Wide Angel Lens Help

JohnSchumacher · Mar 28, 2017

I am getting my first wide angle lens and need some advice.

Most of what I shoot is landscape photography, however, my only lenses are the Sigma 50 1.4 A, and the Canon 70-200 2.8. I am about to purchase a new wide angel lens and I want to go with a prime, Sigma Lens.
When I saw the announcement for the 14mm prime I was set on getting that, but one of my more experienced friends suggested a 14 would be too wide for me (Having no wide angel experience). He suggested I go with the Sigma 20mm instead.

Can anyone with wide angle experience give me some more advice? I'm an experienced photographer going on paid assignments.
Will a 14mm have too much of a learning curve?
Would you suggest the 14 or 20, given my situation?
Thanks!

Gary A. · Mar 28, 2017

What size sensor are you shooting with? The further away from a normal FOV (roughly a 50mm on a FF), the greater the learning curve, but also the more optical drama. i.e. @ 200mm the lens itself can/will add more impact to an image than the similar image shot at 50mm. But it will take time and usage to get your vision/eye to see at 200mm in order to take advantage of the optical drama. Same-o for for wide. In general, it will be easier to capture keepers with a 20mm over a 14mm ... hence more keepers because you will sport them easier as the 20mm is closer to how you normally see than the 14mm. But the keepers you capture with the 14mm will/can/should have more impact.

Regardless of which lens you purchase, just remember to fill the frame and you're halfway there to success.

JohnSchumacher · Mar 28, 2017

Gary A. said:
What size sensor are you shooting with? The further away from a normal FOV (roughly a 50mm on a FF), the greater the learning curve, but also the more optical drama. i.e. @ 200mm the lens itself can/will add more impact to an image than the similar image shot at 50mm. But it will take time and usage to get your vision/eye to see at 200mm in order to take advantage of the optical drama. Same-o for for wide. In general, it will be easier to capture keepers with a 20mm over a 14mm ... hence more keepers because you will sport them easier as the 20mm is closer to how you normally see than the 14mm. But the keepers you capture with the 14mm will/can/should have more impact.

Regardless of which lens you purchase, just remember to fill the frame and you're halfway there to success.

Hey thanks so much for the advice Gary!!
I'm shooting on a 6D, so 35mm sensor, FF.

jcdeboever · Mar 28, 2017

Why a Sigma? I hope some Canon users chime in here. My experience is that Sigma is a big roll of the dice to get a proper image. There has to be some affordable Canon wide glass. I would hate to see you pull your hair out like I and so many other's have with Sigma glass. If Canon is out of the question, you may want to look at Tamron as their quality control seems to be better from what little I know. I often wondered why Sigma had to name their lens "art" shouldn't a good piece of glass speak for itself? I don't know, I am always suspect over gimmicky stuff. Additionally, why to you need a pod to calibrate a piece of glass, you don't see Canon, Nikon, or Fuji doing that.... just saying.

Gary A. · Mar 28, 2017

On a FF go 28mm for landscape. A 20mm really gets into a lot of "optical drama" some of it good and some not so good. Or split the difference and go with a 24mm. The 14mm on a FF starts some real oblivious distortions in the corners.

table1349 · Mar 28, 2017

Budget? My choice would be a 16-35mm.

Also for landscape don't forget about your 70-200. Too often it get overlooked.
Why you Need a Telephoto Zoom Lens for Landscape Photography

alexis.alvarez · Mar 28, 2017

I bought my Canon 17-35 f/2.8 L lens used on eBay. I'd had no experience shooting wide angle, just knew that I wanted to do it. I learned. You'll learn too. The more important question is what you want to accomplish by going wide. (My reason: I was going out west and wanted to capture as much of the wide open vistas as possible.) (Also, as far as buying on eBay, I buy only from photographers and they always have to have a 98% approval rating or better. And I check all of the negative reviews first. Have not had a bad experience yet, and I've bought quite a bit of photography equipment, including a Nikon 8000 scanner, on eBay.)

JohnSchumacher · Mar 28, 2017

jcdeboever said:
Why a Sigma? I hope some Canon users chime in here. My experience is that Sigma is a big roll of the dice to get a proper image. There has to be some affordable Canon wide glass. I would hate to see you pull your hair out like I and so many other's have with Sigma glass. If Canon is out of the question, you may want to look at Tamron as their quality control seems to be better from what little I know. I often wondered why Sigma had to name their lens "art" shouldn't a good piece of glass speak for itself? I don't know, I am always suspect over gimmicky stuff. Additionally, why to you need a pod to calibrate a piece of glass, you don't see Canon, Nikon, or Fuji doing that.... just saying.

Hey!
Thanks for the comment. I really wasn't trying to ruffle any feathers or start a brand debate. I've shot on Canon and Sigma. Personally, I just love my Sigma Art. I feel like I've developed a really good look with it and I wanna stay in the series. It's not that I think any one brand is insufficient, I just don't wanna branch out when I love my Sigma 50 so much.

JohnSchumacher · Mar 28, 2017

Gary A. said:
On a FF go 28mm for landscape. A 20mm really gets into a lot of "optical drama" some of it good and some not so good. Or split the difference and go with a 24mm. The 14mm on a FF starts some real oblivious distortions in the corners.

