Lens Choices For Landscape Photography

“ The foreground subject draws the eye into the image and then leads it to the background.”

The lenses we choose range from 10.5mm to 300mm. Our favorite lenses would of course depend on the kind of pictures being taken.

Super Wide Angle

For grand landscapes, focal lengths from 14mm to 28mm are typical for full frame, and 10mm to 18 for crop sensor cameras. In the grand landscape style of shooting composing the picture consist of using two main subjects, the background and the foreground. The foreground subject draws the eye into the image and then leads it to the background. The rule of thumb is the wider the angle of the lens the closer the camera should be to the foreground subject. The foreground in the picture often dominates the background, becoming the main subject in the picture.

For example with a 20mm lens set at f11 and a focused distance of three feet, everything in the photo from 2.0 feet to the horizon will be in focus. The emphasis will be on the foreground, as the wide angle perspective will make the foreground disproportionately large relative to the background, the wider the angle of the lens, the greater the effect. For the image to the left of the orange rocks and the tree, the 20mm lens would have rendered the tree to small to balance in the photo. A slightly less wide 24mm lens was used to balance the tree and the rocks in the image.

The wide-angle perspective gives depth, a three-dimensional look, to a two-dimensional photograph. This depth gives the viewer the impression they could walk into the photo. Lowering the height of the camera emphasizes the feeling of depth. In the photo the camera height was only 18 inches, the orange rocks photo, 12 inches above the ground.

The grand landscape utilizing superwide lenses is our favorite style. It is a little difficult to achive however because  of it requiring a strong foreground subject. My wife Tammy and I are often photographing in the same spot, of the same main background subject. We are very competitive always trying to get the better image. We know that whoever composes with the best foreground subject will have the strongest image.

Moderate Wide Angles to Normal

The moderate wide angle to normal focal lengths of 28mm-70 for full frame, and 18-55mm for crop sensor cameras are useful when the subject emphasis in the scene is on the background. A foreground element can be used but it will not dominate the photo. Photos taken with a moderate wide angle have a natural look and feel to them.

 

 

14-24 mm nikkor

10.5mm nikkor

24-70 nikkor

Short Telephotos

For vignettes and close ups the short telephoto range, 85mm to 200, are our favorites. We use them to isolate a subject from the background. White overcast skies do not look good in photos. By using a short telephoto the sky need not be included.

 

Long Telephotos

Long telephotos 200mm and longer need not be left at home, they too have their place in landscape photography. With their depth compression and narrow angle of view they can isolate and showcase the subject of your choice.

 

Currently we are using two cameras, a full frame(FX) Nikon D700 and a crop sensor (DX) Nikon D200. Primarily we photograph nature and landscape subjects we choose our lenses trying to meet the following criteria:

The lens should be sharp edge to edge, corner to corner. Foreground corners are very important. They don’t necessarily have to be as sharp as the center but they must be sharp enough as to not call attention to themselves.

The ability to maximize depth of field by using apertures of F11 and F16, (and F22 on full frame), while maintaining satisfactory sharpness, is important to us. Lenses are sharpest in their middle apertures, around f 8.0, and have declining sharpness as the lens is stopped down. So as a lens is stopped down to increase depth of field, the overall sharpness declines. Many of our images are shot at f11, f13, and f16, and occasionally f22 is required. Image quality at these f-stops is more important to us than than how a lens performs wide open.

Linear distortion is not an issue as long as it can be easily corrected in software. Adobe Lightroom is our first choice of raw converters and has that ability with its lens correction function. The lens correction function is new to version 3. Check with Adobe to see if your lens is supported.

The Lenses We Use

The lenses we use range from 10.5mm to 300mm. Our favorite lenses would of course depend on the kind of pictures being taken.

For many years we have used prime lenses. They are for the most part sharp, fast and compact. Now days we are shooting mostly with zooms. Using zooms we spend less time changing lenses and more time getting the shot right.

For the D200 our primary lens is the Nikon 16-85. We like shooting wide and the extra reach on the bottom end makes it equivalent to 24mm on full frame. We find the range of this lens is just about perfect for the photography we do in New England. However when we are out west in the Zion, Bryce, and Arches areas, a super wide is added. Both the Tokina 11-16 and the Nikon 12-24 are excellent. Our choice is the Nikon 12-24 because it has a lens profile in Lightroom available. Also in the bag with the D200 is a Nikon 70-300 and just for fun, the Nikon 10.5 fisheye.

For the D700 our primary lens is the Nikon 24-70 f2.8. This lens has replaced a bag full of primes. Some of the primes might be a little sharper in the middle of the frame, but for edge to edge overall image quality the Nikon 24-70 wins with better color, microcontrast and detail throughout the frame. For the superwide we choose the Nikon 16-35, it has a more extended zoom range than the Nikon 14-24, meaning less time spent changing lenses and it allows use of neutral density and polarizing filters. On the telephoto side we use a Nikon 180 f2.8. Its superb optics and compact size make it a good traveling companion.

Conclusion

So what is the best lens for landscape photography? It depends on the subject and your vision.

My preferred style of composition is the grand landscape, so normal to superwide lenses are appropriate. My wife Tammy has an eye for the details in nature, she refers to as” intimate landscapes”. For this style she uses the telephoto range lenses. Your style may dictate completely different choices. Whatever lens you have and use is the best lens. Explore the possibilities of what you already own. After determining what you can’t do with your current lenses you will have an idea of what your next lens should be.

 

Mike and Tammy Rice

180mm nikkor

300mm nikkor