So what's a good subject for this lens. Well, looking through my collection again, I see that about 20% of my photographs belong to the landscape genre and about the same belong to the architecture genre. Two very good uses for such a lens. Here are some more examples from my collection.
The most obvious use for a wide angle lens is, to wind it back and get more into an image. Just like I did here. With such a wide lens there's no need to stop down to f/22 to get everything in sharp focus. At 10mm and f/7.1, the hyperfocal distance is only 75cm away.
The Thar Desert, Rajasthan - India
Canon Kiss Digital X with a Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM at 16mm EFL. Exposure Trio: 1/125s, f/7.1 & ISO 100.
Another great use for such a wide lens is to get real close to a foreground subject and still have a vast depth of field. This also greatly exaggerates the relative size of foreground and background objects giving a sense of z-axis movement, a feeling that we could walk into the image. Here, the foreground rocks are about half a meter tall and the waterfall in the background is over 50m high.
Aiku Otaki Waterfall, Miyagi - Japan
Canon Kiss Digital X with a Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM at 22mm EFL and 3 stop ND filter on a tripod. Exposure Trio: 2.5s, f/11 & ISO 100.
Another advantage for a wide angle lens is the relatively slow hand-holdable shutter speed. With an EFL of 16mm, the general rule is 1/16s. With a little extra ISO, this often makes a tripod redundant, even after the sun goes down. I quite like it for doing hand-held street photography. Especially after it rains, when the streets are much more reflective and colourful.
Wet Streets, Kagoshima - Japan
Canon Kiss Digital X with a Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM at 16mm EFL. Exposure Trio: 1/15s, f/3.5 & ISO 800.
Now most zoom lenses are not without their faults. It's got some barrel distortion at the wide end and some pin cushion at the long end. However there's a sweet spot somewhere in the middle where there's almost no distortion. For this lens that's at 17mm or 28mm EFL. A nice focal length for architecture. And if you have the space to step back and don't mind cropping, you can get the effect of a tilt-shift lens for free. Just keep the camera level (not up or down) and all your architectural lines will turn out straight like they're supposed to be.
St John's Church from Kyoto at Meiji-Mura (Architectural Museum), Inuyama - Japan.
Canon Kiss Digital X with a Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM at 28mm EFL. Exposure Trio: 1/80s, f/6.3 & ISO 100.
Zoom all the way in for 35mm EFL and get a nice focal length for environmental portraits. In this case my subject was an old cart, slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding vegetation.
Old Cart, Chiran - Japan
Canon Kiss Digital X with a Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM at 35mm EFL. Exposure Trio: 1/200s, f/4.5 & ISO 200.
That's certainly not all this lens is capable of. There are as many uses for this lens as there are owners of this lens. These are just a few ways that I put this lens to good use.
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, awesome work as always.
I had no idea that the hyperfocal point was only 75cm away at f/7.1. I'll have to give that a try.
I really like your Aiku Otaki Waterfall. It's inspiring me to pick up my 10-22 and try it out making use of the hyperfocal point and see how I go.
Thanks for your tip about keeping the camera level and stand back a bit to make sure the buildings line up straight, rather than using a tilt and shift lens.
Now for some questions.
* Is the photo of the Thar Desert a single image or is this a stitched panorama?
* Did you have to setup in the water to get your Aiku Otaki Waterfall photo?
* Do you keep a cheat sheet of the various hyperfocal lens with you while out taking photos and if so, did you make it yourself or is there is link to the on you use?
I've got an iPod app called F-Stop which does this very well, but I never end up taking my iPod with me as its another item to carry and loose.
Again, you've done a very good post and I'm looking forward to trying out some of the tips you have included.
Cheers!
Craig.
Hi Craig,
ReplyDeleteThe Thar Desert shot is a single image. Stitching takes more time and sometimes leaves artefacts in the image. I'd much rather capture the whole image in one frame and crop it later. This is a 3:1 crop so I'm loosing half the image's height. Even so it's still too big for the Internet.
Interesting story about the Aiku Otaki Falls photo. I was knee deep in the river for about 2-3 hours taking different shots of the waterfall and moss covered rocks. I was using my wife's camera and she was paranoid that I would slip and drop it. While she was sitting on dry land using my camera, and somehow managed to drop it into the river. It didn't survive.
I don't do anything special with hyperfocal distances. I've memorised a few common camera focal lengths that I use for vast scenic landscapes. I carry a book with a few more written down but rarely consult it before the shot. I also have spreadsheets created for different focal lengths so I can graph the relationships and get a general feel for how they work. If I'm after a specific value, I look it up on DOF Master at: http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
I wouldn't carry an ipod either but if I had a smart phone, I'd get an app or create one and use it. I'd like something that shows the relationship as a curve on a graph, rather than a set of finite numbers like DOF master does. It's on my to-do list. But it's a long list.
steve
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteThat is a funny but sad story about your camera going in the drink. At least it meant you could upgrade without your wife thinking you were wasting money :P
So when you were taking photos in the stream, did you set your tripod up in the water as well? That particular shot has an exposure time of 2.5s so you must have tripod mounted that. If you did setup in the water, how do you keep the dirt/mud out of your tripod? I have never pulled the plastic feet of my tripod to see if it was sealed or not.
Regards
Craig.
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteYour Aiku Otaki Waterfall image has inspired me to look up some places around my area that have water falls to take some photos of.
The next problem is that they all require a long drive and a long hike to get to. I've never had to carry my tripod very far before and I was curious about how you do it while hiking.
Do you use a special bag and strap it on there, or maybe a regular hiking backpack that you have a way to strap it on to, or do you just carry it in your hands the hole time?
My tripod isn't all that light so after a couple of hours walking, I'm guessing it will feel like it is about 300kg.
How do you get around this problem?
Regards
Craig.
Hi Craig,
ReplyDeleteThe camera than went swimming already had some sensor damage from a previous water incident but she wouldn't let me replace it because it still “looked” new, even though all the images it took were very blurry over about half the frame. After she dropped it, I got the green light though. I bought her an Olympus waterproof and shockproof camera too. It's still going today.
As for the tripod. I had it in the river and didn't really think much more about it. It's carbon fibre and rubber with a couple of stainless steel fitting so not much to worry about. I wash any dirt off it in the river before I go home, but that's about it.
When I go hiking I strap the tripod, naked to the back of my pack. Either in a tripod holder like those on Lowepro camera packs or if I'm doing multi-day hiking, I'll use the side compression straps of the backpack. If I'm moving a short distance I usually throw the lens and tripod over the shoulder and move on or I might take the camera off the tripod and slot one leg down the back of one of the shoulder straps. It's a little uncomfortable but I don't have to take the pack off, so for short distances, it's OK.
Since I'm into high altitude mountaineering, carrying camera equipment at sea level is relatively easy for me. Having said that, I do go a bit out of my way to make sure that what I carry is multi functional and as light as money can buy. For me a few hundred dollars to save a few hundred grams, is a good investment.
steve