I shoot with a camera on each hip – because as a photographer who favors prime lenses, I wanted a bright aperture without sacrificing versatility. But while photographers have long been faced with the choice of a bright aperture or a versatile zoom, a growing number of lenses find a happy medium. Zooms with apertures that go beyond the typical pro f/2.8 standard are becoming more common – and it may be one of the most notable tech advancements for photographers.
Putting an aperture wider than f/2.8 on a zoom has long been a challenge because wider apertures are heavy. Zoom optics are heavy too, and mixing both in the same lens has long been difficult due to the weight, among other challenges.
