lens for landscape shots
I wonder if I might ask what lens is preferred for shooting landscapes? I have a Canon XSi and the 18-55mm lens that came with it, a 50mm and a 70-300mm. I live in the Southwest,USA (NM,) and so I will probably be doing lots of mountains and open sky photos. Any reccomendations would be appreciated. I have about 7 years photography experience but with mostly food, studio, pet portraits and some yard birding shots. Landscapes are new for me.
thank you,
maria kruse
Maria,
You have the range covered quite well. Get a good tripod and work at ISO 100, f/8, f/11, or slower as needed for depth of field. (And of course raise ISO as needed for speed if things are changing, like windy conditions.) A little known secret is many lenses perform very well atf/1 and slower, so you don't need very expensive lenses. If you want more detail, try doing mosaics.
Roger
Thank you, I was out earlier this afternoon practicing with the 18-55mm because we had an unusual amount of snow on the Organ Mts. and I thought I would see what I could get. Not great, but enough to give me hope.
Thank you again for the advice.
mariakruse
Check out books by John Shaw too.
Roger
Hi Maria: When I was looking for my first landscape lens my friend and professional photographer for the Missouri Department of Conservation, Noppadol Paothong, recommended the Canon 17 - 40 F4 which is half the cost of a similar F2.8 but still a pro grade lens. I bought it and truly love it. Its heavy in the hand which I like, smooth as silk and very well sealed against the elements. I keep a circular polarizer on mine all the time which further seals it from pollen, moisture, etc. when zooming in and out.
Roger,
I will check him out. I think I may have one or two that I kept meaning to read but repairing house took time, now I can play a bit. thank you,
maria
Danny, thanks for the tip. I'll see if Santa feels generous this year. I just ordered the 100mm macro for b'day last week but, heck, what's one more.:>))
maria
If you're finding that you can't go wide enough with your zoom, or back up far enough to get the entire scene in, you might want to check out the Canon 10~22mm. There are similar lenses from Sigma, Tamron and Tokina. However, the Canon lenses generally are built a little better and hold their resale value better than other brands.
Maria:Originally Posted by Jeff Donald
Jeff may be providing good advice here suggesting a very wide lens. If you go that way, you might want to consider the Tokina 11-16 mm f/2.8 lens. I got one recently and have found it to be a terrific, sharp lens with excellent build and very reasonable cost.
I got the lens for an Antarctic trip next year, where I hope to photograph fantastic ice formations crawling with penguins.:)
Norm
I do have an OLY E-500 with a 14-45mm lens that I thought I might pull out and dust off to see if that was wide enough for some shots. That way if it looks like the range I would use I can get a similar one for the Canon. 10-20mm sounds really sweet tho and I do prefer the Canon lenses. Bought a Tamron once and it had really bad CA and purple fringing so I saved up and got the Canon equiv. and was a happy camper.
thank you for the suggestion
maria
Thanks Norm,
I hear the Tokinas are built like tanks. The Antarctic, wow! and I thought it was cold here at 30 degrees F. Sounds like a great adventure tho. I hope you have great shooting.
maria
I like the Tokina lens as well, but I need to disclose that I've done consulting for them in the past. The 11~16mm that Norm recommends is an excellent lens as well. My personal feeling is that the Tokina lens is as well built as the Canon.
Just to let you know what I use.
40% of the time = Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS
10% of the time = Canon 17-40mm f/4 IS
50% of the time = one of Canon's Tilt Shift lenses, mostly the 24mm or 45mm but sometimes the 90mm.
My 70-200mm f/4 IS Canon is also a great lens when moving in on distance objects. I even use my 100-400mm and 600mm too.
The tilt-shift lenses ($1000 each for the older versions) are used because they are manual focus and much easier to set hyperfocal distance on then the newer AF lenses.
As an all around lens, I would recommend the 24-105mm f/4 IS.
Maria is using body with a crop sensor and 24mm minimum just doesn't seem wide enough on my 40D for certain landscapes.
Maria:
Danny's statement further argues for the Tokina 11-16 mm f/2.8 lens. On my D300 camera with its 1.5X crop factor, the Tokina effectively is a 16.5-24 mm lens, and if you have spectacular landscapes, you need an ultra-wide lens like this to capture the image.
