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Our family is planning to take a trip to the Appalachian mountains in South Carolina next spring and I am considering getting a wider angle lens for the trip. Does anyone have any tips on what to look for when buying a wide angle lens or which ones are a better option? My camera is a Nikon D5600.
What lenses do you already have, @samuelwest?
I have a Nikon AF-S 35mm lens, a Nikon AF-P 70-300mm lens, and a Nikon AF-P 18-55mm lens. Is it worth getting a wider lens like a 16mm lens or lower or does it not make much of a difference? Thanks for the help.
That camera is not full frame, so shooting with your widest current lens (18mm) you’re getting a true equivalent of around 28mm. That certainly can work for landscape photography. I used an 18mm lens without a full frame camera for many, many years. However, if you want the wide, sweeping view look that comes with a 16mm lens on a full frame camera (an effect I really love), then I’d suggest getting something like a 10mm lens. On your camera, that would be the true equivalent of around 16mm, and your photos would look more like the traditional, epic, sweeping landscape photos you see out there.
Thanks @jamesstaddon! That’s the effect I want to get. If I get a lens as low as 10mm, will barrel distortion be a problem? Would it appear in every picture or only in certain situations, and if so, how would you avoid it?
Pardon my late reply, @samuelwest!
Barrel distortion specifically depends on the lens. It’s usually only noticeable in budget lenses.
What is more noticeable at ultra wide angles regardless of lens is “perspective distortion”. You will definitely see perspective distortion at 10mm. But whether it’s a problem is subjective. Trees leaning inward and rocks that bulge in the corners of the frame . . . no problem for me. Buildings leaning, and faces that bulge . . . well, these could be potential problems. Usually, though, these effects are what give wide angle the neat effect that we like, so I am not concerned about perspective distortion when shooting wide. And 10mm on crop-sensor camera like yours isn’t going to look out of the ordinary. If you put the 10mm on a full frame, well, then you’re getting into fish-eye territory and that I think is problematic for “normal” photography. More about perspective distortion vs barrel distortion in the Explore Course: https://www.lenspiration.com/lesson/explore-4/
Barrel distortion would only be noticeable at the wide end of the focal length spectrum. To avoid it, zoom in, or get a more expensive lens that deals with barrel distortion better, I guess.
Thanks for the help @jamesstaddon! I think I know what to look for now.
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