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Archive 2013 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...

  
 
sb in ak
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


Gregg Heckler wrote:
I" settled on the 16-35"

I wouldn't call this settling. The 18-35 is not in the same league. The 16-35 has VR, fixed F/4, Nano Crystal coating, and is 2mm wider. The 18-35 does look like a nice choice though for those who don't want to spend the dough for the 16-35 or need the extra features.


I have no doubt the 16-35 is the "better" lens, but what is "better" really depend on the person's situation. With the 18-35, you lose a few features but you gain a substantial savings in weight. A lot of landscape photographers hike/backpack to their shooting locations, and the weight savings is somewhat significant with the 18-35. So it's not a question of necessarily saving money or needing the features. It might be saving the back. Several of the features for the 16-35 aren't real crucial for landscapers anyway if they're shooting on a tripod.



Mar 16, 2013 at 01:02 PM
Javier Munoz
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


Why has the best wide lens for landscape been exampled with a basement shot?

Inquiring eyes want to see the lens in its native environment!!!!



Mar 16, 2013 at 01:27 PM
PeaktoPeek
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


sb in ak wrote:
I have no doubt the 16-35 is the "better" lens, but what is "better" really depend on the person's situation. With the 18-35, you lose a few features but you gain a substantial savings in weight. A lot of landscape photographers hike/backpack to their shooting locations, and the weight savings is somewhat significant with the 18-35. So it's not a question of necessarily saving money or needing the features. It might be saving the back. Several of the features for the 16-35 aren't real crucial for landscapers anyway if they're shooting on a tripod.


Exactly -- I shoot 99% of my landscape shots from a tripod and VR is not of any importance to me in these FL's, nor is the constant f/4. Its not like there is much of a difference between f/4 and f/3.5-4.5 anyway. What matters for me is stopped down sharpness, low CA, flare resistance and correctable distortion. Ideally in a lens that is lightweight and will take a screw in filter. If the optical performance of this lens is equal or at least very close to the 16-36 it makes a much more attractive lens to me. Price is actually less of a concern to me, as I have based my lens purchases mainly on what I need. However, I always take into account the value of the lens and that does make a difference in what I would buy. The lenses I was considering along with this new lens offer a fair amount of value along with performance -- but if the "best" lens for my use is a little more cash then its still worth the extra expenditure.
Paul



Mar 16, 2013 at 04:40 PM
davidnholtjr
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


Very nice review and shot. Looks to be a nice lens.

BTW, I loved the shot's in the link. Very nice work.

Where were those taken?


handcoater wrote:
And the winner (for me) is...

Here is what I shoot, so you have an idea of what is most important to me, and possibly to some of you:

http://www.pbase.com/butchwelch/lakelightssky

I spent most of today putting the new Nikon 18-35mm AFS through as many paces as I could. I am most interested in how it performs at f:11 or 16, which is the way I have shot everything that I have used. I am using a D800E and as such no lens is perfect when it come to wide angle focal lengths. Here are the lenses I have owned and used:

Nikon 14-24:
...Show more



Mar 16, 2013 at 05:15 PM
Alan Ness
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


+1 Very nice shots in your link, thanks for sharing those. Well done.

Alan



Mar 16, 2013 at 06:37 PM
handcoater
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


Thank you for the kind words.

I moved from Pasadena, CA to St. Joseph, MI last August. I live 8 blocks from Lake Michigan. St Joseph is on the SE corner of Lake Michigan about 100 miles from Chicago. St. Joseph is a beautiful little art oriented town of 9,000 population. Michigan has more coastline then the east coast of the US as it borders 4 of the 5 Great Lakes. All of my images (so far) were taken along the west coast of Michigan along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. I can drive 5 minutes and for 10 months of the year pretty much have the Lake all to myself. For me, I have found my personal paradise.



Mar 17, 2013 at 05:48 AM
Zichar
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


Well they're very very beautiful, nice work! ... though the icicle-encrusted railings made me shudder thinking about the chill


Mar 17, 2013 at 10:57 AM
PeaktoPeek
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


It appears Moose has his hands on one and he likes it:
http://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/2013/03/14/18-35afs-omg/



Mar 17, 2013 at 11:59 AM
cputeq
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


My copy of the 16-35 wasnt the best either, even on D700 at f11ish. These were extreme edge problems though, easily cropped away for the most part...i just took care not to count on anything staying sharp in the extremes. Anything past maybe 50-100 pixels into the image was pretty good.


