Tag Archives: wide angle

Equipment, Morning Musings, Technique

Lenses for Landscape Photography (Morning Musings 1/12/15)

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This isn’t exactly a regular “morning musings” post, but I wanted to share this stuff and it seemed like a good pretext! This post concerns two related articles at the website:

From time to time I share new posts in my “Photographic Myths and Platitudes” series. These articles deal with common ideas about photography that range from “open to question” to quite wrong. I try to look at these issues from a perspective that is both objective and based on actual photographic practice.

I wrote the first of these two articles about lenses for DSLR landscape photography back in 2010 after reading one too many claims that wide-angle lenses are landscape lenses and that longer focal lengths are not good ‘landscape lenses.’  It shouldn’t be a surprise that I disagree. The first article goes over reasons to consider a wide range of focal lengths for photographing landscape.

When I wrote that first article I realized that there was another notion about landscape photography that needed a closer look, a belief that prime lenses are better than zoom lenses for landscape photography. This long-cherished idea probably has its roots back in an earlier period of photography when all photography (not to mention all landscape photography) was done with prime lenses, and in a somewhat later period when early zoom lenses had some serious shortcomings. But things are a lot different today, and most of the excellent contemporary DSLR (and a great deal of medium format) landscape photography that you see and enjoy today was done with zoom lenses.

Knowing what a sensitive issue this is for some photographers, I delayed writing part II for over four years! I’ll acknowledge in advance that there are some reasons to shoot landscape subjects with non-zoom lenses, and that my perspective is not The Truth about landscape photography lenses. However, I’m certain that the majority of landscape photographers will be best served by today’s excellent zoom lenses.

In any case, part II deals with this issue, and it is available now. I hope you’ll enjoy it and perhaps learn something new.

Morning Musings are somewhat irregular posts in which I write about whatever is on my mind at the moment. Connections to photography may be tenuous at times!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Commentary

Canon Lens ‘Instant Savings’ End Soon

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A number of Canon lenses are eligible for an”instant savings” price right now. But act soon since these prices are only in effect for about two more weeks until January 16. This list includes the rebate amounts and links to the lenses at B&H Photo/Video. Given the recent increases in Canon lens list prices, this may be a good opportunity to save some money on that lens you have been waiting to purchase.

(Note: Some of these links may go to pages that also include items not eligible for the “instant savings” and it is possible that the links may change – check the pages you arrive at via these links to verify that they include the savings before you make your purchase!)

Highlights from this list?

  • Obviously, all four of the excellent EF 70-200mm lenses are on many photographers’ “must have” lists – and all of them are included in this program.
  • The 24-70 f/2.8 is a “core lens” for many full-frame shooters.
  • Both of the ultra-wide (on full frame, or just “wide” on cropped sensor) L  lenses are on sale. The 17-40 is a wonderful lens for stopped down landscape and similar shooting on full frame bodies, and the 16-35 is a great choice on full frame if your main need is for shooting hand held in very low light.
  • The 85mm f/1.2 L is certainly a fine lens, and for the those who need it this is a good savings. (Frankly, the vast majority of 85mm prime users will be at least as well served by the much less expensive non-L f/1.8 edition.)
  • For cropped sensor camera shooters looking for (what I regard as) the “best” lens for high quality general use, the EFS 17-55mm f/2.8 IS may be ideal. For most cropped sensor camera shooters – even the most “serious” – I think it is a better choice that either the 17-40 or 16-35 L lenses.
  • The EFS 10-22 is pretty much the only Canon option for those who want ultra-wide angle coverage on cropped sensor bodies, and many people (especially landscape shooters) rely on this lens.

(If you find this information and other resources posted at this site to be useful, please consider purchasing through these B&H Photo/Video links within the post. You’ll get the same price and your purchase will help support the operation of this site. Thanks!)

Equipment, Ideas, Technique

Wide Angle Lenses and Image Stabilization

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I often hear people claim that image-stabilization is only of value on normal to long focal length lenses, and is not useful on wide angle and ultra wide angle lenses.

The photograph posted earlier today was shot handheld on a full frame DSLR at 1/25 second at ISO 800 and 32mm. (32mm on full frame is equivalent to using a 20mm focal length on a 1.6x cropped sensor body.)

I had just finished a session of tripod-based landscape shooting on the summit of this dome, had packed up, and was heading down when the lone hiker crossed the ridgeline below me just as some lovely post-sunset light gently illuminated the landscape. Having no time to set up a tripod – hiker and light would have been gone by then – I dropped everything, pulled the camera with image-stabilized 24-105mm lens from the pack, made some quick seat-of-the-pants exposure calculations, and got of three quick frames before the scene was gone. Without IS I simply would not have gotten a usable version of this photograph – a photograph that has since been licensed for use in a print journal.

Even as one who often shoots from a tripod – and almost always carries one – I have found the notion that IS has no value at shorter focal lengths to be a myth not born out in actual practice.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rhyolite Bank at First Light

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Rhyolite Bank at First Light

Rhyolite Bank at First Light. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

My brother and I photographed these bank ruins and surrounding artifacts in the abandoned ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada – starting before dawn and continuing for the next few hours. This photograph was made just as the first light began to illuminate the town site through high clouds. This bank building is one of the least damaged buildings in the town.

I’m fascinated by how these buildings have weathered over the past century, being situation in a very hostile environment. In some ways it is amazing that they have proven durable enough to remain partially standing, but in other ways they remind me of very ancient ruins.

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