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How are the zoom ranges of lenses chosen?

Started Nov 2, 2014 | Discussions thread
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yardcoyote Forum Pro • Posts: 15,754
How are the zoom ranges of lenses chosen?

I have been thinking about this question for a number of months as my DSLR has become more and more a part of my everyday routine. (My back must be getting stronger, because the weight doesn't bother me the way it did at first-- and I miss it when I don't have it.)  While I generally prefer a prime, there are times when a really good zoom covering my favorite ranges would be darned convenient, particularly when traveling.  I have my kit 18-55mm, but it's too slow to be really useful indoors.  The new 16-85mm is definitely interesting, but a bit long for museum and general shooting (and therefore larger and heavier than it would need to be in a perfect world), and still not too fast. The 20-40mm is too short for general shooting for me.

I realize it's impossible for every shooter to have a custom made zoom that fits them exactly, but why do zoom lenses have the ranges they do?

 yardcoyote's gear list:yardcoyote's gear list
Fujifilm X10 Fujifilm X100T Fujifilm X-Pro1 Pentax K-5 IIs Fujifilm X-M1 +20 more
Pentax 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 WR
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