[If you're not a photographer, you might want to skip the rest of this off-topic post and just enjoy the pics of a pretty bike. —Alan]
I shoot primes, mostly because I like sharp, fast lenses, and sharp, fast zooms are out of my price range. I’ve also come to really enjoy the fact that primes enforce a particular angle of view, and as I get to know them, I envision that angle of view before putting the viewfinder up to my eye. This encourages me to do more pre-visualization than I do when I shoot with zooms.
I’ve recently been buying and selling a few lenses, adjusting my coverage a bit, and strengthening my line-up in the focal lengths I use the most. One of my new lenses arrived today – a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM. Like any photographer would have to do, I immediately went out and fired off a few shots just to give the lens a run around the block. I still need to learn the ins-and-outs of this lens, but after a quick 10 minute session I’m already very pleased with the output. I’ve read only great things about this lens (sharp, clean, quiet, fast focusing), and it certainly lives up to its reputation. Going forward, this will be my go-to lens for bike close-ups.