Mar 17, 2013 at 12:18 PM
Guari
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


PeaktoPeek wrote:
It appears Moose has his hands on one and he likes it:
http://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/2013/03/14/18-35afs-omg/


Thanks for the link, I think I might go for it in the next few months



Mar 17, 2013 at 12:26 PM
m.sommers00
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


What about a Zeiss 21mm 2.8?


Mar 17, 2013 at 12:49 PM
Mescalamba
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


m.sommers00 wrote:
What about a Zeiss 21mm 2.8?


Good advice, and their 18mm isnt bad either.

Tho maybe el-cheapo 14mm Samyang isnt bad choice, only problem is mandatory PTlens for correction.

Well and there is Zeiss 15/2.8 which I think could be considered as ultimate wide-angle lens..



Mar 17, 2013 at 01:07 PM
PeaktoPeek
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


Those are great suggestions guys -- however having a kit full of Zeiss primes really doesn't solve the weight issue. As good as those lenses are, I wouldn't haul a 15, 18 and 21mm out backpacking. The point of the 18-35 is that its small and light -- and it appears to have very good stopped down performance. But if you are the kind of landscape photographer who pulls up to an overlook and pulls his gear out of the trunk of your BMW, then a whole quiver full of Zeiss primes is definitely the right choice for you.


Mar 17, 2013 at 02:40 PM
m.sommers00
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


Not sure of your age, however there are some amazing camera bags for hiking. I'm eagerly awaiting my F-Stop Tilopa BC! But as a hiker I can also sympathize with the dilemma of weight vs. strain

Edited on Mar 17, 2013 at 03:13 PM · View previous versions



Mar 17, 2013 at 03:06 PM
Hardcore
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


I find it odd how some complain about the weight of the 14-24mm/16-35mm yet still use a DSLR. If your concerned about weight, why not a mirrorless? To each their own I guess. Just doesn't make sense to me. I'm happy with my full frame camera and the 14-24mm.


Mar 17, 2013 at 03:12 PM
PeaktoPeek
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


I haven't found a mirrorless I like and I guess I am a little old fashioned in that I like the VF in SLR cameras -- I did start in the age of film. The D600 is a very compact and relatively light camera for the quality of the images it is capable of, definitely smaller than the Canon I came from. I might be in the minority here, but my "hiking" consists of multi-day backpacking trips into remote mountains where you have to carry along your food and shelter on your back -- so every ounce is important. I once took only ONE lens for an entire week -- hard to imagine, but there was no room for any other gear after loading up with a weeks worth of food. The combo of this new 18-35 and my D600 is going to be perfect for me as a backpacking kit. The 14-24 would be awesome, but frankly the range wouldn't suit me -- I would have to carry at least one other lens and that just adds more weight.


Mar 17, 2013 at 03:40 PM
PeaktoPeek
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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


m.sommers00 wrote:
Not sure of your age, however there are some amazing camera bags for hiking. I'm eagerly awaiting my F-Stop Tilopa BC! But as a hiker I can also sympathize with the dilemma of weight vs. strain

That is definitely a nice bag, I know several people who really like the F-stop bags. Unfortunately they don't fit my 6'6" frame, I ended up with a Clik Elite bag with an adjustable harness for the times I am not staying out overnight. I usually use a toploader clipped to the front of my backpack when I go on multi-night trips and it works great and keeps the camera ready.



Mar 17, 2013 at 03:44 PM
m.sommers00
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p.2 #18 · p.2 #18 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


A little off topic here..

Which Clik bag do you have? Also I'm not sure what you are referring as toploader. Do you have a photo?



Mar 17, 2013 at 03:55 PM
jhinkey
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p.2 #19 · p.2 #19 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


Hardcore wrote:
I find it odd how some complain about the weight of the 14-24mm/16-35mm yet still use a DSLR. If your concerned about weight, why not a mirrorless? To each their own I guess. Just doesn't make sense to me. I'm happy with my full frame camera and the 14-24mm.


This statement makes no sense . . . .



Mar 17, 2013 at 04:08 PM
m.sommers00
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p.2 #20 · p.2 #20 · Best wide landscape lens - the winner is...


Given the topic of the thread, I am curious about what the best lens actually is. With no restraints of cost, weight, size, or AF/MF...what lens is the best with edge-to-edge sharpness, great colors and minimal to no distortion?


Mar 17, 2013 at 04:32 PM
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