💡 Today we are going to talk about objectives ideal for landscape photographyif you are looking for tips and tricks to achieve impressive landscapes, do not miss this mega guide that we have prepared for you on the blog.
No one is indifferent to the greatness of a beautiful landscape. Nature is capable of giving us the most impressive views that we can imagine. When you think you have seen the most beautiful landscapes in the world, you suddenly travel to another place or find an impressive photograph and realize that there are still more wonderful landscapes. When you find one of these places, you can’t do anything but shoot compulsively to “steal” that scene and take it home forever, because of course, staying there is not possible, because if you could you would, but since you can’t and In addition, you love photography, because you shoot with your camera to take it as a souvenir.
What happens is that sometimes you come home and you are disappointed because you have not managed to capture all the beauty. This occurs mainly because there are many factors on the site that enhance the view, the aroma of the sea or the desert, the colors of nature (there is no camera that can surpass them), the breeze, the touch of the flowers, the feeling of space… come on, the contact with nature that catches us so much. All these elements cannot be put in your digital box, it is impossible. However, you can counter with two items. You and the lens of your camera or the lens of your camera and you. The order does not matter to me because both elements are equally important.
You
Your work to capture the immensity and beauty of a landscape is unquestionable, we have already commented countless times that photography is not done by the team, but by the photographer.
Lenses for landscape photography
The objective when photographing a landscape can help you achieve better images as long as you work in symbiosis. You feed the lens and the lens feeds you, its benefits are only possible if you know how to take advantage of it and your photographic eye will achieve the best performance if you have a suitable lens for landscapes.
Characteristics of lenses for landscape photography
What matters in a lens when shooting landscapes?
Size and weight
The first thing is your health, so I do not recommend that you carry a super heavy equipment when discovering landscapes. Normally you have to take long walks to find the most spectacular places (don’t you think you’ll find them on the roadside?) and carrying heavy equipment is a major hassle. The same when you arrive, the only thing you want is to return home 🙁 . Total drama.
Focal distance
here comes the crux of the question. This aspect is fundamental when photographing landscapes, since the part of the scene that can fit into your frame will depend on the focal length of the lenses and, therefore, what type of landscape you will be able to photograph.
Want to capture a landscape in all its expansive glory? Do you take several shots to mount a panorama? Or do you like to capture the scale and photograph a huge mountain with a small silhouette of contrast?
Each focal length (represented in hmm) offers you a photographic experience. So that you know what we are talking about, here is everything you need to know about the focal length of your lens. Unmissable if you don’t know what we’re talking about, although with this graph you’re going to get an idea.
Anyway, let’s make a brief summary, below example images.
- Fisheye: With this type of lens you can capture very distorted landscapes. The appearance of the resulting images is very characteristic and spherical. It is to make a very specific type of photo.
- Wide Angle – These are preferred by most landscape photographers looking to capture a wide portion of the scene. They distort on very close elements and on the edges, but not nearly as fisheye.
- Standard: with an intermediate viewing angle, in terms of optical distortions they are the most similar to human vision. They are also the most versatile focal lengths because they are all-terrain, adapting to practically any type of photographic discipline. If you only have or can have one quality lens, we will always recommend the king of lenses.
- Telephoto lenses: Short telephoto and telephoto lenses are highly recommended for portrait photography, but can also give you a great landscape photography experience if you like to compact shots, blur backgrounds, convey scale, or shoot from afar.
- Super telephoto lenses: not that they are the most suitable lenses for landscape photography, except that what you are looking for is another co-star. That is to say, if you want a supermoon that occupies a large portion of your landscape, these are the lenses that you should use (preferably from 400mm).
Better let’s see all this with visual examples:
12mm 50mm 75mm 135mm 600mm
Opening
The larger the maximum aperture of the lens, the more light can enter. This can be seen in the “f” number of the lens. The lower the number that accompanies the objective, the greater amount of light it allows to enter, it is said that it is more luminous. This aspect, which is crucial in other types of photography, may not be so here. On the one hand, because it serves to blur the background and in landscapes, a focused background is more interesting and because you will not need a particularly bright lens, since you will be outdoors and almost certainly using a tripod.
