Will that lens help me get better pictures of the rockies

[sunlou]

Hey, i am planning a trip to the rockies, i currently own a Rebel Xs with kit lens 18-55mm

will that lens help me get better pictures of the rocky montains in a few weeks than my kit lens

Canon FD 28mm 1:2.8--Wide Angle Lens "MINT" - eBay (item 250481791416 end time Aug-18-09 17:43:31 PDT)

Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

That lens won't fit onto your camera. It's an FD mount (Canon's old manual focus lenses). Your camera needs EF or EF-S lenses. Also, it's not a 'wide angle' lens on your camera...although it is on a film SLR or full frame DSLR. At 28mm, it's about the same as the middle of the range of your 18-55mm.

If you really want a wide angle lens, you need something in the neighborhood of 10mm. I suggest the Canon EF-S 10-22mm or the Sigma 10-20mm.

 

[choudhrysaab]

when shooting landscape i think its better to have as wide lens as possible.
i personaly think that your 18-55mm will serve you better than the 28mm Prime (just cuz its narrower than 18mm)
however from my experience Prime lens do usually give you a better result.

just my 2cents

 

[choudhrysaab]

That lens won't fit onto your camera. It's an FD mount (Canon's old manual focus lenses). Your camera needs EF or EF-S lenses.

Thanx for clearing that out :mrgreen:

 

[sunlou]

thanks ... i was one clik away from making another stupid e-bay purchase...haha

 

[icassell]

Your lens will do very nicely. I also recommend an UWA (like my Sigma 10-20) but these take a bit of getting used to. If used for straight landscape shots, they tend to get boring. Putting something interesting close in the foreground (not always easy to do in the mountains) really makes the huge DOF of the ultrawide shine.

http://10-20mm.com/

 

[Big Mike]

I bought my 10-22mm lens just before spending a week in the Rockies. It is one of my favorite lenses.
HERE is a gallery with some of my landscape shots from the Rockies.

 

[bigtwinky]

Your lens should be wide enough to get nice pictures. That, or as Mike said, go wider. I love my 10-22mm for landscapes, although I'm usually in the 15mm range.

the rockies can be very bright and have lots of sun.... I would suggest 2 of the most used accessories in landscape photography.... a tripod and a circular polarizing filter for your lens.

A tripod is great, as some of the best pictures are going to be at sun rise and sun set, which means there will be less light. Having less light means a slower shutter speed, probably to the point where hand holding a shot won't work well.

Keep your ISO at 100, use an aperture of around f/8 to f/16 depending on light and effect, set the tripod and let the camera decide on the shutter speed. Instead of clicking the shutter to take the picture, use the timer setting on your camera (probably has a 2 second one) to avoid the shake caused by you pressing the shutter.

 

[icassell]

You might also consider using a graduated ND filter for those big landscapes ... although some would argue that you can take care of that in PP. If you do buy an ultrawide, be careful with polarizers. You can get some pretty unusual effects as the entire sky in the field of view does not polarize the same way. This isn't to say that you can't use a CP, but that you need to pay attention.

 

[Big Mike]

Keep your ISO at 100, use an aperture of around f/8 to f/16 depending on light and effect, set the tripod and let the camera decide on the shutter speed. Instead of clicking the shutter to take the picture, use the timer setting on your camera (probably has a 2 second one) to avoid the shake caused by you pressing the shutter.

That's good advice. Also, you may want to compose some shots with something in the foreground and mountains in the background...and to get it all in focus, you might need to use a smaller aperture like F16...so a tripod is certainly a good idea. It's also a good idea to use a remote or at least the self timer on the camera.

You might also consider using a graduated ND filter for those big landscapes ... although some would argue that you can take care of that in PP. If you do buy an ultrawide, be careful with polarizers. You can get some pretty unusual effects as the entire sky in the field of view does not polarize the same way. This isn't to say that you can't use a CP, but that you need to pay attention.

Another good idea. I use a CP filter for most of my landscape shots. Yes, it can give you weird effects with such a wide view, but it has never really bothered me.

 

[Gaerek]

Hey, I have that lens...for my AE-1.

As for your question. I don't have a dedicated wide angle lens yet (next purchase), but I've taken great landscapes using my kit lens, which is the same as yours. 18mm is roughly equivalent to 28mm in 35mm terms, which should make it wide enough for your use. If you are interested in a dedicated wide angle, a lot of people on this forum use the Sigma 10-20mm.