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Photography Question 

Tracy A. Emerson
 

LENES


I WOULD LIKE A DECENT LENES FOR MY REBEL 6.3 FOR LANDSCAPE, I HAVE A SIGMA 28-80 1:3.5-5.6 MACRO,AND WOULD LIKE A GOOD PRICE MAYBE LESS THAN $300.00, IS THAT POSSIBLE? ANY TIPS ON ANY GOOD ONES..ALSO WOULD LIKE MORE ZOOM. HAVE THE SIGMA 70-300 1:4-5.6 DL MACRO SUPER. I KNOW OF THE 2X CONVERTERS OR SHOULD I JUST GET A BETTER LENES...HOW ABOUT MIRROR ZOOMS..ARE THEY ANYGOOD? THANKS FOR THE HELP..


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November 25, 2005

 

robert G. Fately
  Hi, Tracy,

Well, firstly, while there's not an official "lens for landscapes" per se, most folks like to use the wider angle lenses to capture the whole scene, as it were. Also, in order to maximize depth of field, most landscapers like to use slower apertures to get the entire scene in focus as well. So your standard zoom at the 28-ish MM sie might be fine. Of course, just because those are the typical thoughts in regard to landscapes certainly does not mean you need to follow them - the entire point of this photography stuff is to be creative, right?

Anyway, since the lens you have is probably sufficient, you should instead think about getting a tripod. SInce those slower apertures and the lower ISO setting you'll want to use imply using a slow shutter speed, a tripod is needed to hold the camera steady.

SOme will say that you need to get a sharper prime lens (that is, one that is only one focal length rather than a "zoom" - and while it's true that most primes outperform most zooms optically, that improved quality is lost when the camera is hand held. So getting yourself a sturdy tripod is probably the best thing to do, for starters.

The 70-300 is a telephoto zoom, and again, while there's no rule about this, telephoto lenses are not used as often for landscape work - their angle of view is just too narrow to capture the entire breathtaking scene.

And mirror lenses have their place - understand that these are also prime lenses, not zooms. A "zoom" lens is one with multiple focal lengths, so both your 28-80 and your 70-300 are zooms. A telephoto is a lens with a focal length longer than what's "normal" for the type of camera - so for your camera anything longer than a 50MM lens is really a telephoto.

Mirror (so-called catadioptric) lenses are all telephotos - the mirror part is just a way of avoiding some physical weight and length. There are other differences, but none are pertinant to this discussion.

So, to recap: you probably want to use a wide angle lens for landscape shooting, and your current 28-80 is no doubt quite acceptable for the moment. It would be far better for you to get a tripod and perfect your technique and your eye - if one day you find that the optical flaws in the lens you have is limiting your ability to get sharp poster-sized prints or something, then consider a prime lens.


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November 25, 2005

 

Tracy A. Emerson
  thanks bob for the imput. I have a tripod and use it almost always. any help on what prime lenses, on a budget of course..but will be selling my canon elan 7e to help raise the money.


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November 26, 2005

 

robert G. Fately
  Well, since I have Nikon gear, I cannot really comment on specific lenses for your Canon camera. Obviously, a lot depends on what kind of shots you will find your self taking - do you like the effect of a super-wide angle lens in terms of the perspective distortion that canbe seen when something near the lens (like a flower) looms large while the cliffs in the background are still sharp? Then maybe something like a 20MM or shorter lens is worth investigating.

Since landscapes typically don't require fast focusing efforts, you might be able to find a used manual-focus lens (assuming your camera can use one). While eBay is an obvious place to look, some mail-order camera retailers like B&H Photo and KEH Camera have wide selections of used gear, and apply a rating so you can get a sense of how abused (or not) a given unit is.

While there are certainly exceptions, as a general rule lenses offered by the "name brand" manufacturers are usually of higher quality, both optical and mechnical, than the brands that make adapted versions for a number of brands. WHich is not to say that Sigma, Tokina or a couple of others make bad gear (I have a few myself) - it's just a matter of the particular lens in question.

For example, as a "wide angle-type-o'-guy" I have Sigma's 12-24mm zoom lens. For me it's lots of fun, optically it's pretty good, and since it covers the full 35MM frame (unlike the Nikon version, with is for their digital SLRs only and vignettes towawrds the edges) I often use it on my film body.

I think that the lens has less to do with great landscape photography than does the photographer's eye and patience, though. If you can previsulaize a scene, and then wait for the clouds/sun/moon/stars/whatever to be in just the right spot, then yous shots will no doubt be better regardless of the particular lens you use .


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November 26, 2005

 

Tracy A. Emerson
  thanks for the help bob


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November 27, 2005

 
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