PRIME vs ZOOM lenses for wildlife photography

Prime Vs Zoom Lenses for wildlife photography. Danelle opens a "can of worms" in the prime vs zoom debate. When space and weight is an issue which should you go for? A prime lens, zoom lens, or both?

Timestamps:

0:01 Opening a can of worms
0:40 The Differences of Prime vs Zoom lenses
2:40 Pros and Cons of Zoom and Prime lenses
5:40 Weight differences
8:15 Specific factors to consider
11.30 wildlife photography locations
14:00 Conclusion

Welcome to our channel which is dedicated to the wonderful world of wildlife photography. We endeavor to load one new video every week featuring beginner to advanced photo skills, editing tutorials, hacks, and gear reviews. We are based in Northern Botswana in The Chobe National Park and we invite you to travel here, either virtually or physically, and we will do our very best to make you a better wildlife and nature photographer. Enjoy the channel.

#wildlifephotography #primelens #zoomlens

[PangolinWildlife]

What would be your ultimate 3 lens combination to take on safari? Only 3!

[tkermi]

I already know all this but still liked to watch this video 😂. Well presented solid info! And Danielle has so calming and pleasant voice 😊.

[kayrajiv]

Danielle has made a very valid point on, 'with whom are you going to shoot?' Very valid that during safaris all occupants in the same vehicle have more or less similar lenses, leave alone interests! For tiger safaris, me and my friends always carry a prime lens (500mm/600mm) and a 80-400 or 100-400 as we never know our position till we encounter the animal. Of course, both mounted on bodies as a sighting gives very little time to adjust on most of the occasions. Also, being camera ready is something you will not regret as "sudden" sightings happen on 25% of the occasions!

[benwiles]

A well balanced talk with lots to think about. Here's another 2 cans to open: cropped sensor or full frame; slr or mirrorless! Something I have thought of is filters, especially if you are going to use the lens for other things. Some of the zoom lenses with a fixed aperture have bulbous fronts so you can't put filters on for effect or protection.

[markusstiller]

I also started with the Nikon 200-500 but I mostly end up on the long end. The 5.6 is a bit too slow for the low light conditions. Now I am using the Nikon 180-400 4.0 with tc. Which is brillant but also only 4.0. next in the list is the prime 400 2.8. which I can use with an TC during the day if needed. I use a D850 / Z7 and D7500. These are only the long lenses I use. 70-200 2.8 and 24-70 2.8 is also in my bag.

[jakesdewet]

Thanks. Great practical video again. I also think that you need to decide your main focus in Wildlife. Some people mainly focus on Birds and obviously reach is the ultimate. If you mostly shoot animals then they come of all shapes sizes and distance and this is where Zoom creativity play a major role. Personally after having shot with a 300 f2.8 and TC's for the past 10-12 yrs believing primes are king, I have changed to zoom lenses. I find a lot more creativity and when spending a lot of time at a sighting allow for a lot more options. For many people ultimate sharpness as pixel level is the ultimate quality factor. Today most pictures live on small electronic media screens where IQ is very difficult to differentiate ito ultimate sharpness. Always interesting and fantastic to see the quality of images created with relative inexpensive equipment.

[AnujRawlaVRRT]

Just setup my gear during the lockdown after having used a D5300 for the last 3 years. My setup now is
A) For Birding a D500 with a 1.4 TC on a Nikkor 500mm F/5.6 Prime.
B) For Mammals a D850 with a Nikkor 70-200mm ED VR II.
C) For Landscapes a Leica Q2.
Trying to put together a Tripod with a Gimbal head setup, for wildlife and panos.

[swayk]

Great over view - thanks. I shoot mostly birds and landscape and use an 18-400mm lens on a crop body....love the versatility it affords

[petedowning]

Hi Danielle. Nice video. I can't disagree with anything you have said, it summarised most of the differences really well. I would just like to add a couple of extra points. Firstly you have recommended that if you only have one body then perhaps go for a zoom for flexibility, I tend to agree and a further advantage is that, in particular in dusty environments like on safari, changing lenses all the time invites large amounts of dust onto the sensor which can be disastrous so a zoom in those circumstances does help. I am a committed prime user (with a few shorter telephotos and a couple of bodies) and the principal reason I have gone with fast primes is that the faster lenses not only allow better low light performance as you mentioned but for me the main attraction was the shallower depth of field that can create images with wonderful bokeh. Put simply you can create images with a 400 2.8 (I have 300 2.8 but the 400 is better for that) or my 800 5.6 which you simply couldn't make with any zoom lens, even the most expensive. I appreciate they are very pricey and I did go for years without them but now I have taken the plunge I wouldn't sell them for the world! I very soon got used to the lack of flexibility which was my main concern before I mortgaged my house, my car, my wife and my kids to buy them!!!! All the best Pete www.PeteDowning.com

[rohanbruce]

Thank you so much for this. As a complete novice, this was amazingly helpful. Very much appreciated. 😊

[snehalmullick]

i really like your suggestions and the other videos you people make

[sarelalberts]

A can off worms....but some very good and valid info .Thanks for sharing your knowledge Danielle .

[cowboyyoga]

Nice video ! It was just perfect because at the moment getting ready to buy a 300 mm prime due to quality and not wanting to sell my car! That point had me smiling! ))) Thank you !

[dilanjayawickrama]

Thanks for the info. I use canon 400 usm iii f 2.8 and also sigma contemporary 150 - 600 mm

[jameshahyderali]

Thank you for the explanation about the lenses..it really very helpful tips 🙏🙏🙏

[christophhahn]

My experience from many photo safaris in Botswana and its neighbour states (in National Parks as well as in Private Concessions) is to the effect, that my kit normally includes 2 bodies (5D Mark IV and 7D Mark II) and 3 lenses (24-70 mm f2.8 L, 70-200 mm f2.8 L IS, 300 mm F2.8 L IS) and the teleconverter 1.4. I look always for weight reduction, because I dont´t like to carry more than round about 12 kgs. Its always a challenge, to travel with more. This combination of bodies and lenses is very versatile and offers mostly a solution for the different situations. What is important for me, is that the lenses have a max aperture of 2.8, because many often we will find weak or low light conditions in the early morning or during sunset. I know, that my prime lens is on the short side for birds etc. But in combination with the teleconverter and the camera with the cropped sensor it is in the most cases no problem, to shoot good images from birds. Danielle, your contribution is very helpful and confirms my opinion. Thank you! Sure - it might give better possibilities with respect to the selection of cameras and lenses.

[ViewfinderMastery]

Great video guys! Great to see Danelle. Excellent presentation!

[janeisenbeton]

Very informative!
Thanks for the great content as always.

[nathanpenn]

You bring up some very good points I wouldn’t have thought of. Thankyou!

[fotorobertmarzec]

Danielle is a very nice person. You know theoretical issues well.