Zoom or fixed lens?

I am curious to get feedback on which is best to use with the H3D 39 a fixed

lens or a zoom lens. I rented the 50 to 110 and was impressed but all my friends

say it is better to use a fixed. Thank you - I appreciate any thoughts on this one.

Good quality fixed lenses will always give you increased sharpness, better flatness of field and contrast over zooms, regardless of format, since they are optimized for one focal length, have fewer elements (the less elements used the higher the contrast can be) and are easier to build.

A few fix focus lenses, wisely spread, and walking a few steps forward or backward when composing an image will eliminate the need for zoom lenses in most cases.

A 2:1 zoom lens ratio is a very low ratio, making it far easier for lens designers to create a zoom without the problems that wider-range zooms have traditionally had. No barrel or pincushion distortion, sharp to the corners, contrast, flare, etc. Fixed vs. zoom used to be an easy decision - go with the prime lens. But today's computer-aided designs and latest glass formulations and coatings have narrowed the gap to such a point that I doubt your friends advising you would be able to tell which of two images were made with which.

I have to agree with Jim on this one. Zooms are recent designs, as compared with fixed lenses, which were originated between 60 to 120 years ago. The ability of the designer to correct aberrations using asymmetrical configurations (vs symetrical/semi-symetrical)is well established. Zooms are asymmetrical designs. The evidence of great correction in MF zooms is with Pentax. Both of their zooms for the 67 are amazing and can only be beaten in sharpness by two or three primes.

 

I'll bet the 50-110 zoom is super.