Landscape lense??

JNK8665 · Jul 11, 2007

Hello,
I am a beginner photographer.
I have canon 30D. I want to know what would be the best canon lens to buy for LANDSCAPE photography. The types of photos I want are those images typically found on postcards: long boulevards, setting sun, the mountain range, valleys, etc.
The 17-85mm EF-S is being offered at a good discount, but don't know if that is a good lens for this. I would be prepared to pay more to get a good one. Help!
Thanks,
Johnny

sabbath999 · Jul 11, 2007

Lens. Not lense.

JNK8665 · Jul 11, 2007

sabbath999 said:
Lens. Not lense.

oops thanks!

jstuedle · Jul 11, 2007

I like my 14mm, but it's pricey. I'm not familiar with the 17-35, but if the quality is there, at 17 it should do a good job.

Stretch Armstrong · Jul 11, 2007

I have this lens and like it a lot.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-16-35mm-f-2.8-L-II-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

Here is another option. I don't have this lens, but I think Big Mike does. He will be in later I am sure.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/Canon-10-22mm-test.shtml

Good luck!

Sw1tchFX · Jul 11, 2007

I usually use my 17-55 DX for landscapes, but I've been caught using my 80-200 a few times.

ksmattfish · Jul 12, 2007

Landscape photographs are taken with all manner of lenses. Wide angle are popular, but if you can't get up close to the subject/scene then you'll want something with a longer focal length. What lenses do you already have? Didn't your camera come with something like a 17-50ish? If so a 17-85 has a bit more on the long side, but overlaps much of the focal length. You might want to look into something that goes wider than 17mm, or a 70-200/300.

sabbath999 said:
Lens. Not lense.

Lense is an accepted spelling in most dictionaries, Wordnet (http://wordnet.princeton.edu), dictionary.com, etc....

Main Entry: lens
Variant: also lense /'lenz/
Function: noun
1 : a curved piece of glass or plastic used singly or combined in eyeglasses or an optical instrument (as a microscope) for forming an image
2 : a device for directing or focusing radiation other than light (as sound waves, radio microwaves, or electrons)
3 : a highly transparent biconvex lens-shaped or nearly spherical body in the eye that focuses light rays entering the eye typically onto the retina, lies immediately behind the pupil, is made up of slender curved rod-shaped ectodermal cells in concentric lamellae surrounded by a tenuous mesoblastic capsule, and alters its focal length by becoming more or less spherical in response to the action of the ciliary muscle on a peripheral suspensory ligament lensed adjective lens·less adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

Alex_B · Jul 12, 2007

99% of all my landscape work is done in the 17 to 70mm range, on 35mm medium that is ... and about 70% are done in the 25 to 50mm range.

But this might just be personal taste.

So for a 30D with its 1.6 crop this translates to 99% in the 11 to 45mm range and 70% in the 15 to 30mm range.

But on a clear day, sometimes something much longer can be useful.

JNK8665 · Jul 12, 2007

I bought, or i should say i will buy TOMORROW, canon 30D. Instead of getting a kit lens that they are trying to sell me, I am thinking of geting EF 17-40mm lens, based on what i have read on internet. Seems like it will last me a long time, and will take good pics for landscape. What do you think?

Alex_B · Jul 12, 2007

I own that lens and love it.

It is one of the cheapest and lightest L-lenses and absolutely worth it's price.

I would get a UV filter for it though, since without a filter the front lens element is not really dust proof (it is not sealed).
At least for outdoors I highly reccomend that.

Big Mike · Jul 12, 2007

The 17-40 is indeed a very good lens. It is, after all, one of Canon's L series lenses. The build quality and image quality are very high.

As mentioned, there is no correct focal length for landscape shots...so that's up to you. I have a several lenses in the 17mm-18mm range and they are good for all around shooting. Personally, I really like wide angles for shooting landscapes...or at least the option to shoot really wide if the scenery is right.

So just this week, I received the Canon EF-S 10-22mm. I haven't really had a chance to use it yet...but it promises to be a great lens. There are a few other lenses in this range...all of which are cheaper than the Canon. The Tokina 12-24mm is said to be pretty good. The Sigma 10-20mm is cheaper and I think there is a Tamron 11-19mm, or something like that. These lenses are really wide, however, they are probably too wide for a lot of everyday type shooting.