Zoom vs Prime - 50mm f/1.4 vs 24-70mm f/2.8 Portrait Challenge

In this portrait photography challenge, we find out which is the best option for shooting portraits - primes or zoom lenses? So, myself and Tim Berry from Sigma UK were set a number of tasks to try and complete in order to discover both the pros and cons of using zooms and primes.

Being a prime lover myself, I was equipped with the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM prime lens, whilst Tim was sporting the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN.

Once we completed all 4 of our tasks, we sat down to discuss our experiences and try and figure out once and for all whether primes or zooms are the best for capturing portraits.

💲 BUY THESE LENSES 💲

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN Art

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⏳ TIME STAMPS ⏳
Intro - @0:00​​​​​
Task 1: Speed - @0:31
Task 2: Bokeh - @1:44
Task 3: Low Light - @2:30
Task 4: Moving Target - @3:38
Task 1: Analysis - @4:51
Task 2: Analysis - @5:44​​​
Task 3: Analysis - @6:46
Task 4: Analysis - @8:24
Final Thoughts - @9:44

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🤘 JOIN US! 🤘

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📷 CAMERAS & LENSES 📷

Sony A7III

Sony A6600

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

Sigma 85mm f/1.8 DG DN Art

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8

⚡ LIGHTING ⚡

Godox AD600Pro Studio Flash

Godox V860II-S

Godox XPro-S i-TTL Wireless Trigger

Godox SL60W

Godox SL150W

🔊 AUDIO 🔊

RodeLink VideoMicro

RodeLink Filmmaker Kit

Tascam DR-10c

Sennheiser ME 2-II Lavalier

🦾 STABILISATION 🦾

Zhiyun Weebill-S

#ZoomvsPrime #Sigma #PhotographyChallenge

[frankfeng]

A zoom doesn't just let you get closer by not moving; it lets you change perspective by moving without changing lenses.

[RoyboyMeyer]

You guys deserve a tv show. Really enjoyed how much photography principles you showed in a fun and relatable fashion. I just hit the subscribe button.

[In_tyme]

My lord is this channel entertaining and actually informative.

I didn’t realize you only have 7k subscribers… with this quality, that’s criminal. Keep up the impeccable work!

[Revan]

Love the banter. Also enjoyed rhe Sigma guy was a knowledgeable and not simply a sales rep.

[RassoOuest]

great video and great duo! a big congratulations Tom, as always 👏

[ghas]

That’s a great point that a lot of people miss. If the subject fills the frame on a 24mm or on a 200mm, at the same aperture setting the background will have the exact same amount of blur. The difference is that the elements in the background will appear bigger on the 200mm due to the greater compression giving the illusion that the elements are “blurrier”.

[theMixElite]

Amazing! Thanks for excellent material

[BrentODell]

Reasons I'm happy with my move to Sony:
1. Excellent autofocus
2. Lower noise at higher iso
3. Found this YouTube channel
4. 42 megapixels.... seriously, who needs this many pixels?!?!

Always entertaining and informative.

[hurleygreen]

LOVE THIS VIDEO! I have a Nikon D750 and BOTH of these lenses are in my camera bag...I love them both, and feel I'm redy for most shooting situations....thanks again!

[Boubakam]

instructive, insanely fun, good job guys!

[thefavourofgod]

Thank you I totally love this. You guys are super informative and amazing

[eucsvoboda]

founded your channel 1 hour ago and absolutely love it! Man, u are inspired me.

[mattc]

Best lens review I ever seen. Great content man.

[KCameronJ]

Another great video, Tom. You deserve waaaay more subscribers!

[OliBaitsMedia]

One of the most helpful videos I've seen in a long while. Thanks!

[alanpollak]

One of the few videos I actually watched in its entirety, solid stuff!

[ryanclouse]

Primes are great for planned shots, & zooms are great for events and wildlife. You don't want to miss your shot changing the lens.

However I do like primes. I'm no pro, so a 50mm prime and (slower, smaller, cheaper) standard zoom is perfect for me. I'm on fuji, and find the xc 15-45 and xf 33mm f1.4 compliment each other pretty well.

[UnconventionalReasoning]

In the low-light task, especially, Tim's better technique with holding the camera helped. That is why Tom had to go to 1/100th instead of 1/50th. If Tom had used the EVF and held his elbows in like Tim, he could have done it at 1/25th.

[mickywes]

Thanks for helping me understand why I'm a prime shooter!

[sehemunzuri]

This is a very helpful video, learned alot.