Prime lens.

A lens with a fixed focal length - its field of view cannot be changed. At least, not without the addition of supplemental lenses or teleconverters.

Generally, prime lenses are lighter, sharper, cheaper and of higher optical quality than zoom lenses, since it’s easier to build a prime lens than a zoom. By tradition, common prime lenses used by 35mm cameras are lenses with 28, 50, 85, 100 and 135mm focal lengths.

cf. focal length, teleconverter, zoom lens.

Entry last updated 2002-05-09. Term 962 of 1487.

Previous term: prime focus.

Next term: print.

 

This document is copyright © 2002-2013 NK Guy, PhotoNotes.org. This information is provided with neither warranties nor claims of accuracy or completeness of any sort. Use this information at your own risk. All trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

You may copy and print this document for your own personal use. You may not, however, reprint or republish this work, in whole or in part, without prior permission from me, the author. Such republication includes inclusion of this work in other Web sites, Web pages, FTP archives, books, magazines or other periodicals, CD-ROM and DVD-ROM compilations or any other form of publication or distribution. Please do not frame this site within another.

Please send comments or error reports using the feedback form.