Wide-Angle Lenses
On this month’s Gear Podcast, we take a look at wide-aperture, wide-angle lenses. With our guest, Neil Gershman, a lens expert from the B&H SuperStore, we touch upon the history of wide-angle lenses, their design and general applications, and then we discuss some pros and cons of wide-angle lenses with maximum apertures wider than f/2. Given the market demand and the technical capability, lens manufacturers have been introducing wide-angle prime and even zoom lenses with maximum apertures designed for better performance in low light and
Close-ups taken with wider-angle lenses also expose subtle detail, but by framing your subject in its surroundings, you also create a narrative to go along with the visual detail. “Normal” macro photographs expose detail, ultra-wide-angle close-ups tell stories.
Macro photography is fascinating in the way it enables us to focus on the kind of subtle details we seldom notice otherwise. Sometimes the most mundane subjects can become fascinating when viewed at life size or greater.
Photographs © Allan Weitz
In the following video, Larry Becker presents three recently introduced Rokinon wide-angle prime lenses, and covers their manual focus designs, compatibility with a wide array of camera types and mounts, and highlights each of the lens's specific attributes. Beginning with the 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS, Becker showcases the Canon EF-mount version of this lens and describes its optical design, nano-crystal coating, and overall rendering performance. From here, the Micro Four Thirds mount of the 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS lens is examined, and its fast
Wide-angle lenses often add depth and drama to landscapes, architectural photographs, still-life, and other genres of photography. When employed judiciously, these lenses make a great addition to the kits of sports, adventure, and wildlife photographers, and are also an important option for portraitists who wish to include an environmental context. For the casual photographer, they are indispensable when shooting groups, such as friends gathered around a table. The wide-angle view can often provide a very short focus distance, allowing the