If you could only use one lens for landscape photography, which one and why?

[AlexB]

Hi guys

For all you out there doing landscape photography; I'm very interested in hearing about what would be your choice if you could only use one lens for shooting landscapes. Whether it would be a super wide angle, telephoto, something in between, zoom, prime, or maybe a specialty lens such as a tilt shift or macro?

(One other point that is beneficial to note is what sensor size you would use that with; full frame, 1.3x crop, 1.6x crop.)

And to try to avoid this being just another thread where various people list all the lenses in Canon's lineup, I would be very interested in why you would choose that particular lens for your needs.

Hope this is not another dreadful repetition. I couldn't find anything like this in regards to landscape photography.

- Alex

 

[Tinky]

I would go for a standard field of view, for me a 28mm on an aps-c body, or full frame users 40mm pancake.

Natural perspective, great depth of field even at wider angles, cheap to filter, easy to stitch, compact, light, low distotions, low vignetting stopped down, cheap.

With todays bodies I don't see the need to go tighter, there is enough resolution and enough sharpness from these lenses per pixel to crop with some abandon.

Kind of done with uwas and hdrs. Prefer to make a normal lens (and me) work a bit harder.

 

[privatebydesign]

24mm TS-E, on FF. Nothing comes close to camera movements for dof and prespective control and they are key landscape elements. The 24 can be shift stitched to make a super high quality double sized sensor with a 16mm fov, it can take regular filters and the 1.4 and 2 x TC's making it incredibly versatile.

 

[Policar]

Hi guys

For all you out there doing landscape photography; I'm very interested in hearing about what would be your choice if you could only use one lens for shooting landscapes. Whether it would be a super wide angle, telephoto, something in between, zoom, prime, or maybe a specialty lens such as a tilt shift or macro?

(One other point that is beneficial to note is what sensor size you would use that with; full frame, 1.3x crop, 1.6x crop.)

And to try to avoid this being just another thread where various people list all the lenses in Canon's lineup, I would be very interested in why you would choose that particular lens for your needs.

Hope this is not another dreadful repetition. I couldn't find anything like this in regards to landscape photography.

- Alex

90mm TS-E, although if the 45mm TS-E were better I'd choose it instead.

I find shift necessary for perspective correction and I like compressing space into a texture.

 

[Sporgon]

I'm tempted to say the 24 TSE as well, but as the OP has said only one lens I'd be concerned with being stuck with that focal length, as I find that in landscape shooting flexibility of focal length is important, but so also is lens quality. I never use ultra wides ( ie wider than 24) on landscapes, I'd rather stitch as the far away detail seen through an ultra wide is microscopic. This is the same reason why I would choose FF over APS. When photographing things that are relatively close, like you could throw a ball and hit it, I cannot in all honestly tell any difference between FF and APS in good light, but when you are trying to resolve detail that is hundreds of yards or miles away it is a different story; you are stuck with shorter focal lengths on APS.

So I wouldn't choose the 16 to 35 f4 as my only landscape lens, outstanding though it is. I think I'd probably go for the 24 to 70 f2.8 II. Not a lens I actually own because when it comes to shorter focal length I'd rather have a few lighter, high quality primes.

 

[FEBS]

FF and the TS-E 24. If 24mm is not enough, you can go wider by stitching (shift in horizontal direction). It takes some time to get used to that lens, but it is such a excellent lens.

 

[Bennymiata]

I like using my 16-35 f2.8 on my 5d3, because I can easily use filters, but I also love my Tokina 11-16 f2.8 on my 70D.

 

[privatebydesign]

I'm tempted to say the 24 TSE as well, but as the OP has said only one lens I'd be concerned with being stuck with that focal length,........

So was I, that is why I sneaked in the TC's

I 100% agree with distant detail too, that is why any lens I had to use would have to have movements.

Here is a couple of shots with the 17TS-E, the first is at f4 with no tilt (I hate it when people say with an ultrawide everything is in focus!), the second a 100% crop. The third is the whole frame with a couple of degrees tilt, again at f4, the fourth a 100% crop.

For me that is a dramatic difference in resolution and detail.

 

[tculotta]

The new 16-35 f/4. Hands down favorite, nothing else even in the equation. I use it FF on the 5D Mk. III.

It provides incredible range with phenomenal image quality and I can use whatever filters I choose. For me it is the complete package.

 

[slclick]

One I own? The 16-35 f/4L

 

[sagittariansrock]

I'd go with the TS-E 17/4 on an FF sensor. I agree 100% with all the points PBD has made, but I find the versatility of the wider FL more useful (and I am not very good with shift stitching yet, plus shift stitching a 17 makes an 11, which is great!). The tilt function of the 24mm is probably more effective, and the ability to use filters is a big plus, but when I am trying to bring everything into focus the former is less of an issue and I haven't really mastered the use of ND grads yet for the latter to be a big inconvenience (and even then there's the Wonderpana system). Also, the use of the TCs make this lens into a 24 and 34mm lens, which are great focal lengths.

