Prime vs Zoom
What are photographers purchasing more: primes or zooms?
Davenport Maxima wrote this article 5 days ago.
Do photographers purchase more zooms or prime lenses? What people will be using on their cameras will be revealed by the 2023 sales charts.
zooms vs. primes
(James Artaius provided the photo.)
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Casio EF
Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Contax RF
Canon X Nikon Z
Which should you purchase: primes or zooms? Photographers have long debated this issue, and advice has always varied depending on who is giving it.
We now know the answer to the question of which lenses photographers actually purchase: primes are outselling zooms. but only just scraping by.
• If you're wondering what a prime lens is, let us to explain.
According to an analysis of the top selling lenses in 2023 thus far that B&H Photo has provided to us, that is (opens in new tab). It demonstrates that 27 prime lenses and 26 zooms were among the top-selling optics among the 53 across 6 different camera mounts. We must admit that the split even caught us off guard.
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Because everyone needs a 50mm lens, the nifty fifty (or its equivalents in cropped sensor formats) continues to be the most common primary lens when examining the most popular lenses of each category (opens in new tab). And when it comes to zooms, the go-to lens is still the dependable 24-70mm trio (or, again, its variants).
By clicking the mount names in the shortcuts bar above, you may view a list of all the lens breakdowns.
https://independent.academia.edu/DavenportMaxima22
CANON EF: TOP SELLERS OF 2023
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM, first (opens in new tab)
2) The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM (opens in new tab)
Three) Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art
Sigma 150-600mm f/5.6-3.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary (opens in new tab)
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM, number five (opens in new tab)
Sigma 24-70mm 2.8 DG OS HSM Art (opens in new tab)
(number seven) Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM (opens in new tab)
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM (optional) (opens in new tab)
9) The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5–5.6L IS II USM zoom lens (opens in new tab)
2023's Top Sellers: Sony E
First, the Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G (opens in new tab)
2) Sony's FE 70-200mm GM OSS II (opens in new tab)
Three) Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary (opens in new tab)
Four) Sony FE PZ 16-35mm f/4 G (opens in new tab)
Sony's FE 35mm f/1.4 GM lens.
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Sixth: Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 (opens in new tab)
Tamron's 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD (opens in new tab)
Sigma's 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art (opens in new tab)
Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD 9) (opens in new tab)
Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS, number ten (opens in new tab)
2023's top sellers include Micro Four Thirds.
First, there is the OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS Pro.
2) Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 Asph (opens in new tab)
the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f/5-6.3 IS lens
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4) The Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm f/4-5.6 Asph Power OIS (opens in new tab)
The fifth item is the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 II Asph Power OIS (opens in new tab)
2023's top sellers are the Canon RF.
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, first (opens in new tab)
2) The Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM (opens in new tab)
Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM, third (opens in new tab)
Four) Canon RF 16mm STM f/2.8 (opens in new tab)
Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM, number five (opens in new tab)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM, number six (opens in new tab)
Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM (#7) (opens in new tab)
(Option 8) Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM (opens in new tab)
Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM (9) (opens in new tab)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM (10) (opens in new tab)
2023's Top Sellers: FUJIFILM X
Viltrox 75mm f/1.2 AF, first (opens in new tab)
Sigma 18–50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary (opens in new tab)
Three) Fujifilm XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR (opens in new tab)
The Viltrox AF 13mm f/1.4 XF lens (opens in new tab)
Fujifilm XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR, number five (opens in new tab)
Fujifilm XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR, number six (opens in new tab)
7) The black Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR (opens in new tab)
(Optical) Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR (opens in new tab)
9) TTartisan 27mm
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary 10. (opens in new tab)
2023's Top Sellers: NIKON Z
First, the Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S (opens in new tab)
Nikkor Z 26mm f/2.8 Nikon (opens in new tab)
3) Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S lens for Nikon (opens in new tab)
4) Nikon's Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S lens (opens in new tab)
Number five: Nikon Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Macro (opens in new tab)
Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S, Nikon (opens in new tab)
7) Nikkor Z 40mm f/2 Nikon (opens in new tab)
8) Nikkor 400mm f/4.5 VR S lens for the Nikon (opens in new tab)
9) Nikkor 14–30mm f/4 Nikon Z (opens in new tab)
If you liked this post, see the top 50mm lenses from all brands(opens in new tab). Moreover, you might want to look through the best Canon lenses, best Sony lenses, best Micro Four Thirds lenses, best Fujifilm lenses, and best Nikon lenses (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab).
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William Artaius
Editor James Artaius
James, the editor of Digital Camera World, entered the photographic profession in 2014 and has 21 years of experience as a magazine and web journalist (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). During this time, he photographed ads and product tests for Olympus, as well as training for pros and working with companies as diverse as Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom, and L'Oréal. As a result, he has become a go-to authority for camera and lens reviews, photographic and lighting tutorials, as well as industry analysis, news, and rumours for publications like Digital Camera Magazine(opens in new tab), PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine(opens in new tab), N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine(opens in new tab), Digital Photographer(opens in new tab), and Professional Imagemaker, in addition to leading workshops and demonstrating at The Photography Show (opens in new tab). He uses Olympus and Canon cameras and is an expert on all camera brands. He also has a soft spot for vintage lenses and instant cameras.