Lens Help

[Linda R]

Hi everyone,
I have not been able to be on here for a while but I am wondering if anyone could help me with a little advice please? I would like to buy a good landscape lens to take on a trip up to Darwin later in the year. I have a Canon 600d and would love a little help.
Thanks

[Birdman]

Hiya,

I would recommend and have used the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 II, I have the version one and it is a great lens. Ultra wide angle, great sharpness and contrast.

A few more questions though

What type of Landscapes?
Do you want a really wide angle?
How much are you wanting to spend?

Dan




http://www.danielakininphotography.com

[ameerat42]

And there was a recent thread on here about WA lenses (which I just can't find). Anybody?
Am.

[Linda R]

Hi Dan,

You sound very happy with the Tokina, thankyou for sharing your thoughts.

In answer to your questions:-
On our last trip I was a little disappointed in the results of the photos as I felt that I lost the sense of the vastness of the countryside (hmmm maybe my photographic skills?? LOL ). As I have had a little more time to play about and learn a little bit more I thought if I could find a lens more suited to the situation the results may be better?
As to cost I was going to see what lenses would be best suited and make a decision from there.

Thanks for helping.

Linda

[Wobbles]

Hi Linda,
as per Birdman's response, a bit more detail might help narrow it down but...

For Canon crop bodies most commonly recommended ultra-wide options (in rough order of price) are noted below. All have pros/cons but equally provide excellent results.

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM
Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM
Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX 11-16mm f2.8
Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM

If you just want to step up from kit lens with a more general purpose wide angle/walk around lens it's hard to go past the Canon EF-S 17-55MM f2.8 IS USM. The Canon EF-S 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM is also a good choice. There's also other good options now from Sigma/Tamron/Tokina as well.

If you have aspirations of going to full frame the Canon EF 17-40mm f4L USM is a great 'entry level' option. From there the options and cost go up exponentialy.

Cheers
John

[Rattus79]

I think Wobbles has covered your bases quite well there. The only one he didn't mention is the 16-35 which is also a full frame lens.

Personally I use the Sigma 10-20 4-5.6. Mine is an old copy, but I still find it reasonably sharp. It's also quite a light lens compared to some others.

I'm not sure if there is an IQ difference between the Constant 3.5 and the variable aperture version though.

[Linda R]

Thank you very much for all your help, I do appreciate it and will now look through them all and go from there.

Linda

[William W]

What lens(es) do you have?

WW

[Puzz1e]

Yeah what lenses do you already own and whats your budget?

Won't the ultra wides give her some distortion? I don't think people would really want that for classic landscape work? I guess that's one of the drawbacks of the crop sensor.

[Linda R]

I have a Canon 18-55mm and a 55-250mm. These are kit lenses that came with the camera. Other than these I have a Sigma telephoto lens. As to cost I was going to research the lens first and decide from there.

[William W]

Thanks for that information.

I therefore assume you want to buy a lens wider than 18mm.
I can recommend the Canon EF-S 10 to 22 F/3.5~4.5 USM for image quality and also build.

You also might consider that capturing “the sense of vastness of the countryside” in Landscape Photography, might not necessarily mean using wider lens: dawn or dusk shooting; different camera angles (for example lower); composing to emphasise converging vanishing points; different cropping (for example widescreen); high contrast monochrome and stitching are some of the other methods one can use to capture (or emphasise) ‘vastness’ whilst still using the Focal Length range of your existing Standard Zoom Lens.

WW

[Mark L]

Won't the ultra wides give her some distortion? I don't think people would really want that for classic landscape work? I guess that's one of the drawbacks of the crop sensor.

Guess that's one of the drawbacks of not know how to fix distortion in PP!!

[Epoc]

Another one here for the Tokina 11-16mm. I have version one as well. Great sharp lens with excellent colour and contrast and is literally built like a tank. Distortion is not too bad and as Mark says, can be fixed quite easily in pp. Pretty reasonably priced at round the $500 delivered from site sponsor Eglobal for v1 and just over $600 for v2.

[Linda R]

Once again I just want to say thank you all very much for the help you have offered me I do appreciate it.

[NCHANT]

I can definitely recommend the Canon 10-22mm, I use one on my 600D and it rarely comes off! Distortion is minimal compared to other wide angle lenses (according to reviews) and is reasonably sharp. If you want to capture large expanses of land then 10mm is the way to go, just be aware it can make mountains small...

[ricktas]

I would also consider where you see your photography heading Linda. As the number of full frame sensor bodies are increasing, do you see yourself upgrading from your 600D to a full frame sensor body at some time? If so, I would make sure any lens you buy now, is not restricted to crop sensors only. Future proof your lens buying and your lenses should last you a lifetime.

