A wide-angle lens enables you to squeeze more into the frame of your image. Hand in hand with this, it makes objects appear smaller and farther away. A wide-angle lens has an apparent, practical value if you are attempting to photograph a sweeping landscape or if you are taking pictures in confined spaces.
The term “wide-angle” covers a range of focal lengths. On a 35mm film camera, a 35mm lens would be regarded as a modest wide-angle along with a 28mm lens a proper wide-angle. 20mm lenses are “super-wides,” and considerably higher priced.
The common zooms supplied with modern cameras generally have a minimum focal length of 28mm, which is most likely as wide as you may typically have to have to go.
Just as you will discover super-wide fixed focal-length lenses, so you will find wide-angle zooms, which cover similar focal lengths, including 16-40mm on a 35mm camera, or a 10-20mm lens on a digital SLR.
These extreme lenses are generally bulkier and more expensive than normal zooms.
In common with most equipment, wide-angle lenses have each advantages and disadvantages Their most obvious benefit is that they allow you to get a lot more into your picture. They also offer more depth-of-field than lenses of longer focal lengths at a given aperture, making it less complicated to obtain both close-up and distant subjects sharp at the identical time.
Wide-angle lenses are great for architectural photography – especially when there is little room to maneuver. Framing an object inside another provides an awesome sense of depth.
Wide-Angle Perspective
Wide-angle lenses have a profound impact on perspective. This is not due to their inherent optical properties – the explanation is, actually, much simpler. Wide-angle lenses make objects seem smaller, with the result that you move closer to fill the frame. The act of doing this exaggerates the difference in size in between nearby objects and those farther away. In turn, this produces the “keystoning” effect which is normally noticed when tall buildings have been photographed from their base. On the other hand, this exaggeration of perspective can have creative uses, as well. The dramatic size differences in between close and distant objects create a strong feeling of three-dimensional depth and compositional “movement” in images taken in this way.
Having a wide-angle lens at your disposal it can make it possible to create photos from practically nothing. By getting in close and setting a modest aperture of f/16, a photographer is able to use the foreground to lead the eye drastically to the subject within the distance.
Quite a few photographers automatically reach for a wide-angle lens when they come across a view like this – and with reason. Whenever you choose to capture the spirit of a landscape, for the ideal impact you will need the open perspective a wide-angle gives.
Image Distortion
A downside of wide-angle lenses is that they can introduce distortion. This distortion manifests itself in two common ways. One of the most apparent is perspective distortion, in which the walls of tall buildings, by way of example, appear to converge, or objects at the edge with the frame appear to be toppling inward. This undesirable effect is named “converging verticals,” or “keystoning.” It isn’t a fault inside the lens, but merely a reflection of the fact that you have a tendency to stand closer to your subject having a wide-angle lens, and this indicates that you tilt the camera much more to take in tall objects. If feasible, you ought to compose your shots in such a way that the camera can be kept level.
The wide-angle setting of zoom lenses can often trigger an additional unwanted effect known as “barrel distortion” to occur in images at the same time. In this case, the center of the image appears to bulge outward, and straight lines come to be bowed. This is among the compromises inherent in zoom lens design.
Uses For Wide-Angle Lenses
Enormous, sweeping landscapes can only be captured by having a wide-angle lens. With longer focal lengths you will be restricted to selecting out interesting, but limited, particulars.
Domestic interiors can be quite cramped, making photography tricky. A wide-angle lens will make a room appear bigger and enables you to obtain extra people into the shot.
Landmarks and tourist attractions are frequently hemmed in by other buildings, leaving you no room to stand back to take the picture unless you have a wide-angle lens.
The massive differences in size between close and distant objects enable you to generate surreal compositions in which everyday objects take on a monumental and dramatic appearance.
