landscape lens?

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vecsri

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Richard Black
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What is a ideal landscape lens? I have a Sigma 24-70mm f.28 Is this up to the job?

Cheers
 
Depending on the kind of landscapes you're shooting, something wider than 24mm is frequently useful for making as much of the foreground as of subjects more distant - I have the 16-35mm (on a 5D) for that reason. Many on here have the Sigma 10-20mm which is ultra-wide - what camera body do you have?
 
Can highly recommend the Sigma 10-20mm from the little play with it I think it is great, there are some reports of it being soft at the edges but I think this issue has been mainly eradicated with later versions of the lens. Also consider the Tokina 12-24mm which again has some great reviews, you could also take a look here http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/digital-wide-zooms/comparison-index.htm for an interesting review of the main candidates!
 
Cracking lens on a crop format sensor (x1.6 on my 400D). Must be awesome on a FF......

Er, sorry, no this is only for 1.3 and 1.6 crop sensor bodies, it will vignette on a full frame.
 
got a D200 now.
 
Extreme wide-angle lenses cause strong perspective distortion. In landscapes, objects a mere 100 feet away look like like they are 1,000 feet away. That's usually not very desirable.

You get much better perspective in landscapes if you shoot a range of overlapping exposures, in an arc, with approx. 100mm focal length lens (and tripod, of course), with camera in portrait mode (90 degrees torque), and then stitch them together into a panorama.
 
vecsri said:
How does the D200 compare to the D50?
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Light years ahead:) It would be a pretty steep learning curve, but it's nice having instant control of focus areas, metering etc on the back of the camera, instead of buried away inside a menu:) I've set it up using the spreadsheet over at Nikonians, which seems a pretty good starting point...

I had the D50 for 18 months, the D80 for almost a year, and then a 4-month gap before getting the D200... I learned on the D50, improved on the D80, now I'm stepping up a gear(y)
 
reddeathdrinker said:
Light years ahead:) It would be a pretty steep learning curve, but it's nice having instant control of focus areas, metering etc on the back of the camera, instead of buried away inside a menu:) I've set it up using the spreadsheet over at Nikonians, which seems a pretty good starting point...

I had the D50 for 18 months, the D80 for almost a year, and then a 4-month gap before getting the D200... I learned on the D50, improved on the D80, now I'm stepping up a gear(y)
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Excellent! Should get mine tomorrow :D

I think i';ll ahve to make do with my current lenses lol
 
I've set it up using the spreadsheet over at Nikonians, which seems a pretty good starting point...
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I'm aware of the Nikonians site, but what does the spreadsheet contain, potential settings for menu customisation? Would be very interested to know and even better if you could let me know which thread it's on please.
 
i use a Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM lens and very happy with the results from this - filters can be expensive though if you use them @ over 60 quid a pop
 
I have found the Sigma 10-20mm very good. Having said that many other lenses can also be good depending on what you wish to photograph. I have used a 500mm F4 lens to pick out specific aspects of the landscape.
 
George said:
Cracking lens on a crop format sensor (x1.6 on my 400D). Must be awesome on a FF......

Er, sorry, no this is only for 1.3 and 1.6 crop sensor bodies, it will vignette on a full frame.
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You're damned right it does:

10mm.jpg


It's pretty good down to about 14mm. The 12-24mm is better suited to full frame.
 
reddeathdrinker said:
I've set it up using the spreadsheet over at Nikonians, which seems a pretty good starting point...
Click to expand...

Just done the same thing, what a difference already, I really struggled today with a number of things and I think the majority of my issues have been fixed purely by making the changes suggested by the Nikonians spreadsheet. Not to mention the 30 mins I spent setting it all up have taght me a number of things I didn't even know about the D200 so bonus all round :)
 
Sigma 10-20mm

Great on crop cameras but don't expect it to be razor sharp or lacking in distortion.

I guess ultimately it depends on factors like how big you're going to print, how much you value quality and sharpness over the inherent impact of ultra-wides.


At the mo, I'm so hacked off with the limitations of a crop sensor and wide-angles that Im seriously considering defecting from nikon to get decent, sharp wide shots.

Either that or I'm going to get a 85mm prime, panoramic head and start stitching 2x6 or 4x3 exposure panoramics.
 
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