Advice/tips on using an ultra wide lens?

[paulhillion]

As you can see from my previous thread I've just purchased the Canon EFS 10-22mm lens. I remember someone wrote here a while back that using a ultra wide lens such as this it is much harder to get good results from then say a standard wide such as the 17-40L, is this correct? In any case I'd appriciate any advice or tips on using such a wide lens. Also if i was wanting to take a series of shots to later stitch together for a panorama what would be the best lens length to use? (not sure if that's the correct term, eg: 20mm).

Many thanks.

[DaShiv]

You probably already know it's important to keep horizons straight, but if you're shooting somewhere with a lot of vertical lines (such as downtown in a city), you'll need to prevent your camera from tilting up or down too much if you want to avoid strongly convergent perspective distortion with your vertical lines.

You'll get quite a bit of perspective distortion on the left and right edges of your frame too, which is not a big deal when shooting interiors or architecture, but a very big deal if you catch people (especially faces) near the edges. :D

The best extreme wide angle compositions IMO are very conscious of foreground/background juxtoposition and also where the subject is placed within the frame. Centered is easiest to handle, but can often become too static; off-centered (especially balancing multiple subjects) often carry a slight touch of perspective distortion to make them more dramatic, but can be hard to control and can become too "wild" very easily, especially if you get too close to the edges. Moving around to change your viewpoint and shooting a lot will be helpful.

Then there's always the "get real close and watching everything stretch away from you" semi-fisheye effect, which can be fun if it's limited to just occasional use. :D

Lastly, it can actually be somewhat difficult stitching a panorama with such a wide FOV to begin with -- depends a lot on the subject. It'll definitely be easier to stitch at 15mm (24mm equiv) than 10mm (16mm equiv), where some subjects will really be taking on that "ultra" wide look.

[12345Michael54321]

I remember someone wrote here a while back that using a ultra wide lens such as this it is much harder to get good results from then say a standard wide such as the 17-40L, is this correct?
There's some truth to it.

The unique capabilities of an ultra-wide (distortion, skewed perspective, extremly wide angle of view, immense depth of field, etc.) can be used very effectively. But like any potent resource, when used without the necessary understanding it can lead to disappointing results.

It's sort of like saying that shooting in RAW format can make it much harder to get good results than when shooting in JPEG format. Or that using manual focus and exposure can make it much harder to get good results than would be the case with auto-focus and auto-exposure. All true, but when these capabilities are used appropriately by someone who knows how to take full advantage of what they offer, they can be quite worthwhile.

In any case I'd appriciate any advice or tips on using such a wide lens.

Well, when you examine the photographs of successful photographers who use ultra-wide angle lenses, what is it you admire about them? Which characteristics do you think would be valuable to you, given the sort of things you photograph? Which characteristics of these lenses do you find displeasing, cliched, etc.?

Copying other people's work is wrong. Even copying another's unique photographic style is a bad idea. But gaining understanding of some aspect of photography from studying how successful photographers use various sorts of equipment, and seeking to master a particular photographic technique which they use effectively is perfectly fair, and a highly recommended means of improving as a photographer. (Most artists in non-photographic fields understand this. Photographers, however, are often reluctant to accept that they can learn from studying the works of the masters, and without sacrificing their own unique vision.)

Also if i was wanting to take a series of shots to later stitch together for a panorama what would be the best lens length to use?
In general, technical problems (edge distortion, varying degrees of exposure and polarization within each frame, etc.) will be minimized if you avoid using ultra-wides for such work. Yes, using something like a 35mm or 50mm lens means you'll have to take more frames than would be the case with a 16mm lens, but if practical to use the longer lenses, you'll often achieve superior final results. (I'll avoid discussion of various other considerations in making panoramas - consistent exposure, white balance, focusing point, etc. - as it would go beyond the scope of your question.)