What do you use your wide angle lens for?

[Ripley]

I've been wanting to try a wide angle lens for some time now. Obviously the new 16-35mm f4 IS is regarded as a great lens with great IQ so that's the one I'm currently considering buying.

A lot of the wide angle lens info and pictures on the net is about landscape, which won't be my primary usage. I often find that 24mm isn't wide enough for capturing groups of people, especially in confined spaces. Would having an UWA zoom in my kit be a good thing? What do you use your wide angle lens for other than landscapes?

 

[neuroanatomist]

I recently sold my 16-35/2.8L II, since for my general shooting 24mm is wide enough. Where I need the UWA is mainly architecture, I considered the 16-35/4L IS for increased sharpness over the f/2.8, but decided on the TS-E 17mm (I already have the TS-E 24 II).

If you need to use a UWA for groups of people, distortion can be a problem. I'd recommend looking into DxO's software which corrects for volume anamorphosis.

 

[BL]

UWA for groups of people can be tricky, and that's not what I used to use my 16-35 for. Often times, folks at the edges of the frame can come out distorted, making them look wider than they should.

 

[Khalai]

I've been wanting to try a wide angle lens for some time now. Obviously the new 16-35mm f4 IS is regarded as a great lens with great IQ so that's the one I'm currently considering buying.

A lot of the wide angle lens info and pictures on the net is about landscape, which won't be my primary usage. I often find that 24mm isn't wide enough for capturing groups of people, especially in confined spaces. Would having an UWA zoom in my kit be a good thing? What do you use your wide angle lens for other than landscapes?

Even at 24mm, people can look distorted, when they are on the edge. 16-24mm could turn them into monsters from the black hole event. horizon

 

[Ripley]

Thank you for the replies! I suspect that going wider than 24mm might not be that beneficial for me...

 

[tomscott]

A lot of people use them for landscape, but since owning the 16-35MKII I tend to shoot longer. Filling the frame with as much as possible is great but it also makes things further away. I find the wider end of mid tele better as you get a little more compression so its more like what your eye sees, somewhere like 35mm.

If your careful then and don't shoot to the extreme of 16mm more like 20-24mm it can still be used quite nicely for groups of people, and 20 compared to 24mm is quite a difference, used it on occasion for event shooting.

Although I did shoot a few Panos at 16mm pretty happy with the results.

Haweswater Reservoir, Corpse Road, Cumbria by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr

16-35mm is really useful for indoor photography in tight spaces. I also find the 16-35mm useful for night sky scenes.

 

[AcutancePhotography]

UWA for groups of people can be tricky, and that's not what I used to use my 16-35 for. Often times, folks at the edges of the frame can come out distorted, making them look wider than they should.

So just put the skinny people at the ends and the fat people in the center. ;D

 

[Ripley]

A lot of people use them for landscape, but since owning the 16-35MKII I tend to shoot longer. Filling the frame with as much as possible is great but it also makes things further away. I find the wider end of mid tele better as you get a little more compression so its more like what your eye sees, somewhere like 35mm.

If your careful then and don't shoot to the extreme of 16mm more like 20-24mm it can still be used quite nicely for groups of people, and 20 compared to 24mm is quite a difference, used it on occasion for event shooting.

Although I did shoot a few Panos at 16mm pretty happy with the results.

Haweswater Reservoir, Corpse Road, Cumbria by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr

16-35mm is really useful for indoor photography in tight spaces. I also find the 16-35mm useful for night sky scenes.

Gorgeous photo. Thanks for the input!

 

[Jesse]

Cats

 

[mrsfotografie]

Exaggerated perspective. If you think the main application of a wide angle lens is to 'get it all in', you've missed the point. Watch a Bollywood movie and you'll know what I mean. A wide angle lens is the ultimate tool to add 'drama'.

 

[mrsfotografie]

Although I did shoot a few Panos at 16mm pretty happy with the results.

A 24mm can give the same results and higher effective resolution if you stitch a panorama. You're cropping off the top and bottom that give the real wide angle effect.