Perfect. Thanks again Gary.

JohnSchumacher · Mar 28, 2017

gryphonslair99 said:
Budget? My choice would be a 16-35mm.

Also for landscape don't forget about your 70-200. Too often it get overlooked.
Why you Need a Telephoto Zoom Lens for Landscape Photography

Gotcha. Thanks for the reply!

JohnSchumacher · Mar 28, 2017

alexis.alvarez said:
I bought my Canon 17-35 f/2.8 L lens used on eBay. I'd had no experience shooting wide angle, just knew that I wanted to do it. I learned. You'll learn too. The more important question is what you want to accomplish by going wide. (My reason: I was going out west and wanted to capture as much of the wide open vistas as possible.) (Also, as far as buying on eBay, I buy only from photographers and they always have to have a 98% approval rating or better. And I check all of the negative reviews first. Have not had a bad experience yet, and I've bought quite a bit of photography equipment, including a Nikon 8000 scanner, on eBay.)

Awesome! Thanks so much Alexis. I got my body on Craigslist and it's been flawless!

jcdeboever · Mar 28, 2017

JohnSchumacher said:
jcdeboever said:

Why a Sigma? I hope some Canon users chime in here. My experience is that Sigma is a big roll of the dice to get a proper image. There has to be some affordable Canon wide glass. I would hate to see you pull your hair out like I and so many other's have with Sigma glass. If Canon is out of the question, you may want to look at Tamron as their quality control seems to be better from what little I know. I often wondered why Sigma had to name their lens "art" shouldn't a good piece of glass speak for itself? I don't know, I am always suspect over gimmicky stuff. Additionally, why to you need a pod to calibrate a piece of glass, you don't see Canon, Nikon, or Fuji doing that.... just saying.

Click to expand...

Hey!
Thanks for the comment. I really wasn't trying to ruffle any feathers or start a brand debate. I've shot on Canon and Sigma. Personally, I just love my Sigma Art. I feel like I've developed a really good look with it and I wanna stay in the series. It's not that I think any one brand is insufficient, I just don't wanna branch out when I love my Sigma 50 so much.

Fair enough. I wasn't trying to start a brand war either. I just found it hit or miss with them. I read a lot of posts on here where some people are not aware of a real good, affordable, canon brand lens. I had a 17-50 2.8 sigma that was real good but the 70-200 and the 150-600 would rarely hit the focus point, it drove me insane.

JohnSchumacher · Mar 28, 2017

jcdeboever said:
JohnSchumacher said:

jcdeboever said:

Why a Sigma? I hope some Canon users chime in here. My experience is that Sigma is a big roll of the dice to get a proper image. There has to be some affordable Canon wide glass. I would hate to see you pull your hair out like I and so many other's have with Sigma glass. If Canon is out of the question, you may want to look at Tamron as their quality control seems to be better from what little I know. I often wondered why Sigma had to name their lens "art" shouldn't a good piece of glass speak for itself? I don't know, I am always suspect over gimmicky stuff. Additionally, why to you need a pod to calibrate a piece of glass, you don't see Canon, Nikon, or Fuji doing that.... just saying.

Click to expand...

Hey!
Thanks for the comment. I really wasn't trying to ruffle any feathers or start a brand debate. I've shot on Canon and Sigma. Personally, I just love my Sigma Art. I feel like I've developed a really good look with it and I wanna stay in the series. It's not that I think any one brand is insufficient, I just don't wanna branch out when I love my Sigma 50 so much.

Click to expand...

Fair enough. I wasn't trying to start a brand war either. I just found it hit or miss with them. I read a lot of posts on here where some people are not aware of a real good, affordable, canon brand lens. I had a 17-50 2.8 sigma that was real good but the 70-200 and the 150-600 would rarely hit the focus point, it drove me insane.

haha im sure! Thanks for the advice!

pgriz · Mar 28, 2017

I am still shooting with an ancient Rebel T1i (500D), which is an APS sensor. For wide angles, I've gone with the 10-22mm (Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM: Digital Photography Review), and it is probably my second most-used lens. There is a learning curve with UWA lenses, both in terms of the distortion, and in terms of the relative sizes of objects that are in the foreground vs. the middle and background. However combined with the some of the lens distortion correction software, and careful framing, you can get outstanding results that are difficult to get with a less wide angle. Much of my work is documenting work in progress of our interior contracting projects, and this lens allows me to get in close and personal AND get a sufficiently wide view to get an idea of where everything is in relation to everything else. Combined with some careful flash work, I get pretty good images, as long as I keep in mind the perspective distortions this lens (actually any UWA) can introduce.

Juga · Mar 28, 2017

I have been looking at wide zooms as of late. The Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM seems like a great lens at a good price point. I also shoot with a 6D and I am leaning more towards this option.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens 9518B002 B&H Photo Video

I have also looked into the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 which I understand is a fairly new lens. However, a big drawback is that it has a built in lens hood and no way to add a filter currently. Butttttt if you are looking for f/2.8 it is much better priced.

If budget is no issue then perhaps the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III which I have read is one of the sharpest wide angle zooms on the market currently.