What is the point of using wide lens if I could step back?

[photo_abc]

Hello, if the object is too big to be captured entirely by my iPhone 6s+, I could step back. What is the point of buying a wide lens then?

 

[petrochemist116 141]

Being close changes the perspective.
Sometimes stepping back gives the better image, sometimes going wider and stepping forward works better...

 

[photo_abc]

I may be confused. Do those widerlens such as the one from Moment allows the user to capture more things "horizontally" (hence wider)? Or do they allow the user to capture more things both horizontally and vertically?

 

[john.margetts]

If you are indoors, you can only step back so far. Same in town.

 

[sashbar]

Using Wide Angle Lenses

 

[astroNikon]

If you read their description

"We made our wide angle lens to capture those epic landscapes and tight interior shots with minimal distortion. Our lens designers engineered the radius and depth of the lens to take in more image without bending it."

Inside, if you take a step back and hit a wall ... what do you do next? bash down that wall to improve the shot or use a wider angle lens ? ... well, what should you do, not what would be more fun to do

 

[fmw]

Being close changes the perspective.
Sometimes stepping back gives the better image, sometimes going wider and stepping forward works better...

This is the main reason to choose a wide angle lens. When you back up you change the perspective. Beginners often think the only purpose of wide angles is to fit things into the frame. But their main purpose is to provide options for perspective. Find some reading on the concept of optical perspective and how subject distance affects it. Subject distance affects perspective. Lens focal length affects subject size in the image.

 

[astroNikon]

I love perspective distortion for cars. But you have to be careful otherwise you can make it really look awkward.

When shooting people with wide angle you really run into problems. BIG noses, big heads and thin bodies, and other oddities ==> http://gizmodo.com/5857279/this-is-how-lenses-beautify-or-uglify-your-pretty-face


But I think those Moment lenses are more for "convenience".

 

[robbins.photo]

Hello, if the object is too big to be captured entirely by my iPhone 6s+, I could step back. What is the point of buying a wide lens then?

Cliffs.

Sometimes stepping back, just not an option.

Well ya, and the whole distance to subject perspective thing.. but mostly, cliffs.

 

[table1349]

 

[snowbear115 47]

Wide angles also tend to give deeper depth of field (what's in focus from front to back)

 

[JoeW27]

Hello, if the object is too big to be captured entirely by my iPhone 6s+, I could step back. What is the point of buying a wide lens then?

Many reasons.

1. Wide angle lens, REALLY wide angle lens will often create distortion and sometimes you intentionally seek that in a photo.

2. Different depth of field with a wide angle.

3. Sometimes you can't step back far enough.

4. Think about your response. It's like saying "why do I need a camera phone that allows me to 'zoom in' by enlarging the picture when I can just walk forward?" Don't you like that feature on your phone--the ability to tighten the focus and crop the picture by moving in without having to use your feet? But you see no value in having the same feature with expanding what is in the picture frame? Seems kind of contradictory to me.

5. Ultimately, it all depends on why you're taking a photo. Want a selfie? Use your camera phone. Want a tourist-type "look--I was at the Eiffel Tower" kind of photo, camera phones are hard to beat. If you want to manipulate DoF, do a rear curtain sync, do macro or wide angle photography or a whole host of photo creation elements, than a phone tends to suck. To put it another way, there is a difference between "taking a snapshot" and "creating a picture." Phones are superb for taking a snapshot--I use my iPhone 6s for that all the time. But when I want to create a picture, I use my Nikon. Different tools for different purposes. I use a hammer to nail. I use a car to drive. I suppose I could use a car to drive in nails but it would be mediocre at doing so.

 

[Blind Bruce]

I use my wide angle lens to photograph model trains. If I use a "normal" lens, the image looks flat and the train looks like the model that it is. The wide angle lens however, makes the image jump out and look like it is real. Perspective again.

 

[bhop]

Hello, if the object is too big to be captured entirely by my iPhone 6s+, I could step back. What is the point of buying a wide lens then?

Because.. sometimes you can't?

 

[photo_abc]

Thanks. Anybody perceive any potential issue if I plug in the Moment wide lens on my iPhone 6s+ and take videos of moving objects. Will things look odd?