 

[mackguyver]

Don't buy one "to get it all in" the frame as they saying goes. Wide angles are tricky to use (esp. below 20mm), but once you get them, they result in really dramatic shots. A quick Google search pulled up a lot of links - I took a look through them and here are the better ones that you might find helpful:

http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0403/dw0403-1.html

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/wide-angle-lenses.htm

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/wide-angle-lenses

http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/mastering-wide-angle-photography--photo-9243

http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/3892/5-uses-for-a-wide-angle-lens/

http://www.trilliumphotoclub.org/Tutorials/Wide%20Angle%20Lens.html

 

[mrsfotografie]

Don't buy one "to get it all in"

I beat you to it

 

[Eldar]

, but decided on the TS-E 17mm (I already have the TS-E 24 II).

Congratulations on that one! That is a phenomenal lens you´ll never regret to have in your portfolio!

I also agree on your 24mm comment. When you go wider than that with people, you get too much distortion and people look Baaad. Yes, you can fix part of it in post, but still ...

The attached is a Horrible image, but it kind of proves the point. The guy on the right and lady on the left will not pay money for this. They would probably paid for making sure it was deleted for ever ... You can get loads of interesting images with people in though, but then you need to have the people close to center and use the wide angle to show environment.

This the 16-35 f2.8L II @16mm

 

[privatebydesign]

You can use the T/S lenses to put people on the edge of the frame with no distortion in wide and ultrawide images. Just shift away from the person and reframe, that way they are at the center of the image circle but the edge of the frame.

 

[Harv]

I shoot a lot of motocross and sometimes like to get right on the edge of the track on an inside or outside corner and use 'WA' to give a little distortion to add impact. However, I'm usually shooting around 32 - 35 mm.

I don't know if this is of any help, but it's how I normally use it.

 

[Marsu42]

I've been wanting to try a wide angle lens for some time now. Obviously the new 16-35mm f4 IS is regarded as a great lens with great IQ so that's the one I'm currently considering buying.

Though there is little bokeh on uwa, this is the very reason why you should at least consider buying a f2.8 uwa (or waiting for the 16-35L replacement) because it can make the difference between no noticeable background blur to visible object-background separation... unless you're only doing landscape with infinite dof.

often find that 24mm isn't wide enough for capturing groups of people, especially in confined spaces. Would having an UWA zoom in my kit be a good thing?

That's correct and it was the primary reason for buying the 17-40L: 24mm is not wide enough for exactly what you described, and when you're on a paid job you simply have to get the shot no matter what (distortion).

What do you use your wide angle lens for other than landscapes?

I'm using it for wildlife, 24mm on ff is already wide and 17mm is not *that* much of a difference, but it can be the difference between simple, boring wide angle and a more interesting effect shot.

 

[Eldar]

You can use the T/S lenses to put people on the edge of the frame with no distortion in wide and ultrawide images. Just shift away from the person and reframe, that way they are at the center of the image circle but the edge of the frame.

Agree, but that takes more than one afternoon´s worth of practice

 

[c.d.embrey]

Wide-angle lenses are not for the timid! If you want to shoot the same-old boring photos as everyone else, stay away from wide-angle lenses

If you are adventurous here are some wide-angle portrait sites

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/technique/wideangle-portraits-1415

http://improvephotography.com/250/wide-angle-portraits/

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/03/21/wide-angle-portraits-how-to-use-your-wide-angle-lens-to-caricature-your-friends/

http://www.studioonashoestring.com/410/wide-angle-lenses-are-for-portraits-too-tutorial/

Here's Bing's Image Page for wideiangle group portraits http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=wide-angle+group+portraits&id=9C10E9DF8DBFAA132A5BE2CD1D0064357C3A77F2&FORM=IQFRBA#a

Hope this helps. Have fun with distortion

 

[Jesse]

I was serious about cats. I'm buying the 24mm 1.4 L II next month basically just for cat photos. Great background blur and distorted perspective makes them look cuter.

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jesseherzog/11111152564" title="Come Closer by Jesse Herzog, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3708/11111152564_e1afe6efe9_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="Come Closer"></a>