about the quality of the plane, let alone the creativity of composition, and so on. But photography, like all jobs in the world, is too comfortable to be a good thing. Everyone can reflect your creative value if they are comfortable and relaxed.

Writing articles pays attention to language, so does photography. In the era of national photography, everyone is taking pictures with their mobile phones. As a professional photographer, the most important thing to consider is also the most difficult thing to do, isn't it? How to be different?

There is a line in the movie "A Master": The highest realm of martial arts is thought. For photographers, the most important thing is the cultivation of photographic eyes. Fixed-focus lens is nicknamed "fitness head" in the industry, which is to exchange the posture that ordinary people don't like for the unusual pictures of others. This is why feet are more practical than zooming.

I am practicing 50 fixed focus now. Although there are many inconveniences, they are even ridiculed by some old magicians, saying that they are not as good as their mobile phones. So what? ! Focus on practicing composition, composition and skills ... My last muscle memory is my own, and whether I have a photographic eye or not has nothing to do with others.

The zoom lens is convenient, but the structure is complex, so the maximum aperture of the zoom lens is only F2.8, which becomes very limited when shooting at a large aperture. For example, when taking a portrait, the background needs to be blurred, and 24-70F2.8 is completely different from 85F 1.2. The same is true for shooting the Milky Way in the starry sky. Because the aperture of 14-24F2.8 is not large enough, the ISO can only be increased to 6400, which leads to too much noise, and it is impossible to distinguish noise from stars, so noise can only be reduced later. And if you use 14F 1.8, and the ISO is only 1600, the picture will be much purer, not the same level.

The summary is:

Scale for convenience.

Focus on the pursuit of the ultimate

The zoom lens covers a lot of fixed-focus focal segments. Does anyone want to buy a fixed-focus lens? Let me say my point:

First of all, under the same aperture, the volume and weight of the fixed-focus lens will be much smaller and lighter, which is still very practical in humanistic photography.

Fuji 23MM F 1.4, shot in Malaysia.

Second, the fixed-focus lens, the aperture can be made bigger. Such as 1.4 and 1.8. Large aperture+wide angle is still very practical in the subject of starry sky photography.

Sima 20MM F 1.4, taken in Iceland.

Third, the edge quality of the fixed-focus lens will be relatively better.

Of course, the zoom top lens has made great progress in this respect!

Whether it is fixed focus or zoom, in fact, it is most important that we use it well.

"Some people" can only say that a small number of people buy and use fixed-focus lenses, while for most photographers, they still use zoom lenses. Among the more than 100 members of our photography association, almost no one uses fixed-focus lenses. I often browse in various photography groups, and rarely see photos taken with fixed-focus lenses.

Theoretically, the resolution of fixed-focus lens is better than that of zoom lens. Because the focal length of the fixed-focus lens is fixed, the problem of resolution reduction will not occur because of the change of focal length.

Zoom lens has not been used in photography for a long time since it came out. The main problem is that the focus of the lens will shift during zooming, resulting in serious astigmatism, dispersion and distortion.

Until the late 1980s, with the improvement of lens grinding technology and the optimization of lens structure, especially the appearance of multilayer coating technology, the resolution of zoom lens was greatly improved, and the problems of focal shift, astigmatism and dispersion were solved. However, the zoom multiple of the lens is limited to three times, and the zoom lens with too high a multiple is still of no practical value.

The modern zoom lens technology has been improved to a greater extent, which can completely rival the fixed focus lens. At present, the zoom lens has become the main force of photography, most photographers are using the zoom lens, while the fixed focus lens is rarely interested. At the same time, the large zoom lens with about ten times has also entered the practical stage, which will become a new development goal and fashion for the lens to go global.

It should be said that only from the perspective of resolution, there is not much difference between zoom and fixed focus, which is already within the range that the naked eye can't distinguish.

However, although the zoom lens is easy to use, it still has many shortcomings, such as large volume and large aperture. At present, the maximum aperture of advanced zoom lens is constant F2.8, and that of general zoom lens is around F3.5—5.6. Now a fixed-focus lens, the aperture has reached F0.95, which is difficult for a zoom lens to do.

Some people buy fixed-focus lenses for the following reasons: first, photographers who are familiar with photographic composition and do not need to rely on the change of lens focal length to complete the composition. With a fixed focus in your hand, you can shoot wind and water. But these people tend to buy standard lenses or small wide-angle lenses. Because this kind of lens is similar to the perspective of human eyes, the picture taken is very affinity, and all the scenes above the close-up can be handled except the close-up. However, the picture is easy to appear dull, well-behaved and lacks impact, which requires photographers to have high composition and photography creation ability.

The second is a photographer with a relatively fixed subject matter. Such as indoor portrait in studio, product advertisement shooting, architecture, landscape photography, etc. The subject matter and location of shooting are relatively fixed, the focal length changes little, and there are not many pictures captured. So fixed-focus lenses are often used. Such as 85, 100mm portrait lens, wide-angle lens below 35mm, etc.

Third, we should deal with the low-light photography environment. Because the fixed-focus lens has a larger aperture, it can greatly increase the amount of light entering, and it is more advantageous to shoot in low-light environments such as indoors. Using a large aperture fixed-focus lens can not only get enough exposure, but also avoid using too high sensitivity to ensure the imaging quality.

Fixed-focus lenses are generally used by skilled photographers or professional photographers with certain photographic ability. General photographers, especially beginners, do not recommend using fixed-focus lenses. Because this kind of lens is not convenient to use, especially in the face of unpredictable photographic scenes, it often seems inadequate, which will affect the cultivation of photography interest to a certain extent.