Canon 18 to 55mm kit lens

  • Thread starter Thread starter RobbieW
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RobbieW

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Hi,

I bought a canon 18-55mm lens when I got my 350D, I have noticed when i take photos of building they appear to tilt inwards towards the outside of the frame, is this because the quality of the lens isn't that good?

If so any suggestions for a replacement?

Thanks

Rob
 
Hi Rob,
That's called barrel distortion.

Have a look at this review of the 18-55mm lens:

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/canon_1855_3556/index.htm

They have a test that clearly shows the barrel distortion.

As for a replacement, it depends... what sort of photography are you doing and how much are you willing to spend? :D
 
Thanks very much for your reply.

I tend to do mainly landscape work, including buildings, coastal and countryside scenes. I also do a little bit of studio work once in a while so would like something which will go to 85mm (ish).

My budget is about £200
 
kamion said:
Hi Rob,
That's called barrel distortion.
Click to expand...
Not quite correct that Kamion, it's actually converging verticals, caused by the camera being tilted upwards from the vertical. It's more pronounced the wider the lens (the shorter the focal length) and the more the camera is tilted upwards. It's typically a big problem photographing taller buildings You can get shift lenses which can be adjusted to compensate but ...mega money. Architectural photographers tend to go for shift lenses.

Barrel distortion is when vertical and horizontal straight lines start to bow outwards. Pin cushion distortion is the opposite with straight lines bowing inwards.
 
rwotton said:
Hi,

I bought a canon 18-55mm lens when I got my 350D, I have noticed when i take photos of building they appear to tilt inwards towards the outside of the frame, is this because the quality of the lens isn't that good?

If so any suggestions for a replacement?

Thanks

Rob
Click to expand...

Why not use use a photoshop plugin like PTLens to correct it in post-processing for the time being?
 
Also spending more money on a wide lens wont solve the problem, it's inherent in all wide angle lenses, particularly when you start to move in close. Lenses like 12mm give massive distortion - in fact that's how they fit the huge field of view onto the sensor. :shrug:
 
CT said:
Lenses like 12mm give massive distortion - in fact that's how they fit the huge field of view onto the sensor. :shrug:
Click to expand...

And even worse on a full frame camera..:(
 
If you have Photoshop CS2, then you can use the "Lens Correction" filter to adjust and compensate for this. It works an absolute treat :thumbs:
 
I dont believe there is an "easy/inexpensive" way of compensating for the 'perspective' distortion you get with any non tilt and shift lens. Clearly 100mm+ the problem is less, but that is not your issue. Below 50mm you are always going to suffer from "some" level of distortion (even L series do).
Photoshop doesnt come cheap and Elements doesnt have enough true features to really compensate. However it's probably your best bet. Since it can do some "warping".
 
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