When you get your first camera, you’ll usually receive a lens—known as a kit lens—to attach to the body. If you’re a total beginner, using this is excellent for learning the basics of photography while keeping costs relatively low.
But as you take more pictures, you’ll get an idea of what you like and dislike. Eventually, you’ll probably outgrow your kit lens and want to use something better suited to your style.
Almost every intermediate and advanced photographer has at least one prime lens in their camera bag. But seeing as buying extra gear gets expensive, it’s worth thinking carefully about which one you should choose.
What Is a Prime Lens?
If you’ve spent any amount of time watching videos and reading articles about photography, you’ll almost certainly have heard or seen others talk about zoom and prime lenses. A prime lens has a fixed focal length, whereas zoom lenses let you increase or decrease this within a specified range.
Prime lenses often let you choose a bigger aperture than zoom lenses, meaning that you’ll find them more useful when shooting in low light.
When buying a prime lens, it’s important to remember that its actual zoom when fitted on your camera will depend on the device you use.
So, we’ve briefly touched upon what a prime lens is. Below, you’ll find our five favorite picks that you should consider for your first.
1. 50mm
The 50mm lens gets a lot of praise in the photography community, and for a good reason. It’s good at pretty much everything—hence its colloquial term “the nifty fifty”.
Using a 50mm lens will ensure that you’re neither too close nor too far from the subject you’re trying to photograph. It’ll almost always have a wide aperture, too, making it excellent for shooting at night and for blurring out the background.
Since a 50mm lens is more versatile, you can free up a lot of space in your bag and avoid decision fatigue by only bringing this lens with you on trips and photoshoots. If you’re still in the experimentation phase, using one will encourage you to think outside the box and try shooting from different angles.
A 50mm lens is a good choice if you enjoy any of the following photography types:
- Street photography
- Food photography
- Portraits
- Landscape photography
- Photographing cityscapes
- Documentary photography
2. 35mm
The 35mm lens is the slightly smaller cousin of the 50mm and is another versatile option that will give you sharp images.
You can use the 35mm lens pretty much anywhere; it works just as well indoors as if you prefer taking pictures outside. Most lenses at or around this focal length are also compact; if you have a FujiFilm camera, you could fit it in your coat pocket without too many problems.
You can get 35mm lenses in various maximum aperture sizes, including f/2, f/1.8, and f/1.4. The wider the aperture setting, the more you can expect to pay.
35mm lenses are beneficial in settings where you don’t want to draw much attention to yourself, such as street photography and traveling to places where you’re worried about getting robbed. You can use this lens for each of the following photography types:
- Street photography
- Travel photography
- Food photography
3. 28mm
Many refer to the 28mm lens (27mm if you’re a FujiFilm user) as the “pancake lens”, and it could fit in the palm of your hands. But don’t mistake its small size for lack of serious power; this lens is another versatile option that will take up little space in your bag.
Compared to its larger counterparts that we’ve already covered, the 28mm will give you a wider shot. This makes it a great choice if you’re going for more of a minimalist photography style, and it’s also great for ensuring that you capture everything you want to in a particular scene.
Using a 28mm lens will mean that you need to get closer to your subject than using a 35mm or 50mm. The benefit of this, however, is that you can capture more details.
An iPhone camera’s focal length is 28mm. So, if you want to take better photos than your smartphone can, this is a good choice.
A 28mm lens is good for:
- Travel photography
- Architectural photography
- Group photos
4. 85mm
If you’ve already decided to niche down your photography, you might want to think about buying an 85mm lens, especially if you enjoy taking pictures where you isolate subjects.
The 85mm lens is quite expensive for your first prime lens. However, at the same time, it’s a worthwhile investment. Although it’s popular with portrait photographers, you can get intriguing results if you use it unconventionally—such as for street photography.
When buying an 85mm lens, it’s worth remembering that the maximum aperture is often narrower than the smaller versions on this list. So, if you intend to use it in low light, consider also getting a tripod to avoid camera shake.
An 85mm lens is suitable for:
- Headshots
- Sports photography/li>
- Nature photography
Although 85mm lenses are pretty expensive, some third-party versions do an excellent job at a fraction of the price. One example is Viltrox, which you can get for FujiFilm, Sony, Canon, and Nikon.
5. 40mm
Last but not least on our list of the best beginner prime lenses is the 40mm. If you want a low-key lens that’s not too wide, this is an ideal alternative to the 50mm.
Like the 35mm and 50mm, you can use 40mm lenses for a wide range of photography types. It’s a little less bulky when on your camera than the 50mm, making it a helpful choice if you want to remain discreet while out and about.
40mm lenses are relatively affordable, but the exact price will depend on the camera brand you use.
Get the Right Prime Lens and Up Your Photography Game
Upgrading your photography gear is exciting. However, since most camera lenses are pretty expensive, it’s worth stopping and doing a little thinking before you commit to any particular focal length.
When choosing your first prime lens, you’ll want to think about the types of photography you enjoy the most. At the same time, it’s a good idea to leave a little room for experimentation—especially if you’re still in the beginner or lower intermediate phase.
To save money on your lenses, consider buying second-hand versions. For a fraction of a new lens’ price, they’ll work just as well.