Wide-angle lens is one of my favorite. I like most in the lens because the lens allow you to fit a lot of things into the image, by stretching the perspective it will make you think more to compose a picture and it will improve your creativity gradually, making the object that closer to the lens look much bigger so it will add depth to your picture.
Like the Pro say : The key to successful use of wide-angle lenses is to get close to your subject… the closer the better. The closer you get, the bigger the subject will be in the frame and the more impact the photo will have.
I’m not really good in write up more over i didn’t hands on on everyone of it, so is not fair for me to judge it. So what I can do is try to compile some review and info from those article that i have read and share it here.
There are currently two type of wide-angle lens in the market, a fixed and a zoom lens.
There are some pros and cons about each of them:
Fixed (Prime) Wide-Angle Lens
- Simpler optical design
- Fast maximum aperture gives brighter viewfinder and better in low light shooing
- Smaller and more compact than a zoom
- Most have a smaller filter thread
x Limited to one focal length
x Relatively expensive
Wide-Angle Zoom Lens
- Covers several focal length, so you’re spoilt for wide angle versatility
- better coverage than fix lens
- most zoom are optical excellent
- flexibility and reasonable price
x Not as sharp as fixed lens, especially towards the corners and edges of the frame
x More distortion
x Maximum aperture isn’t as fast as fixed lens
x Most have a larger filter thread, so screw in filter are more expensive.
So which wide-angle Zoom lens is suitable for you? There are a few recommended choice from the pro.
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S
Nikon 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S DX
Tokina 12-24mm f/4 AT-X 124 AF PRO DX
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 PRO DX
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM
I used a tokina and sigma lens before, but I like the Sigma 10-20 very much, and is very handy when shooting interior design photos, don’t think that 1mm or 2mm doesn’t make any difference, actually it does.
Avoiding Common Problems with Using a Wide-Angle Lens
Polarizer — It may added contrast to your photos but you have two concerns. 1. The thickness of the metallic rim around the glass may cause vignetting. So my advice is go for thin ring mount, although is a little expensive but it worth the money. 2. Is the unevenness effect, because of the larger angle of view, I frequently notice the sky becoming darker in the part of the picture that is toward 90 degrees to the sun, i.e. in about half of the picture the sky is light and in the other half the sky is dark. So some time I take it off but if you use a polarizer to saturate the colors of foliage, or to remove reflections from water, it will work perfectly well.
Sharpness — For every wide angle zoom lens, you may notice slighter less sharpness at the very wide angle, especially with the widest aperture.
Vignetting — Sometime the wide angle lens may have dimness in corners at the widest angles and apertures when you put on a lens hood or some filters, try not to go at the widest when you attach those accessories, it will affect you image composition.
In most of the people mind, wide angle is only for landscape photography. To me it depends on your creativity and application, I use it in various shooting beside landscape photography……….
Landscape
Interior Design
Event Shooting
Street Shot
Wedding