Wide Angle Lens on Crop Frame Sensor Camera - Worth it or not?

[jcuknz]

True enough as I understand it too - but it still seems to be a useful way to conceptualize the issues involved.

Surely the perspective does change because for the same image you change the camera to subject distance

[Gaab]

FWIW: I took a lot of landscape shots when I first started using my camera. -- Canon 600D with 18-55mm kit lenses. At first I opened it right up to 18mm but I wasn't really happy with the results because, as others have noted, the wider shots had too much sky etc. and found that I generally preferred the results from the 55mm end. So whenever I feel like doing landscape, I shoot 3 or 4, (5, 6, 7 whatever) contiguous frames and stitch them together.

I recently purchased a second hand Sigma 10mm-20mm wide angle for my Canon 600D. I was previously using the standard kit lens. So far, I am glad I brought this lens and I'm really enjoying the shots I'm taking with it but will certainly have a look at stitching some shots together using a different lens.

[loosecanon]

well guys I have a Samyang 14mm. It is relativly cheap, sharp and gives a good image apart from its odd distortion that one has to remove with a profile in camera raw.(well I do anyway) So its a cheapish lens for full frame. However the manual focus etc is a pain, and I find the Sigma 12-24mm (also full frame but smaller aperture) is the lens I use a lot more as it is much more convenient in use. Both these lenses cannot be used with front filters, so you cannot protect the large protruding front element this way.
Personally in your position I would get one of the 10mm to 20+mm lenses designed for crop sensors - many rate the Sigma and I like the Canon on my 7D - gives the equivalent to 16mm to 35mm with the crop sensor. and you can use it with filters.

[jcuknz]

I recently purchased a second hand Sigma 10mm-20mm wide angle for my Canon 600D. I was previously using the standard kit lens. So far, I am glad I brought this lens and I'm really enjoying the shots I'm taking with it but will certainly have a look at stitching some shots together using a different lens.

If you do not already know this .... while one can stitch WA shots it is better to take more frames using a longer lens ... the 20 end of the Sigma could almost be long enough ... that is 30 or 32mm AoV and CanonStitch programme starts at 35mm
I don't have much need of this but last time I used around 80 to 90 mm AoV on the zoom. Funny thing happened in the Stitch ... thr right hand six frames ended up on the left of the left hand six frames ... so I had to do it manually ... URRRGH!

[FootLoose]

I have used Panorama Maker 5 with no problems at all. It came 'free' with a silly little Nikon. Photoshop (CS3) seems ok but is much slower -- on my machine at least

[William W]

I am shooting with a Canon T2i (550D) and I am considering a wide angle lens for it. I am particularly interested in a prime wide angle lens: the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED MC Super Wide Angle Lens for Canon - 14mm f/2.8 Super Wide Angle . . .
My interest in this lens is for both landscape photos and night photos (this lens reportedly has a very low 'coma distortion'). I like this lens for its potential for night photography and the price is about right (much lower than many other similar prime lenses).

1) Are wide angle lenses worth it for cropped sensor camera?
2) Any thoughts on the Rokinon lenses, especially this one?
3) Should I be looking at something else instead?

Answers:
1. No, it is not worth it. I wouldn’t buy a UWA Prime like that (nor the EF14 F/2.8L MkII USM) to use on an APS-C camera. The point is you are not gaining the full FoV of the Lens. I would either buy an UWA ZOOM (purpose built for APS-C) – OR –move to a 135 Format Camera (aka “Full Frame Camera”).

2. You have to be aware what you are buying. It is a manual focus and manual aperture lens. That means you will focus manually (by turning the Focus Turret); you will set the aperture manually by turning the Aperture ring. Also, IF you use your camera’s TTL metering system as your light meter, you will use ‘stop down metering’ – which means, you will need to stop the lens down to any particular aperture that you choose, to then meter the scene at that aperture.

3. I think so. For general Landscape and any Wide Angle work, wider than the 18mm you now have, I suggest you look a UWA zoom – such as the many which have been suggested.

What’s the ‘night photography / low coma' requirement – SPECIFICALLY?
Astrophotography?
Nightscapes and Stars WITHOUT start-trails?

If these are you aims: then reconsider buying ANY F/2.8 lens.
ANY F/2.8 lens, will very likely be way too slow on your 550D to adequately capture good quality Nightscapes, without Star Trails.


***

I wonder if anyone has any specific recommendations for a night shooting lens -- one with low coma distortion?

On the assumption that ‘for a night shooting lens’ means:
“I will be using this for Nightscapes and I want the stars quite crisp and etc . . .”
Then, for a Canon system of lenses, the best lens is: EF 24 F/1.4 L MkII USM.
The best all round budget solution is: EF 28 F/1.8 USM.

Both obviously will have a resultant wider field of view, if used on a 135 format camera.

For the detailed reasons that a very fast lens is required for these particular nightscapes, oyu should research: “The 600 Rule”.

This is a rule of thumb in regard to the EXPOSURE TIME required to arrest STAR TRAILS due to the EARTH’S ROTATION.


WW


Technical notes:

The “Samyang 14mm f/2.8” is the same lens as the “Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 ”
Samyang Optics (Korea) is the Company which makes these lenses. It also makes lenses for other companies which are then branded differently e.g. Vivitar.
For this particular lens, I understand there has been an “upgraded version” released for the NIKON MOUNT, which allows some electronic couplings with some Nikon DSLRs.

There is no speciality about Rokinon being for Canon only.
This particular 14/2.8 Rokinon lens can be obtained in: Nikon; Pentax; Sony; 4/3, as well as Canon EF mounts.
Viz: http://www.rokinon.com/product.php?id=12