 

[candc]

The 16-35 f/4 on a 6d may be kind of boring but it does a great job. I went on a week long canoe trip in Killarney pp last summer and its all I took. I never felt that I needed anything else.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Definitely my TS-E 24L II on FF.

 

[surapon]

24mm TS-E, on FF. Nothing comes close to camera movements for dof and prespective control and they are key landscape elements. The 24 can be shift stitched to make a super high quality double sized sensor with a 16mm fov, it can take regular filters and the 1.4 and 2 x TC's making it incredibly versatile.

+ 100 For me too, Sir, Dear Teacher, Mr.privatebydesign.
If I have only one lens and one FF. Camera, I will have Canon 24mm. TS-E MK II with B+W KSM C-POL MRC. PL FILTER, ON MY Gitzo G1326 Mountaineer Carbon Fiber Tripods , On Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head, On Gitzo 1321 Leveling Head = Heavenly equipment in my hand, FOR SUPER SHARP DETAILS FROM CORNER TO CORNER, PLUS CAN SHIFT AND STICHES TO MAKE 3 TIMES OR MORE OF BIGGER MP..
Happy New Year 2015 to all of our friends.
Surapon

 

[Don Haines]

The 16-35 f/4 on a 6d may be kind of boring but it does a great job. I went on a week long canoe trip in Killarney pp last summer and its all I took. I never felt that I needed anything else.

I love Killarney! what a wonderful place to paddle and take pictures!

My favourite landscape lens on a FF is the 24-70.... and on a crop camera the 17-55. Same logic for both, it gives me the best combination of flexibility and quality.

 

[candc]

The 16-35 f/4 on a 6d may be kind of boring but it does a great job. I went on a week long canoe trip in Killarney pp last summer and its all I took. I never felt that I needed anything else.

I love Killarney! what a wonderful place to paddle and take pictures!

My favourite landscape lens on a FF is the 24-70.... and on a crop camera the 17-55. Same logic for both, it gives me the best combination of flexibility and quality.

It is beautiful. I want to go back again and maybe go around phillip edward island too. I don't have a 24-70 but that might be better yet? The f/4 looks to be a good landscape lens.

 

[wldbil]

I now have the 7Dii, I love my 24mm 1.4 Mark ii on it but if I was to go to full frame my favorites would be the 16-35mm f/4 for zoom and the 17 TS-E with my 24mm Mark ii next. I had a 17mm f/4 on my old Canon F-1 which I sold last year. I loved that lens for landscape.

 

[Don Haines]

The 16-35 f/4 on a 6d may be kind of boring but it does a great job. I went on a week long canoe trip in Killarney pp last summer and its all I took. I never felt that I needed anything else.

I love Killarney! what a wonderful place to paddle and take pictures!

My favourite landscape lens on a FF is the 24-70.... and on a crop camera the 17-55. Same logic for both, it gives me the best combination of flexibility and quality.

It is beautiful. I want to go back again and maybe go around phillip edward island too. I don't have a 24-70 but that might be better yet? The f/4 looks to be a good landscape lens.

where is phillip Edward island, or do you mean Prince Edward Island?

 

[tron]

24-70 2.8 II or 16-35 f/4 IS. It is a tough decision but I think 24-70 2.8 wins...

A landscape is not only something that demands an UWA lens...

 

[LovePhotography]

I agree in principle with the 24mm TS-E. However, given the fact that my vacations are not just photo-safaris, but taking two impatient teenagers to see the world, I would choose otherwise for the time being. I just went to NYC last week to shoot "urban landscape", and it rained all week (making changing lenses impossible with an umbrella in one hand and millions of people bumping you on the street), and the aforementioned teenagers (who already walk faster than I do when I'm just walking) unwilling to stop while I composed a masterpiece. I took a big kit carry-on, including 6D, 8-15mm, 50mm 1.4 Art, 16-35mm 2.8 ii, 24-105mm Art, and 70-200 2.8 ii plus teleconvertors. But, the only lens I used all week (except for my iPhone6 + for panoramas and when it was just plain raining too hard to take a camera at all) was the Sigma 24-105mm Art. Would I have liked to take some longer shots? Sure (but in the fog and rain couldn't go too far down range). And, would I have liked to go 8mm on top of the Empire State Building? Sure. But, it just didn't happen. Sooo, practically, when the kids are gone, one lens only, the 24 TS-E. But, given what I just went through (endured?), I got a lot of memories with another choice.

p.s. I used to use the big white EF 35-350mm which was great, but sold it since DxO didn't have a module for it. Still a great single lens choice to get a little bit of everything. That plus the 24 TS-E for perfection. ))