How often do you go wider than 18mm?

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

07/26/2005 12:22:02 AM · #1

I've been looking around for a wide angle for my D70. I have been considering the tokina 12-24 f4. Today after going in and testing one out I found the difference between 12 and 18 huge. They had a perfect condition used Nikon 18-35 f3.5-4.5 D ED IF for $319. That clearly dosen't go as wide but would save me a couple hundred dollars. This would also leave a smaller gap between that and my 50mm 1.8(I want to avoid using my sigma 28-90 at all costs). I'll be shooting mostly nature/landscapes. Wondering how often any one here goes wider than 18mm? Do you think it would be better to have the super wide, or a better all over range(smaller gap between wide lens and my 50mm)? Thanks for all your thoughts.

Message edited by author 2005-07-26 00:22:45.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

07/26/2005 12:39:44 AM · #2

It's a tough question. That's a very unwieldy gap there, 22-50mm. On the plus side, you DO have your sigma to fill it if you have to.

I bought the 10-22mm Canon lens I am using it at 10-14mm a LOT. It's a wonderful field of view for landscape work, and an indispensible one for architecture. You do need to be aware that you pretty much NEED to have foreground interest to use it in the landscape though, or be shooting with a LOT of really interesting sky. I mean, this is REALLY wide and it doesn't work very impressively with a blah foreground. Any objects more than 30-40 feet from you are so minimized in size as to be insignificant.

This is 14mm:

This is 10mm:

Also 10mm:

About 12mm:

In the second shot, the dinghy is like 15 feet from the camera.... So this lens loves skies, that's for sure...

Another factor, that is relevant specifically to DPC; while the lens is capable of resolving astonishing detail (it really shines at large print sizes), a 640-pixel image on a 72 lpi screen is most definitely NOT capable of resolving the same detail, so the images look soft at DPC size. These have been sharpened considerably beyond that is required for printing in order to introduce sufficient contrast at the detail level to at least mimic the resolving power of the optics.

The shot of the church is cropped horizontally to a more normal aspect ratio. The shooting distance is approximately the same as my Ansel challenge entry, which was nearly as wide as my Nikon 5700 would go.

I'm delighted with my 10-22, and wouldn't trade it for anything, but I've always loved landscape and architecture work...

Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC for Canon

07/26/2005 01:02:35 AM · #3

Thanks for taking the time to post Robert. I guess it will eventually boil down to me deciding if its worth the extra 200 bucks.

Discraft

Canon EOS-20D

07/26/2005 01:17:54 AM · #4

I usually good wider than that when i am taking photos inside a building...
I usually use my Sigma 15mm Fisheye lens, not just because it is an f2.8 and it is really the widest i have so when i take photos of interior or exterior of buildings i use this lens...

Spork99

OM System OM-1

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

07/26/2005 02:41:18 AM · #5

I use my Sigma 12-24 wide open all the time.

Just 2 examples

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

07/26/2005 03:44:13 AM · #6

I was similarly unsure before I bought my Canon 10-22, but now I've got it I really appreciate having it. I don't find it useful just for landscapes - it's just great when you want to shoot a wider shot from nearer, as well as get more background in on shots with a close foreground subject.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

07/26/2005 09:18:47 AM · #7

bump for the morning folk :)

TechnoShroom

Canon EOS-30D

07/26/2005 10:44:58 AM · #8

I would have to agree with what everyone has said so far. I have a Sigma 15-30 which for the most part is left at 15. I often want it to be wider. I would go with the wider lens.

Also, if anyone is reading this and considering buying a DSLR I would recommend a good standard lens and then a wide as your second lens instead of the tele that I and everyone else seems to get as the second purchase. You'll find a lot of use for it.

petrakka

07/26/2005 11:10:58 AM · #9

i wish i had wider than 18mm. I have a 10.5 fisheye though which i use all the time and is probably my favorite lens. wider is better!

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

07/26/2005 11:20:23 AM · #10

I'm still searching for a wide rectilinear (normal lens) solution. In the meantime, I have the Canon 15mm fisheye, which produces stellar results, just not stellar rectilinear results, LOL. Still, with proper composition, it's almost impossible to tell it's a fish. Differently composed, it's quite apparent that "something's fishy." I like the challenge.
For the future, I'm planning to migrate to a cam with a larger sensor, so I won't buy lense(s) that are designed for APS-C sensor size (1.5x, 1.6x crop). I'm looking in the 20mm range, which won't be incredibly wide on the 10D, but at 1.3x it will liik more like a 16mm looks on a 1.6-crop cam, with 69Â° Horizontal Fov and 50Â° vertical.
The other alternative is shooting panos, and for that I prefer my 24-70 zoom, stopped down and rotated to portrait orientation. That gives 50Â° of vertical coverage and 35Â° horizontal coverage per frame (ignoring overlap), so the vertical coverage again is close to what a 20mm lens would give, and horizontal is limited only by the number of frames. Of course, the amount of detail increases dramatically as you add frames, another advantage of this technique.
Notice I've not mentioned zooms like the Canon 17-40L or 16-35L? IMO, I don't really NEED a zoom at those focal lengths, and would rather have the performance of a prime. I could consider one of the finest primes in the 20mm range, the Zeiss Distagon 21mm f/2.8, and still get away cheaper than the 16-35. I just may go that route.

hopper

Canon EOS-80D

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

07/26/2005 11:22:53 AM · #11

I very rarely go wider than 28mm ... and I'm usually not even that wide, more like 50mm...

... I guess I'm ... narrow

:)

jbsmithana

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

07/26/2005 11:38:35 AM · #12

I have the Nikkor 12-24 F4 and love it. Robert pretty much sums it up with his review. If you want to shoot dramatic landscapes or get some different perspective on buildings or even boats it is your lens.

Spork99

OM System OM-1

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

07/26/2005 11:46:00 AM · #13

Originally posted by kirbic:

The Sigma 12-24 is designed for full 24x36mm coverage and is rectilinear. It's not an "L" lens, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Canon to produce a superwide "L" (Aside from the 14mm)