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Photography vocabulary · Lenses & Focus

Prime lens

Meaning in photography, with examples

nounCore term

In photography, prime lens means: A lens with one fixed focal length, such as 35 mm or 50 mm, that cannot zoom. Primes are often sharper and have wider apertures than zooms.

In Turkish: sabit odaklı objektif, sabit objektif, prime lens

How it is used

Often just called a prime. With a prime you move closer or farther away to change the framing, which photographers jokingly call zooming with your feet. An inexpensive 50 mm f/1.8 is known as a nifty fifty.

Example sentences

  1. I did the whole engagement shoot with one 35 mm prime lens.

  2. A fast prime lens is a cheap way to get a blurred background.

Common collocations

  • fast prime lens
  • 50 mm prime lens
  • shoot with a prime lens
  • nifty fifty
  • zoom lensA lens whose focal length can be changed, such as a 24–70 mm or 70–200 mm, so you can go wider or closer without moving.
  • focal lengthA lens measurement in millimeters, such as 24 mm or 200 mm, that tells you how wide or how magnified the view will be.
  • lensThe part of a camera that collects light and focuses it onto the sensor or film. It contains several pieces of glass and usually the aperture.
  • bokehThe look and quality of the out-of-focus areas in a photo, especially a soft background and round, blurry points of light.

More terms: Lenses & Focus

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