Wide Angle for Landscape

newb · Dec 21, 2009

Yup, Im back with another question lol. Only cuz this site is soo helpful.

Anyways, Im in need of some guidance on a wide angle lens for landscapes/cityscapes. My first question is, what are some options that I have for the Nikon F mount (besides brands like Sigma, Tamron, Nikon and Tokina)? I would like to find a lens that will still allow AF on my D5000, but I dunno that it will happen. Next, would the benifits of a prime lens outweigh the versatility of a zoom lens? If so, considering Im after AF, wouldnt that pretty much limit me to Nikon lenses? Again, the only brands I know are listed above. I cant seem to think of any other questions right this second, but Im sure theyll pop up. Thanks.

Sachphotography · Dec 21, 2009

um..... NONE...
Primes are almost always better than zooms.
Zooms are more handy and do work good.
Nikon with AFS
Sigma with HSM
Some Tokinas
Some Tamrons.

Those four brands are it.
Why would you not want to go with one of those?

wescobts · Dec 21, 2009

I am a Nikon guy and a prime guy, so my suggestion to you is:

Nikon 14mm 2.8 used, find on Ebay or somewhere, reason being is that it's a lens not used at everyday.
Or the Nikon 20mm 2.8 used, reason being is that it is much cheaper, can be filtered, not as big and heavy, and you may find that your style of shooting is not wide angle. Yes the 20mm is not as wide, but you'll get the idea.

o hey tyler · Dec 21, 2009

Well tbqh you really don't need AF if you're shooting landscape. I mean, if you are setting up a landscape shot, the probability of the trees/body of water/rocks standing up on two legs and walking around is pretty slim.

I guess I wouldn't be too concerned with AF unless this is going to be your primary lens for everything (other than just landscapes).

newb · Dec 21, 2009

Sachphotography said:
Those four brands are it.
Why would you not want to go with one of those?

Its not that I don't want one of those. Like I said, that's all I know of. I was makin sure there wasn't another brand that I hadn't been lookin at, because I didn't know about em.

wescobts said:
I am a Nikon guy and a prime guy, so my suggestion to you is:

Nikon 14mm 2.8 used, find on Ebay or somewhere, reason being is that it's a lens not used at everyday.
Or the Nikon 20mm 2.8 used, reason being is that it is much cheaper, can be filtered, not as big and heavy, and you may find that your style of shooting is not wide angle. Yes the 20mm is not as wide, but you'll get the idea.

Ill check those two out. Thanks for the tip.

o hey tyler said:
Well tbqh you really don't need AF if you're shooting landscape. I mean, if you are setting up a landscape shot, the probability of the trees/body of water/rocks standing up on two legs and walking around is pretty slim.

I guess I wouldn't be too concerned with AF unless this is going to be your primary lens for everything (other than just landscapes).

That's a good point. I'm the type of person that likes to have all of my options available even if I don't always use em. Maybe its time I get over that.

HotWire · Dec 21, 2009

The lens that comes with the D5000 is a 18-55mm one. Wouldnt that work for you?

newb · Dec 21, 2009

It works, but I was lookin for somethin a lil wider.

RancerDS · Dec 21, 2009

newb said:
It works, but I was lookin for somethin a lil wider.

18mm is pretty wide. I would suggest starting shooting panoramic shots or give up on a decent perspective and going with fish-eye lenses... because that is about the only way you are going to get wider than your current lens.

My widest is 28mm and it works in most situations. If it won't fit in one frame, even if I couldn't splice a decent 2-3 shots together, would capture what I'm missing to the left/right and then frame them separately.

burstintoflame81 · Dec 21, 2009

I am happy with my Tokina 12-24mm. One thing people didn't mention when talking about primes is the fact that composition is done with your feet. If you are shooting landscapes, many times you do not have the option to move around a lot. If you are at a tourist look out point or the top of a building or a national monument etc. your movement is going to be limited on many occassions. So if I were you I would go with something in the 10-20 or 12-24 range if you want to go wider than the kit lense.

newb · Dec 21, 2009

RancerDS said:
18mm is pretty wide. I would suggest starting shooting panoramic shots or give up on a decent perspective and going with fish-eye lenses... because that is about the only way you are going to get wider than your current lens.

My widest is 28mm and it works in most situations. If it won't fit in one frame, even if I couldn't splice a decent 2-3 shots together, would capture what I'm missing to the left/right and then frame them separately.

Well, I dont have any editing software. I want to be good with a small variety of equipment before I dive into editing, that way I have a better stratin point.

burstintoflame81 said:
I am happy with my Tokina 12-24mm. One thing people didn't mention when talking about primes is the fact that composition is done with your feet. If you are shooting landscapes, many times you do not have the option to move around a lot. If you are at a tourist look out point or the top of a building or a national monument etc. your movement is going to be limited on many occassions. So if I were you I would go with something in the 10-20 or 12-24 range if you want to go wider than the kit lense.

Ive heard a lot of good about the Tokinas. Thats what Im leaning towards at the moment. Good point with the primes too.

JimKing · Dec 21, 2009

I'm using the Nikon 12-24 f/4 which I like a lot. Remember the 1.5 multiplier so 18mm is effectively 27mm (wide but not real wide). I've been shooting since 1958 when primes were the only decent lenses but zooms have gotten so much better that unless your making very large prints, using a tripod, have a high resolution camera, etc. your not likely to notice much difference. As mentioned though a used prime can be a real bargain. I use 50mm 1.8 and 105mm 2.8 primes but the rest are zooms. Someone mentioned panoramas which is a great way increase resolution and coverage. Turning your camera to vertical orientation when making horizontal panoramas will increase your resolution. And remember you don't need a wide angle lens for this purpose.

TJ K · Dec 21, 2009

Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8?

KmH · Dec 21, 2009

I'm with JimKing here. The primes over zooms deal is long dead, though you'll generally have to go with primes to break the f/2 barrier.

The Nikon 12-24 f/4 is pretty sweet for the price. I sometimes do panoramas with longer zooms (up to 300mm). Wide angle is not the only way, just one way.

Like Jim says, vertical orientation is the way top go with stiched panoramas.

Get editing software. It's as essential for digital photography as having a lens on the camera body. Not having it, is like shooting film and developing your negatives, but never making a print.

You are capturing your landscape images as RAW data files aren't you? Capturing images as JPEGs loses you up to 88% of the color information the image sensor recorded, before you see anything on the cameras LCD.

newb · Dec 21, 2009

I shoot in raw sometimes. I only actually save a very small number of the pictures I take. Most of em just arent good lol. Im workin on it tho.

KmH · Dec 21, 2009

newb said:
I shoot in raw sometimes. I only actually save a very small number of the pictures I take. Most of em just arent good lol. Im workin on it tho.

You need to carefully evaluate the rejects, so you understand exactly why they are lacking.

Most of the time rejects are a caused by composition which is usually a result of letting details fall through the cracks before the shutter is released.

Do you know what an anti-aliasing filter is and what it does?