Please excuse my ignorance, but.......

.... what can my 35mm prime lens do that my 18-55mm can't?

Thanks in advance.

:dread:

f1.8 @ 35mm

You will also have more control of depth of field. And quite a bit sharper images.

stumprat said:

f1.8 @ 35mm

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If that's an answer, it doesn't really tell me much. I guess I should interpret it to mean "lower light capabilities".

That's it?

Yes, it's all about low light and sharpness. I didn't fully appreciate the speed of a 1.4 or 1.8 lens until I was tasked with photographing bands on stage w/o a flash. And fast lenses earn their wage when it comes to situations like this.

TedG954 said:

If that's an answer, it doesn't really tell me much. I guess I should interpret it to mean "lower light capabilities".

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That really is the answer.

As Dave mentioned, "faster" lenses (i.e. lower 'f' numbers) mean better light gathering with less light required. Also remember that most (well-built) primes have less glass than is usually involved in a zoom so they are capable of better overall image quality (sharper, better color, etc).

N_Addy said:

That really is the answer.

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Well, you are obviously smarter than me, since I wasn't able to draw all that other information out of just f1.8@35mm.

Sorry for being so vague. The other two said it much better than me.

For the most part, primes are sharper across the entire field than zooms. The lower f stops gets you faster shutter speeds (hence better in low light), with a corresponding loss of depth of field. You get a lot for your money, but you loose the convience of zooms.