Prime Lenses — Are They Better Than Fast Zooms?

Author's Intro: This article is contributed by Subroto Mukerji. Subroto is an amateur photographer of long standing who especially loves to review cameras, lenses, etc. As a passionate hobbyist, he also loves to share his thoughts and insights on various topics related to photography. I became serious about photography in the late seventies of the last century, well before the dawn of the digital era. A 50 mm f/1.4 'standard' lens was what usually came with the camera, with F 1:1.7 or F 1:1.8 as the cheaper alternatives. After getting my Minolta XE-1 (Ha! Minolta pipped Fujifilm to the post over three decades ago!) and the superfast 58 mm F/1.2 lens that came with it, I went on to acquire, after considerable effort, a 28 mm F/2.8 wide angle and a 100 mm F/2.5 - both original Minolta Rokkor lenses. While the amazing 58 mm F/1.2 gave me the ability...