The right tool for the job.

I have a couple of primes that I use a lot (24mm f/1.4L & 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro), and one that I don't use at all (50mm f/1.8). Both of the primes that I use a lot were bought for specific jobs that I wanted to invest time and money into. My 24mm was for low light (night) photography and for wide landscapes - it is pretty wide on a FF. I got my 100mm for macro work and is used pretty exlusively for that reason, but I really should use it for other types of shots as well.

I also have good coverage with zooms. Other than night and macro work, I can usually pull out a zoom for a particular shoot, and never have to take it off the camera. I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want to do, and how to accomplish it prior to starting. So I can mount a zoom and get the framing I need with some flexibility. I have a 24-105mm f/4L, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, and the 100-400mm f/4-5.6L IS. At this point, the 100-400 is almost always at 400mm and I may be better with a prime, but the IS on this keeps me from doing that.

There are a few primes I would like to get (35mm, 17 TSE, 24 TSE, & 600mm to name a few), and I would like an ultra wide zoom as well. However, a combination of zooms and primes seems to suit my needs best. There is no one answer that fits all situations, but primes tend to be more for specialty/creative uses for me, and zooms allows for better flexibilty to get the composition right.

When I can get the time for a photo trip, I will lean heavily on my 24mm, 24-105, and 70-200.

Pat