A fixed maximum aperture, like f/2.8 or f/4, meant consistent exposures no matter where the focal length of your zoom lens was set to. Having a lens that changes maximum aperture as you zoom can potentially ruin your exposure. The importance of having a fixed maximum aperture is to achieve consistent exposures while in the manual exposure mode. Three of the most desired features were quality of glass, construction, and a fixed maximum aperture. This created a large gap separating the f/2.8 pro lenses and the mainstream zooms featuring a variable maximum aperture (ie: f/3.5-5.6).Ī growing legion of serious, but not necessarily professional photographers were wanting the quality of the pro lenses but in a slightly less daunting package. In the ensuing years more pro level f/2.8 zoom lenses were introduced. These new zooms were clearly a cut above their smaller sized, lower quality, smaller f-stop siblings. All this changed in the late 1990s when Nikon and Canon introduced 80-200mm f/2.8 lenses targeted to the professionals. Zoom lenses, for quite a while, weren’t all that good and they were avoided by serious photographers. Brief history of f/2.8 zoomsįor those new to this dilemma, let me fill you in. Despite all my experience though, I too can struggle with this one. I should feel pretty well versed in answering this question, after all I’ve owned countless models of both the f/2.8 and f/4, in a variety of focal lengths, and among multiple brands. Many manufacturers offer multiple options in the ‘holy trinity’ series of zooms, which are usually the focal lengths 16-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm. One of the most frequent questions I get concerns the purchase of a new zoom lens and whether I’d recommend a maximum aperture of f/2.8 versus f/4.
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