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Archive 2017 · Legacy Architecture Lens?

  
 
paulojuarez
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Legacy Architecture Lens?


Hi all,

I'm looking for a wide angle (Sony or legacy) lens, to be used primarily for architecture, something with minimal distortion. I own a couple 50mm, as well as a 35-70mm, but I need something wider to capture more of the interior. Any suggestions? I use a Sony A6000.

Thanks!



Apr 27, 2017 at 11:00 PM
Gunzorro
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Legacy Architecture Lens?


If you rule out lenses with strong field curvature, and/or noticeable distortion (barrel/pincushion/moustache), there aren't really any "legacy" wide angle lenses that I could recommend, at least not at affordable prices.

The closest at reasonable cost is the Canon FD 35 TS, but at 35mm it's not really "wide angle" for architecture.

If you aren't too picky about mild distortion or vignetting, the Canon FD 20/2.8 is not too bad, but it's not great for buildings. I used it along with Canon's FD 20-35L and FD 35 TS as my support camera to my 4x5 for shooting architecture in the mid80s to mid-90s. But these were mostly secondary shots, or for clients that didn't have the budget for 4x5. (The FD 17/4 is not nearly as good as the FD 20/2.8)

You would probably want something between 17-24mm, and there was just not anything in that range in fully manual lenses at an affordable/reasonable price (which is what I assume you mean by "legacy" -- manual focus and manual diaphragm). If you have big bucks to spend, you might look for legacy lenses from some of the top brands like Leica, Zeiss, Schneider, Rodenstock.

I would advise at least coming into the electronic era with Canon's first EOS 24mm TS-E lens. Not too costly (around $600) and still takes pretty nice pictures (I didn't upgrade until years after the v. II came out, still taking great architectural shots).

The Nikon 28mm PC is not a good choice as it has pincushion distortion and strongly curved field (as do most Nikon retro-focus designs).

Olympus was one of the last great manual attempts with their tilt/shift 24mm, which was ground-breakingly wide at the time of release in early 90s.

The original Canon 24 TSE surpasses both these lenses in mechanical design and image quality.

Samyang introduced a cheap 24 TS lens a couple years ago, but it is poorly made and has mediocre optics. Still, they can sometimes be found for nearly $400. This lens is all manual, with no electronic linkage or exif data. I'd say this is a decent second choice to the original Canon.

I won't even suggest the Canon 24 TSE II or 17 TSE -- probably far too expensive for what you are looking for!

I know you might be wanting a normal wide angle prime lens, but it's very hard to find one that's not designed for architectural use that has a flat field and low distortion. It's a common problem with wide angle designs, legacy or modern.

Good luck on your hunt!

Perhaps you could clarify your needs and budget more clearly?



Apr 28, 2017 at 12:45 PM
Princeps
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Legacy Architecture Lens?


Agree you're not going to find anything legacy that will retain a wide field of view on an APS-C.

What about the Sony 10-18, Samyang 12? Both can shoot interiors with software distortion correction.



Apr 28, 2017 at 01:18 PM
Gunzorro
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Legacy Architecture Lens?


Sorry! I overlooked that you were looking for APS-C.

No company makes an APS-C wide angle T/S type lens that I'm aware of.

That being the case, I can't even recommend the original Canon EF 24 TS -- since it won't be wide angle of view on the small sensor. You're going to need to go to modern electronic APS-C zooms or ultra-wide angle lenses like Voigtlander 12mm to get the wide effect and clean perspective.

Sorry to throw you off the trail. Perhaps others will be more knowledgeable on the various APS-C lenses that might be good.



Apr 28, 2017 at 01:28 PM
thrice
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Legacy Architecture Lens?


If you're on aps-c just get a kipon ts nikon (or canon) to sony fe adapter. Then add a nice <=20mm full frame lens.


Apr 28, 2017 at 07:11 PM
notherenow
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Legacy Architecture Lens?


There is the Laowa Venus Optics 15mm f4 macro.

It is a FF lens but on smaller than FF cameras it can also shift a bit.

Never used it and you might want to be careful and look for samples similar to what you want.



Apr 28, 2017 at 09:10 PM
rdeloe
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Legacy Architecture Lens?


The OP mentioned "architecture" but didn't mention whether or not tilting and shifting were necessary -- but I wondered about that too. Seems likely, so your suggestion is a good one.

I'm using Olympus OM lenses to handle tilt/shift on a Fuji X-T2 (so same sensor size as the Sony the OP is using). Shifts of 8mm with good image quality are quite feasible with a lot of the OM lenses (and probably with most good film-era 35mm lenses).

Unfortunately, the image quality of the wider film-era lenses is not up to modern standards. The Olympus OM 21/3.5, which is regarded by many on the forum as an excellent choice, is only "very good". The nice thing is it's not really 21mm (probably closer to 19.5 or 20mm), so on APS-C it's still a "wide-ish" lens. I also tried a Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZF as a shift lens on APS-C. It was terrible. Between the field curvature and the moustache distortion that are characteristic of the lens, it was a mess when shifted; the Olympus was much better shifted.

If tilt isn't something the OP needs, but shift is, then look for a Fotodiox shift adapter. The Canon EF to Fuji X model I used is outstanding -- very smooth and precise. Presumably their other variants are similarly good.

thrice wrote:
If you're on aps-c just get a kipon ts nikon (or canon) to sony fe adapter. Then add a nice <=20mm full frame lens.





Apr 28, 2017 at 09:12 PM
JohnJ
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Legacy Architecture Lens?


A lot of people just use very wide lenses and then perspective correction in software instead of using t/s lenses. I'm not a fan, having had to work this way for a while, but it can be OK.

The Canon 17 TSE might as well be glued to my a7r2 these days. Love it, so I would recommend it to anyone with architecture/interiors in mind. Yes, it's probably one of the most expensive options but it's worth every cent, IMHO.

A good chunk of the recent stuff here (my secret pleasure is Brutalist architecture) is shot with just the 17 TSE on a7r2, and for older images, Canon 17-40 or Sony RX100II and corrected in post where possible.

https://www.instagram.com/brutalistcharm/



Apr 28, 2017 at 09:20 PM
Faulta
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Legacy Architecture Lens?


Just get a samyang 12mm f2 lens, should work just fine since you don't ask for any fancy features. Share to the corners, wide and fast if needed


Apr 29, 2017 at 04:58 AM





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