What is a DSLR Prime Lens and is it worth buying?

DSLR photography is a new trend and youths, in particular, are more inclined towards getting their hands on their first best camera or a Digital SLR. However, this hobby may be quite expensive for many and also confusing when exploring through different make and models, lens and accessories.

When we talk about DSLRs, we mean the cameras with a detachable lens that are available in different specifications. Since this post is meant for beginners or amateur photographers, the explanation will be kept simple and to as far extent as possible, no jargon shall be used.

What is a Prime Lens for DSLR?

Is a Prime Lens for DSLR a good option to buy?

• Less Expensive: Prime Lens are literally less expensive as compared to any other type of lens. But when we say it is less expensive, it doesn't mean it is priced in a few hundred only but actually, the cost may start from a few thousand to even lakhs for a good Prime Lens.
  
  But what is cheap here is that unlike expensive lenses that render superior quality pictures, you get more or less the same premium quality in your photos using Prime Lens which when compared to its prices is definitely on the lower side. Simply speaking, if you get a Prime Lens at around Rs.10,000/- and compare its picture quality with the ones clicked with any other lens at the same price range, the output of the primes will be way better and more professional.


• Less Weight & Smaller Size: The zoom lenses are generally big ones and quite heavy. More to it, the body of the DSLR is also heavy as compared to other point and shoot cameras and adds to the overall weight. As such, the Prime Lens has the advantage of being lightweight owing to the fact that it is only a single focal length lens and does not have the zoom optics and elements.
  
  At the end of the day, the weight matters a lot if you are not using a tripod and doing any photoshoot with a handheld camera. A heavy camera will become quite tiring and painful with continuous usage. Being of small size, it is easier to carry while traveling.


• Wider Aperture: Aperture is actually the hole in the lens through which light enters the camera. The aperture is normally denoted by a numeric scale which can be seen on most lenses while in some lenses where it is not indicated, it can be accessed through the command dialer in the DSLR body. Just remember one thing which is very important and that is larger the number such as f1.4, f1.8, f3.5 ... f8, f11, f16, the smaller will be its aperture which in turn means less light entering the camera. Prime Lens opens up to a wide aperture and hence results in better background blur.
  
  


• Faster Focus & Low Light Photography: Focussing is a challenge using DSLR, particularly when you are shooting in low light conditions. Autofocus in Prime lens does not struggle much as compared to a zoom lens when shooting in low light and therefore gets more sharpness and better picture. Due to this reason, Prime Lenses are also called as the best budget lenses for low light photography that yields better and clean image quality using lower ISO and wider aperture as compared to higher ISO and smaller aperture using zoom lenses. The main logic behind better photo quality in the primes is that it allows more light to enter the camera due to its wider aperture which helps get cleaner pictures in low light conditions.


• Safety Aspect: Prime lenses are smaller in size and not retractable which means it can be carried more conveniently while traveling. Moreover, unlike zoom lenses, these Prime lenses do not have any zoom elements and hence there are fewer chances of dust getting into the camera sensor. In zoom lenses, constant zooming in and out can create gaps for letting dust into the DSLR sensor which in the long run shall deposit spots in the images if not cleaned properly.

Practical use of DSLR Prime Lens for beginners