Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens for landscape. Any sense in that?

[cyracles]

After much battle with my old Canon 1000D, i got a deal for a used Canon 5D which is in excellent condition(apart from when the mirror flew off and scared me).

Now, I have settled on what i want to be shooting mostly except that i cant at the moment afford the "appropriate" glasses almost everyone recommends online, namely wide angle lenses.

What I have however are the survival of my 1000D days which are:

1. 50mm f/1.8 lens (i even have an adjustable polariser...you know )
2. Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6


For landscape photography, how can i make the best use of these to do excellent shots because if there is one underlying idea i have obtained at CiC, it is how not to always blame your tools and always make best use of the available gear your wallet can afford. I ask again.
Thank you.

[ajohnw]

50mm was the full frame kit lens of long ago and is suitable for all sorts of things including landscape as is the lower range of your zoom lens or maybe even the longer end - mountains etc spring to mind.

One important aspect is that they are full frame lenses?

50mm is the standard lens for full frame not wide angle or telephoto. Landscapes and wide angle lenses don't all together mix. This cropped up recently and some rather wide angle shots were posted. One was mostly a tree and one was a cityscape. The other in some ways was "I have used a wide angle". Actually I can't remember clearly but some may have been panoramas.

You can shoot a panorama with your 50mm. I'd suggest looking at a free package called Hugin but do be prepared to look at tutorials. As a for instance it defaults to a perspective that might be suitable for fish eye lens type results. There are plenty of tutorials about on it's web site and on the web even on Youtube. Some will be out of date but it's usually possible to cope with that as the basics will be similar.

If in need of free or cheap post processing software there are several options.

John
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[Manfred M]

Ife - when I look at the focal lengths that I tend to use for landscape work, I tend to be all over the map; in full-frame equivalence of 14mm to 200mm; with a tendency to shoot more on the wide side (24mm - 30mm range). That being said, I have always been someone that tends to like ultrawides.

I personally would tend to shoot wider than either of your two lenses. I would be using those two for people shots, not landscapes. The 50mm on the 5D will give you exactly the same results as on the 1000D, as the sensors are the same size. I think you may find it a bit limiting as you are shooting with the equivilent of an 80mm on a full-frame camera.

[LocalHero1953]

+1
I use 28mm and 75mm for landscapes on full frame. I'm not sure it matters much; IMO, with landscapes it is important to get a sense of depth, so ideally a clearly defined foreground, middle ground and distance, with something linking them together. With wide angles, the risk is that there isn't enough of interest in the foreground: too often my foreground interest ends up too far away.

[ajohnw]

The 5D is full frame Manfred. 1000D is crop or so I thought.

John
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[Donald]

always make best use of the available gear your wallet can afford.

You answer the question yourself.

You work with what you've got. Can you make great landscape pictures with a 50mm on a full frame camera? Of course you can. What you don't have is a range of focal lengths to play with. But that's stating the obvious. You won't have the opportunity to make the sort of landscape shots you could make with a 10mm ultra wide angle or a 400 telephoto. But there are plenty of rubbish examples of landscapes made with those lenses. So, it's not the length of the lens that makes the great picture, it's the person using it.

How do you make the best of the lenses you have? Work the scene. Know what the world looks like through those lenses and 'see' the pictures that you can make with them. And make them.

But to reiterate John's point - Are the lenses suitable for a full-frame camera?

[Manfred M]

The 5D is full frame Manfred. 1000D is crop or so I thought.

John
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Oops - you are right John. I guess I don't know the older Canons all that well. Regardless, the 50mm does not spring to mind as a landscape lens, even on a FF.

[ajohnw]

Oops - you are right John. I guess I don't know the older Canons all that well. Regardless, the 50mm does not spring to mind as a landscape lens, even on a FF.

The 5D is still a pretty capable camera Manfred. I would say it's probably more usable at higher iso's, say to 1600 with less trouble than some others and 12mp is plenty really for all sorts of things. A bit of a bargain on the used market really.

If the OP wants wide angles a 50mm in portrait mode should produce some excellent panoramas..

John
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[Adrian]

As I recollect, years ago in the infancy of CIC when I first joined, most of the incredible night shots in the gallery that inspired me, were taken on a 5D. Take a look and prepare to be impressed. Then take your excellent camera and emulate the excellence of the creator of this site.

I use a 50mm lens (in my case the f1.4 version) a lot. With care you can be very creative with this focal length. Your eye is far more important than your tools. Just practice. Post your results here and people will help you.

Adrian

[victor]

Re full frame and 5D. just ensure that the lens is rated EF......

EF-S lenses will not fit a 5D at all and will damage the camera.

I am using a 7D with EFS and EF lens which is fine. I am unlikely to upgrade to a 5D as I have too many EFS Lenses to think about and the associated costs so enjoy your 5D and buy only EF lenses ..... I wish I had ....

[Black Pearl]

Canon don't make a 50mm EF-S lens so no issue there.

[inkista]

... For landscape photography, how can i make the best use of these to do excellent shots...[?]

Learn to compose through the focal lengths you have available to you. You may also want to consider learning panorama stitching (see Max Lyons's website). And, of course, you can also consider getting a wide-angle lens. But a 50mm on a full frame can shoot landscapes.

I have a 5DMkII, and have gone to the beach with the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake, and done pretty well.



A 50mm wouldn't be that different.