And what's especially nice is that the Tokina, while mechanically and optically excellent, costs significantly less than a comparable Nikon or Canon lens.:)
Norm
Agree but overall, it is a good compromise. Ideally, some of the short zooms in the 10-20mm type range and the 24-105mm covers landscape needs when using a cropped sensor. I only use the 17-40mm when I want a really wide-angle look either on the 5D MKII, 50D (rarely used for landscape) or 1D MKIII.
Maria - You've asked a loaded question and received the gamut of answers. Unfortunately, all of the answers are thoughtful and correct! Now you just have to sort out which one is right for your equipment and photographic needs. I hope we didn't help you to a fault (smile). Let us know what you have chosen in the end. And please don't ask about tripods after that.....just kidding!!
I'll agree with Robert, but this is personal taste on how wide to go. In 4x5 my widest lens is 90 mm, which is about 23 mm full frame equivalent. In 35 mm I never carried anything wider then 24mm (35mm film). Now I do carry a 20 mm lens but rarely use it. My workhorse is a 28-135 IS. This lens is much cheaper than a 24-105 and with raw conversion, the small chromatic aberration the lens shows is easily corrected, making it about as sharp as the 24-105. Whenever I feel the need for wider, I just shoot a mosaic and put them together in software (ptgui). Fast and simple and gives one a larger file. There are many examples on my website. So I don't think Maria needs new lenses, just get to work enjoying the ones she has now.
Here is an example:
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ad.php?t=49137
Roger
Maria, if you're looking to buy a new lens and think you'll be sticking with a cropped sensor camera for a while, you should consider the Canon 17-55. I bought it for a trip to Oregon this fall and was very impressed. To me, it seems the perfect landscape lens. I also had the 10-22 with me, but I rarely used it.
Joanne
Joanne,
Thank you,
I will check it out. As I just recieved the 100mm f2.8 for my b'day I am hoping Santa won't be tired of my glass addiction.
maria
Last edited by mariakruse; 12-04-2009 at 11:28 PM.
Thank you all so much for the help. I have a lot to think about and to study. I shall play with what I have and see what direction this takes me. After I do some landscape shooting I should know more what I need. I am finding it challenging to try and capture what I see, no, not that exactly. What I mean is, before, every thing I shot was the center of interest. They were mostly studio shots or of birds in the yard. A dog portrait center of interest and reason for doing was the dog, a cupcake photo was a photo of the cupcake, but with the wonderful expanse before me in a landscape I think I need to master shooting just what I want to show and how to do it best. It all looks so big and so wonderously open that I am stunned. I want to include it all! I shall shoot a lot with what I have and study the work I see here, perhaps then I will have a better handle on what will work best for me. What a grand adventure this is!
Forgive me if I am not clear, I will get better.
maria
Roger,
that is one impressive shot. It was 18 exposures stitched together? At 47mm? Then my 50mm would work for this? Well, I will go out with both the Canon 50mm that and my Oly with the 14-45mm tomorrow and see what I can do. Again, that is one nice piece of work.
maria
Gee Danny, tripods were going to be my next question. Well tripod heads actually. Was wondering about the usefulness of the pistol grip ones.
maria
Norm,
I was wondering about the Tokina lenses. No one around here has one so I hadn't been able to hear from anyone who had really used one. There are some lovely great expanses here so a wide angle might work nicely.
maria
Jeff, I'm glad to hear that. Santa might be willing to spring for the Tokina.
maria
Maria:
I've had the Tokina for a short time and haven't had a chance to try it on landscapes. But I took the lens on my D300 recently to Longwood Gardens, where I captured this interior image. The flowers in the foreground to the right were almost at my feet!
If you Google "Tokina 11-16 mm reviews" you will find a thorough analysis by Ken Rockwell, who compares the Tokina to two Nikon wide angle lenses. That review might help you. Here's the link: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tokina/11-16mm.htm.
Norm
Last edited by Norm Dulak; 12-05-2009 at 07:08 AM.
You might also want to check the Flickr Group for the Tokina 11~16mm for that matter. Remember, that the group represents all different skill level of photographers and types of photography.
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