All lenses share the same basic components, but zooms are more complex than prime lenses – and the wider the zoom range is, the more complex the design. As a result, zooms are often larger and more cumbersome than the equivalent prime lens. That being said, they are more versatile: a 24-105mm standard full-frame zoom, for example, gives you the angles of view of 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm prime lenses all in one.
The main advantages of a prime lens, aside from size, is that it tends to have a larger maximum aperture for its focal length, making it easier to freeze motion, achieve shallow depth-of-field effects and potentially improve AF performance.
KEY:
■ ED glass element
■ Aspherical lens element
Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G
This zoom has…