Are prime lenses really that much better looking than zooms? (camera, movie)

[ironpony]

Filmmakers say that when shooting a professional quality movie, that you shouldn't mix primes with zooms, cause the look is too different, and that if you have primes, go with just primes, cause they look better.

For my next project, there are some shots, where I want to use a telephoto lens, but the telephoto I have is a zoom, not a prime. Would it be okay to mix that the prime lenses, or will the zoom lens have too much of a different look to it, to match the primes do you think?

[DanArt]

Yes and no.

Prime lens are superior most of the time.

MANY PRIMES SUPPORT WHAT IS CALLED FOCUS INFINITY. T

This means the lens could be open up ( where bluring occurs ) and thus allows you to have everything in focus. With a zoom lens problems could occur and not support this feature. Very hard to focus infinity

[Poncho_NM]

Primes vs Zooms - Video & Filmmaker magazine

Prime Lens Basics and Why You Should Ditch Zoom Lens Photography

However, while shooting a video, zooming a scene with a prime lens is or can be more complicated...

[ironpony]

The only thing zoom lenses beat primes for, that I can think of is zooming during video, if you actually want to show the zoom. But if you don't, then you might as well use primes, if you can afford it.

If you are shooting video with a telephoto lens, a zoom telephoto is probably better though, because prime telephotos, you cannot make little zoom adjustments, where as with a zoom telephoto, you can of course. For example, if you are shooting on a 300mm prime, you just may not have quite enough space in a large room to be shooting on that lens, but with a zoom say 70mm-300mm , you can pull back a little.