But on the other hand, the larger the maximum aperture, the better options when photographing night landscapes.
The larger the aperture in a lens, the higher its price, so you should assess whether you want versatility or you are only going to use it for landscapes and prefer to pay less.
Distortion
Wide angles always distort. Some more than others, but they all do. The ultra wide angles or also called fisheye are the ones that distort the most. Now, distortion is not something you should be obsessed with, and even more so if you are not a professional. On the one hand, because it supposes a creative effect that is sometimes sought after and even modified to exaggerate it even more. On the other hand because it can be corrected with editors.
Keep in mind that the more angular, the more distortion. It all depends on the effect you are looking for.
Exaggerated distortion as a creative effect
fixed focus either variable
The optics can be fixed or variable focal length. The former have a fixed focal length, as their name suggests, and they don’t allow you to zoom, so if you want to cover more or less of the stage, you’ll have to be the one to move. Advantages: higher image quality and better price with the same maximum aperture. Disadvantages: very little versatility.
On the other hand, variable lenses are much more versatile as they allow you greater flexibility when playing with the scene, including a greater or lesser field of view as you are interested. The drawback is that they are usually more expensive and the quality of the optics decreases. The latter is not as obvious as it may seem, so it should not become an insurmountable obstacle 😉 and even less so if you are not a professional landscape photographer.
With all that said, I’m going to give you some recommended lenses to capture the beauty of a landscape (or many 😉 ). Let’s start from the basis that the most sought after for this type of photography are the wide angle.
Recommended lenses for landscape photography with an SLR camera
- Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5: It does not have an image stabilizer, but you will not need it either at a wide angle and using a tripod (which will be most likely). With fast and quiet focusing, it’s excellent value for money and perfect for landscapes. You can find it for about 400 euros if it is for Sigma or for about 300 euros depending on whether it is for Canon or for Nikon.
Landscape captured with the Sigma 10-20mm f/3-5 lens
- Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5: With the same focal length as the previous one and a little more money (approximately 600 euros) you have an original Canon. It has a very fast focus and the results are amazing.
- Nikon AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G: Very good lens, with smooth and silent autofocus, and great sharpness. It does not have an image stabilizer, but this is not its biggest drawback, but the price, which in this case exceeds €1,080.00 so it may be interesting to consider the option of the Sigma 10-20 mm if the budget is tight.
- Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4: This lens is highly valued by users. The difference with its Nikon analog in terms of price is very considerable (the Nikon lens triples the price), however, in terms of performance it is not so much. Obviously the Nikon is much better in terms of sharpness, distortion… but if your thing with photography is more a hobby than a profession, you don’t need to spend so much because you won’t notice the difference as much.
Long exposure landscape photography with Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4
Full Frame SLR camera lenses for landscape photography
The lenses that are used for Full Frame cameras are also valid for cameras that are not, so, unlike the previous ones, the following lenses would be valid for all types of cameras.
- Sigma 12-24mm f/4: Sturdy and well built, this wide angle from Sigma of the Art series deserves to be considered. With a maximum aperture of f/4 throughout its focal range, it offers very good luminosity, minimal aberrations and a lot of sharpness. In addition, it is protected from dust and splashes. Also available for Canon and Nikon.
- Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM: From the L-series (Canon’s high-end) we have this super bright and versatile lens. If, in addition to landscape photography, you are passionate about portrait or family photography, it is undoubtedly an excellent bet. Protected against dust and humidity, it is the most off-road objective, although it is also quite expensive.
- Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS II USM:Also from the L series, we have this one with image stabilizer, very fast focus, light, bright and with professional results. Very versatile. For Canon, the most recommended if you do not reach the previous one in terms of price.
- Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G: for Nikon users, probably the most desired, for its clarity and contrast. A professional lens at a price for “professionals”, but if you can and want to spend almost 2,000 euros… go ahead! I look forward to your photos in the forum!
Night landscape with Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G lens
- Tamron 10-24 f/3.5-4.5, Di II VC HLD: Economy, with stabilizer, sealed, anti-reflective coating, for Canon and Nikon.
Recommended lenses for landscape photography with mirrorless cameras
If you have a camera…