[Duggo]

Hi,
I have a 60D and Sigma 8-16mm. Went to Mt Kosciusko Xmas before last, great lens for landscapes, sharp and good colours.
Enjoy.
Duggo

[Roosta]

Hi Linda,
as per Birdman's response, a bit more detail might help narrow it down but...

For Canon crop bodies most commonly recommended ultra-wide options (in rough order of price) are noted below. All have pros/cons but equally provide excellent results.

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM
Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM
Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX 11-16mm f2.8
Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM

If you just want to step up from kit lens with a more general purpose wide angle/walk around lens it's hard to go past the Canon EF-S 17-55MM f2.8 IS USM. The Canon EF-S 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM is also a good choice. There's also other good options now from Sigma/Tamron/Tokina as well.

If you have aspirations of going to full frame the Canon EF 17-40mm f4L USM is a great 'entry level' option. From there the options and cost go up exponentialy.

Cheers
John

What John Said. x 1


And understand what WW is getting to here.

Thanks for that information.

I therefore assume you want to buy a lens wider than 18mm.
I can recommend the Canon EF-S 10 to 22 F/3.5~4.5 USM for image quality and also build.

You also might consider that capturing “the sense of vastness of the countryside” in Landscape Photography, might not necessarily mean using wider lens: dawn or dusk shooting; different camera angles (for example lower); composing to emphasise converging vanishing points; different cropping (for example widescreen); high contrast monochrome and stitching are some of the other methods one can use to capture (or emphasise) ‘vastness’ whilst still using the Focal Length range of your existing Standard Zoom Lens.

WW

And this makes a lot of sense.

I would also consider where you see your photography heading Linda. As the number of full frame sensor bodies are increasing, do you see yourself upgrading from your 600D to a full frame sensor body at some time? If so, I would make sure any lens you buy now, is not restricted to crop sensors only. Future proof your lens buying and your lenses should last you a lifetime.

So after all that,

On my 50D which is my go to lens for most of my Sea - Landscape work, I have two Sigma lenses, the 10 - 20 mm F4 - 5.6 and the 18 - 50 mm F2.8 The 18 - 50 is an older generation
lens now it's (It's been replaced by this), but is a hands down winner over both your kit lenses, It's F2.8 constant AP is a bonus (Yes not really required for scapes) and cost me $399 in Australia. Look up CR Kennedy's webpage and read the price match option. Saves buying Sigma over the net. For a great perspective on the Sigma 10 - 20 mm, look up Williams Seascapes.

WW's point = I used most of my lenses for landscapes, when in NZ, I could have done with my newly acquired 300 MM F4, as my 70 - 200 mm got a flogging. So it's very relevant to what you will be shooting.

The advice about the Tokina 11 - 16 mm is spot on, great lens, but it is a UWA - Ultra Widde Angle lens, so it's limited in that respect.

Work out (As Rick and WW mention) what will you be shooting mainly, and can/will one lens also do away with one more of your kit lenses?

If you don't intend to be sitting on beaches and lakes/rivers or in the bush for longer periods of time, maybe the UWA is not what you need,

There are some wonderful 24 - ++ lenses out there, granted not as wide, but the IQ is great and the range/field of view is so much better covered.

So work out first what FOV you want to capture - and how much time will it be used in this FOV, where as a slightly longer lens, might be what suits you.

Go to a shop and try a few lenses first, just outside the shop will help you get some ideas of how WIDE you need to go.

Try this RANGE Viewer - It may help you decide on what lenght of lens you need. It's suited to show 35mm format, Full Frame.

Hope this helps, You can go here, Bryan is a Canon nut, and his site is a wealth of knowledge.

P.S. Post a couple of your shots and let us know what you wanted to achieve with in, that way, the members can add some series CC.

[Mark L]

A very useful post Blue.

So work out first what FOV you want to capture - and how much time will it be used in this FOV, where as a slightly longer lens, might be what suits you.

Since Linda is a beginner, FOV = Field of view. Google is your friend.
Thanks for starting this thread, am now currently reassessing what wider angle lens to buy.

[Burrster]

While I love my Canon 10 -22mm, I have found that using a longer focal length, and stitching photos together best gives that feeling i think your looking for, without making all the details at a distance, so small( UWA lenses tend to make close objects feel large, and distance object feel very distant/small). Not sue if this is in your skill set yet, both worth thinking about. One of my favourite photos at the moment was a pano stitch of 4 or 5 photos taken at 200mm!
That said, I would definitely get a wide lens, just be sure to try longer focal lengths too! I would recommend any of the about mentioned lenses, but I picked the canon based on low distortion, and high image quality(very marginal over some of the others)
William makes some great points too, that it's not just the focal length, but the composition, and lighting. Dawn and dusk lighting is by far the most interesting, I'm my opinion.