Choosing between zoom and prime lenses can significantly impact how you shoot landscapes. Each type offers unique advantages, but which one fits your needs better depends on what you prioritize—whether it’s convenience, sharpness, or control over your composition.
Coming to you from Christian Irmler - Landscape Photography, this insightful video explores the differences between zoom and prime lenses and how those differences influence image quality. Zoom lenses, with their complex architecture, contain multiple elements designed to minimize distortion and chromatic aberration across varying focal lengths. In contrast, prime lenses, which are built for a single focal length, require fewer corrections, resulting in sharper images with better light transmission. Irmler explains that while prime lenses capture more light—even at the same aperture value—because of fewer lens elements, zoom lenses offer the flexibility of multiple focal lengths in one lens.
Irmler dives deeper into practical considerations, like weight and versatility, which make zoom lenses appealing for landscape photographers who prefer carrying fewer items. He points out that zooming in isn’t always just a matter of convenience—it allows you to keep the same perspective, unlike physically moving closer to your subject, which alters the proportions between the foreground and background.
The video also highlights a common misconception about aperture values. Irmler emphasizes that aperture (f-stop) only measures the ratio of focal length to lens diameter, but it doesn’t reflect how much light reaches the sensor. Light transmission, measured in t-stops, gives a more accurate picture. Since zoom lenses contain more glass elements, they transmit less light, requiring higher ISO settings to maintain exposure, which can introduce noise.
Irmler stresses that while prime lenses are smaller, lighter, and often more affordable, they may not always be practical in the field. Switching between primes to fine-tune your composition can slow you down, and cropping in post-production sacrifices image quality. For landscape photography, where careful framing is critical, having the flexibility to zoom allows you to refine your composition without constantly changing lenses. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Irmler.
And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, "Photographing the World: Japan II - Discovering Hidden Gems with Elia Locardi!”
