Wide angle SLR lenses · AditNow Community

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simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration Topic Starter

16 years ago

Vanoord's thread on purple fringing reminded me I was meaning to ask...

Does anybody on here have any experience of very wide angle lenses on DSLRs for underground use?

I'm trying to decide between 20mm and 24mm (ok, not much of a difference there) but common sense says barrelling and corner bending will increase the wider angle you go, as will soft focus, but any feedback on how marked this will become would be much apprecaited.

Obviously the effect will vary depending on the quality of the lens. But I'm tending towards the wider angle because a wee bit more barrelling is going to be very hard to spot on an average u/g photo and there are so many times when you've got your back right up against a chamber wall and just can't quite manage to fit everything you wanted in the shot...

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

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Gwyn
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

For what camera, Simon?
I assume that the 20 - 24mm you mention is the 35mm equivalent. You'll find there is quite a difference between 20mm and 24mm, including the price, especially if it's a zoom and not a primary lens. You might consider going even wider, say 16-18mm, so that the lens is not being used at its extremity when it is most likely to give the most distortion.
Don't forget the cost of filters, if they can be fitted!

Vanoord
54.4% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

I had one whisky too many yesterday evening and ordered a Sigma 10-20mm lens for my D80: it won't be going underground, but it may well be handy for some surface pics 🙂

Hello again darkness, my old friend...

toadstone
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

Simon you may well have considered using conversion lenses and dismissed them if you are going down the DSLR route, I'm assuming you will be using an interchangeable system. But they are quite good and having used them u/g myself they are an economic alternative. I'll bring some along in weeks time. If there is enough interest wouldn't mind doing a couple of 360 spins with the fish eye.

I've also mentioned the stitching technique before which seems not to be in favour amongst the purists. But as I've always said so long as a photo is not made out to be something it isn't I see no harm in using such techniques when very expensive lenses are financially prohibitive.

🔗Ecton-Deep-Copper-Mine-User-Album-Image-009[linkphoto]Ecton-Deep-Copper-Mine-User-Album-Image-009[/linkphoto][/link]

grahami
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

Stitching is usually easier the longer focal length the lens because the distortion at the sides is less - trying to stitch wide angle shots I found to be an impossible task - but then that was in the days of film 😉

Grahami

The map is the territory - especially in chain scale.

pacef8
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

If it helps i took my nikon 10mm fisheye down Hendre the other week
This was with my d200.
worked fine although i was paranoid about scrathing the lens as it has no facility to put a uv filter over it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pacef8/sets/72157614308387898/
sorry if you dont have a flickr accound put i can put one up from the set if your interested.

i usually use a tokina 12-24 underground and this is so easy to use in manual mode.

hope that helps

pace

i still get condensation occasionally but just wait and it usually goes.

Manicminer
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

I use a Sigma 10mm-20mm with my Nikon. The Nikon has a crop factor of 1.5 so the lens is 15mm- 30mm in real terms.
It has slight flaws on the widest setting sometimes, but is ok from 14mm upwards (21mm in real terms).

Maybe barreling etc is more obvious on full frame cameras.

Gold is where you find it

Brakeman
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

"pacef8" wrote:
If it helps i took my nikon 10mm fisheye down Hendre the other week
This was with my d200.
worked fine although i was paranoid about scrathing the lens as it has no facility to put a uv filter over it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pacef8/sets/72157614308387898/

sorry if you dont have a flickr accound put i can put one up from the set if your interested.

i usually use a tokina 12-24 underground and this is so easy to use in manual mode.

hope that helps

pace

i still get condensation occasionally but just wait and it usually goes.

Tried the link, but it comes up as private, I think you will need to change the permission settings, to everybody.

The management thanks you for your co operation.

Vanoord
54.4% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

"Manicminer" wrote:
I use a Sigma 10mm-20mm with my Nikon. The Nikon has a crop factor of 1.5 so the lens is 15mm- 30mm in real terms.
It has slight flaws on the widest setting sometimes, but is ok from 14mm upwards (21mm in real terms).

Maybe barreling etc is more obvious on full frame cameras.

Cheers for that :)

Which Nikon are you using?

I did a bit of research about the various lenses and the Sigma has had a few decent reviews - it's also about half the price of the Nikon equivalent!

Hello again darkness, my old friend...

Barney
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#10

"pacef8" wrote:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pacef8/sets/72157614308387898/
sorry if you dont have a flickr accound put i can put one up from the set if your interested.

Hey Pace, the set of photo's is 'friends and family only' Great photo's though :flowers:

christwigg
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#11

I've taken a lot of photos with a fully manual screw-fit 16mm Zenitar-M on an adapter on my Canon EOS 350D

They used to be about £70 a couple of years ago, but seem to have gone up an awful lot now (poor exchange rate I guess)

I'm no photography expert, but have always found it very easy to setup and the results fine for my purposes.

If you want an idea of the results, all the photos in these two sets were taken with it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11065676@N00/sets/72157607084599880/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11065676@N00/sets/72157605320428736/

Those are actually photos of a couple of mines that don't get on here or Mine Explorer due to "sensitivity"

Manicminer
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#12

I bought a D40x 14 months ago. It's a model they brought out as a stop-gap before they brought out the D60. It's taken me nearly a year to learn about f stops,exposure, etc. Quite a shock stepping up from a point and shoot.

Taken at 10mm or 15mm in real terms

Same as above

Gold is where you find it

Manicminer
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#13

^^
A third of the width of the above photos are missing on my monitor on this website

Gold is where you find it

simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration Topic Starter

16 years ago

#14

Thanks for all the input on this everybody :flowers:

Taking on board everybody's comments about barelling at the various focal length, and Gwyn's comments about visible difference at 20mm as opposed to 24mm I have taken the plunge and opted for a 20mm...

It's going to be some time, and some practice, before I admit to any results and upload anything I fear :lol:

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

rikj
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#15

"pacef8" wrote:

i usually use a tokina 12-24 underground and this is so easy to use in manual mode.

I second the vote for the Tokina 12-24mm. Not for nothing are they called Tankinas. Only available in Canon and Nikon mounts though.

The difference between 10 and 12mm is quite noticeable. But the extra width gained with the Sigma comes with quite a degree of distortion. It gives a distinctive look to the shots, which is why it's a popular lens I guess.

Tokina has a newer 11-16mm (I think), good reviews, but don't know anyone with one.

Manicminer
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#16

I have resized the photos above.

All taken at 10mm

Gold is where you find it

simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration Topic Starter

16 years ago

#17

Thanks Manic. There's nothing in there that begins to hint at visible distortion (to me).

I think it would be a different matter if we were doing architectural photography where there are lots of straights and parallels, but I'm glad I went for the wider angle lens now.

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration Topic Starter

16 years ago

#18

"pacef8" wrote:
sorry if you dont have a flickr accound put i can put one up from the set if your interested.

Hi pace

If you wouldn't mind uploading one or two that would be great, thanks. Would be good to see the results you get with the body and lens combo.

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

pacef8
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#19

i have made the hendre trip public now so anyone can see it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pacef8/sets/72157614308387898/

10mm fisheye on a nikon d200 to recap

guess who's birthday we celebrated down there ?

snap
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#20

Underground I'm usually not too bothered about barrel distortion. It tends to show more if your image has lots of straight edges, e.g. buildings, factory pipework, etc.