I’ve thought about ditching my 100-400mm lens in favor of one or more prime lenses. There’s a lot of reasons that would be good — less compromise in the construction, theoretically sharper images, and generally faster. And then I remember why I wouldn’t want to drop that lens from my bag.

Today, the Blue Angels were practicing for the St. Louis County Fair being held this weekend. And as I went home from work, they began their work, and every head on the road was turned upwards. After a quick call from Becky, I headed back in to the valley so I could get a better look from just outside the airport. And that’s when the value of this lens hit me.

With a single lens, I went from group shots nearly overhead to isolating a single airport nearly overhead. That kind of versatility just isn’t there in a prime. So, the 100-400 lives to see another day.

That’s not to say that I wouldn’t like some primes in my corral. I think they serve a marvelous purpose, especially in situations where the subject isn’t flying at several hundred miles an hour, anywhere from just meters off the deck to thousands of meters overhead. 🙂 That’ll be down the road a bit. Gotta figure out how Canon’s new bodies affect me!!!!