Wide Angle Lens

[phorsley]

Thanks for your replies on the convertor thread I am now thinking about hiring a Nikon 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 G AF-S DX lens for a few weeks instead, I'm off to the Rockies and Vancouver Island where I hope to be able to put it to good use and maybe with some practice a few good pics.
Does anyone have an tips that may help me, and would this lens be a good lens to take.

thanks again for all your help.

Paul

[GrahamS]

Thanks for your replies on the convertor thread I am now thinking about hiring a Nikon 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 G AF-S DX lens for a few weeks instead, I'm off to the Rockies and Vancouver Island where I hope to be able to put it to good use and maybe with some practice a few good pics.
Does anyone have an tips that may help me, and would this lens be a good lens to take.

thanks again for all your help.

Paul

Good choice, Paul. Just remember two things: The wider the focal length, the smaller the size of the detail within the image. i.e. those big mountains won't look so big, and don't forget to take advantage of the increased depth of field by making sure your images have plenty of foreground interest. Good luck and enjoy!

[Manfred M]

I love shooting super wides but they are probably the trickiest lenses to shoot with. It is all too easy to end up with an image that is nothing more than foreground and sky. One of the best things to do is to get your subject in the foreground and then let the wide angle show it's stuff.

This image is done with an 11mm focal length with a Tokina f/2.8 11-16mm lens on a Nikon D90.





Another 11mm shot; again, I've tried to balance out the foreground and background



In this one, the vantange point allowed me to shoot just foreground with a bit of sky, but the foreground is complex enough for me to get away with it. Same camera and lens again at 11mm

[Donald]

Does anyone have an tips that may help me,

Get in close. And then when you think you must be too close, get in closer.

This is what I last did with the Tokina 11-16 and is also a lesson in the fact that in using a lens like this you have to be ready to get yourself down on the ground, get your trousers/pants wet from lying on wet grass and get odd looks from people when you have a camera at one end and your, er, posterior sticking up in the air at the other.

EDIT - And, remember, you only have to be off level by a very small amount to start getting all sorts of distortions that can take a while to fix in post-processing (unless you shoot for the effect of the distortion)

[Adrian]

This is brilliant advice, which I wish someone had told me sooner!

[RustBeltRaw]

The first time you try a wide, spend a few minutes just looking through it at stuff. That probably sounds odd, but you'll need some practice to avoid shooting your feet, and getting a feel for how close you can get without introducing crazy distortion. I use the same Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 Donald and Mafred mentioned, and it's a great bit of glass, but it does take some getting used to (as will the even-wider 10-24).

[inkista]

I love shooting super wides but they are probably the trickiest lenses to shoot with. ...

Ahem: fisheye? (although honestly, tilt-shifts are probably the trickiest).


Panasonic DMC-G3. Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 UMC fisheye for micro four-thirds. No defishing in post--just placed the horizon in the center of the frame--otherwise, funhouse time:


G3. Rokinon 7.5 fisheye.

Horizon placement and use of foreground/background are key with the really wide glass. Also, objects may be closer than they appear through the viewfinder! Because most of these very wide lenses have convex front elements and they go so wide, you may not be able to use a filter/hood to protect your lens. Exercise appropriate caution.

[Manfred M]

Ahem: fisheye? (although honestly, tilt-shifts are probably the trickiest).


Panasonic DMC-G3. Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 UMC fisheye for micro four-thirds. No defishing in post--just placed the horizon in the center of the frame--otherwise, funhouse time:


G3. Rokinon 7.5 fisheye.

Horizon placement and use of foreground/background are key with the really wide glass. Also, objects may be closer than they appear through the viewfinder! Because most of these very wide lenses have convex front elements and they go so wide, you may not be able to use a filter/hood to protect your lens. Exercise appropriate caution.

Could be Kathy; I haven't shot a tilt-shift yet. I hope to get to that one of these days.