Favoured lens for Landscapes / Architecture

[chrism_scotland]

I know before that the general thinking around taking photo's of landscapes and buildings always seems to have been the use of a wide angle lens, widely something like a 10-20 or 11-18 on an APS-C body.

However I know that a lot of people say that a wide angle isn't good for landscapes / buildings.

Just wondering what people are using, partly as I'm pondering the future makeup of my lens lineup and while I'm happy with adapted glass for 24mm+ there just aren't the options there at the wider end and I'm pondering whether I want a wide lens (7-14, 9-18, 12mm) or if I'd rather just pickup another 20mm.

But like I said interested to see what other people are using!

 

[~tc~]

I tend to use the 20 more than the 14 end of my Leica D 14-50. I find I get too much "junk" in the shots at 14mm (28 equiv). I would rather stitch the 20mm shots in the rare instances I need something wider.

I also have the 8mm FE, and it's really fun for some of these shots.

I love the 45-200 for picking out architectural details like gargoyles, etc

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

I tend to like photographing details in landscapes, so I've become very fond of my SMC 50/f1.4 (short-tele on Micro Four Thirds) as a landscape lens. I like the way it can isolate a subject, but not so much that it excludes context.

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Interestingly, I've noticed that as my ability as a photographer has improved, I've come to favour longer lenses - a few years ago most of my landscape shots would have been at 24mm (full-frame equivalent...)

 

[David Tait]

Oly 14-42mm.

I guess it all depends on what you shoot. I'm a sucker for traditional Chinese landscape complete with traditional architecture. So I go for the standard, vertical, correct perspective approach.

My Canon EF F1.8; Canon EF18-135; Voigtlander 25mm F0.95; Olympus 14-42mm. Any will suffice, depending on the situation. I guess I have no favourite.

That said, having just bought the Sigma 10-20mm I'm about to re-visit some favourite haunts to seek out dramatic perspective possibilities..

E-P2 plus the Oly 14-42mm was used for this shot.

 

[Luckypenguin]

Unfortunately, I think this thread may well prove that there is no one best lens or focal length for this type of photography, lol. I tend to lean towards the wide end, with the usual caveat that such lenses can give dramatic perspectives which may or may not be what you are looking for.

Some architectural images:

Zuiko 4/3 9-18mm f4-5.6

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55915417@N08/5272383719/" title="OEP1-P7302557-P3R Olympus Pen E-P1 Brisbane - Urban by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr"> View attachment 174447 "480" height="640" alt="OEP1-P7302557-P3R Olympus Pen E-P1 Brisbane - Urban"></a>


M Zuiko 9-18mm f4-5.6

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55915417@N08/6088086914/" title="PGH1-P1030286-PR Panasonic Lumix GH1 Brisbane - Urban by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr"> View attachment 174448 "427" height="640" alt="PGH1-P1030286-PR Panasonic Lumix GH1 Brisbane - Urban"></a>


Lumix G 14-140mm f4-5.8

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55915417@N08/5926201008/" title="PGH1-P1020907-PR Panasonic Lumix GH1 Brisbane - Urban by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr"> View attachment 174449 "640" height="427" alt="PGH1-P1020907-PR Panasonic Lumix GH1 Brisbane - Urban"></a>


Zuiko 4/3 14-42mm f3.5-5.6

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55915417@N08/5780705181/" title="PGH1-P1020543-PR Panasonic Lumix GH1 Brisbane - Urban by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr"> View attachment 174450 "640" height="427" alt="PGH1-P1020543-PR Panasonic Lumix GH1 Brisbane - Urban"></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55915417@N08/5868981994/" title="PGH1-P1020587-PR Panasonic Lumix GH1 Brisbane - Urban by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr">

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"640" height="360" alt="PGH1-P1020587-PR Panasonic Lumix GH1 Brisbane - Urban"></a>


Landscapes:

Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 (on various Canons)

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55915417@N08/5725931105/" title="C350D-IMG_2114-P2R Canon EOS 350D Chitwan NP Nepal - Travel by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr"> View attachment 174452 "640" height="427" alt="C350D-IMG_2114-P2R Canon EOS 350D Chitwan NP Nepal - Travel"></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55915417@N08/5900907434/" title="C350D-IMG_2235-PR Canon EOS 350D Chitwan NP Nepal - Travel by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr">

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"640" height="360" alt="C350D-IMG_2235-PR Canon EOS 350D Chitwan NP Nepal - Travel"></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55915417@N08/5803503489/" title="C350D-IMG_2467-P2R Canon EOS 350D Ganges River Varanasi India - Travel by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr"> View attachment 174454 "640" height="360" alt="C350D-IMG_2467-P2R Canon EOS 350D Ganges River Varanasi India - Travel"></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55915417@N08/5427156759/" title="C50D-IMG_0403-PR Canon EOS 50D Kinarut Borneo Malaysia - Travel by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr"> View attachment 174455 "640" height="427" alt="C50D-IMG_0403-PR Canon EOS 50D Kinarut Borneo Malaysia - Travel"></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55915417@N08/5949875393/" title="C50D-IMG_1557-P2R Canon EOS 50D Giza Pyramids Cairo Egypt - Travel by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr"> View attachment 174456 "640" height="360" alt="C50D-IMG_1557-P2R Canon EOS 50D Giza Pyramids Cairo Egypt - Travel"></a>

 

[jim_khoo]

i quite like the 12mm for wide scene and the 12-42mm for buildings

botanical garden
Putrajaya, Malaysia

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putra mosque
Putrajaya, Malaysia

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