Confused over "Wide Angle"

BOM

BOM

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Steve
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Hi Guys,

I want to get a wide angle lens for my canon 20D, I currently have a 28-80 off my old film camera and struggle with getting far enough away to get people in shot :lol:

So, what makes a lens wide angle, is it just the low mm? I've been told about a second hand Canon 18-55 EFS but when I looked it up it was described as a zoom.

I'm a little confused and dont want to waste cash on the wrong item.

Cheers,
Steve.
 
Have a look at the Sigma 10-20mm that should do all you need, it's a wide angle zoom.
 
Wide angle describes how much of the scene you get in in one photo. The opposite of wide angle is telephoto. Generally a wide angle is anything below about 30mm (which is about what the human eye sees but with some of the edges cut off), and ultra wide is anything below 17mm (which is what most kit lenses go down to).

A zoom lens is one which allows you to alter the focal length, in this case anything from 18mm up to 55mm. The opposite of this is a prime lens which is fixed at a particluar focal length, eg 50mm
 
Zoom means the focal length can change. It has nothing to do with wide angleness or not. The opposite term is prime, or fixed -focal-length.


Wide Angle lenses are anything wider than 50, longer lenses are referred to as telephoto.
 
Thanks guys, that helps a lot :)
 
The 30mm accounts for crop factor - on 35mm anything below 50mm is wide angle as that is roughly the same as the human eye
 
Just to further confuse the issue a telephoto lens is a type of "long" lens, where the lens is shorter than the focal length. Otherwise those wildlife togs you see touting 600mm lenses would need a small forklift to carry it about ;)
 
Uneducated_Rick said:
The 30mm accounts for crop factor - on 35mm anything below 50mm is wide angle as that is roughly the same as the human eye
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Are you really suggesting a 48mm equivalent (30mm with a 1.6 crop factor) is any sort of 'wide-angle'? BOM has already said they are struggling with 28mm old film camera lens.

You're having a laugh aren't you? :cuckoo:
 
BOM said:
I've been told about a second hand Canon 18-55 EFS but when I looked it up it was described as a zoom.
Click to expand...
Because the digital sensor on your Canon is smaller than a frame of 35mm film that lens would cover the equivalent of (roughly) similar coverage to the lens you have when it was on your old camera.

Does that make sense?
 
raathistle said:
Just to further confuse the issue a telephoto lens is a type of "long" lens, where the lens is shorter than the focal length. Otherwise those wildlife togs you see touting 600mm lenses would need a small forklift to carry it about ;)
Click to expand...

K, the opposite of a 'wide' is a 'long' lens? and a telephoto is a type of long lens? Can you point me to a long lens that isn't a telephoto?

Voyager said:
Because the digital sensor on your Canon is smaller than a frame of 35mm film that lens would cover the equivalent of (roughly) similar coverage to the lens you have when it was on your old camera.

Does that make sense?
Click to expand...

Yes, but that's not why it's a zoom. It's a zom becuase it can chane the focal length to values between 18-55mm.
 
jaffamuffin said:
Can you point me to a long lens that isn't a telephoto?
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Bronica2Leitz01.jpg


Thats a 400m f/6.8 Telyt on a Bronica. To be fair nowadays most long lenses use a telephoto group so finding a current non-tele lens is a bit hard
 
jaffamuffin said:
Yes, but that's not why it's a zoom. It's a zom becuase it can chane the focal length to values between 18-55mm.
Click to expand...
Have another go.

BOM has a '28-80 off my old film camera' and it is apparently a 'struggle with getting far enough away to get people in shot'. Someone has suggested to BOM that they get a Canon 18-55 EFS and I have pointed out that this lens will offer similar coverage as the lens they are using used to on on their old film camera.

No-one seemed to have tried to mention that yet.

That is all.
 
Voyager said:
Have another go.

BOM has a '28-80 off my old film camera' and it is apparently a 'struggle with getting far enough away to get people in shot'. Someone has suggested to BOM that they get a Canon 18-55 EFS and I have pointed out that this lens will offer similar coverage as the lens they are using used to on on their old film camera.

No-one seemed to have tried to mention that yet.

That is all.
Click to expand...


yes I agree.
 
Uneducated_Rick said:
The 30mm accounts for crop factor - on 35mm anything below 50mm is wide angle as that is roughly the same as the human eye
Click to expand...

Decades of 35mm full frame photography has stated that wide angle on a full frame camera is 28mm or less. The advent of digital, crop factors etc does not change this.
 
huh, In thought anything less than 50 was a wide angle..

so what are we calling lenses between 28 and 50, if 50 is standard (neither wide nor tele) and 28 is the start of wide ?

35mm stuffs has passed me by :(

50 is wide on my camera..:lol:
 
Voyager said:
Have another go.

BOM has a '28-80 off my old film camera' and it is apparently a 'struggle with getting far enough away to get people in shot'. Someone has suggested to BOM that they get a Canon 18-55 EFS and I have pointed out that this lens will offer similar coverage as the lens they are using used to on on their old film camera.

No-one seemed to have tried to mention that yet.

That is all.
Click to expand...

I hadnt thought of that, I've just dug out my old eos 300 and put the lens back on and fantastic, thats what I'm after. Why I hadnt checked this before I'll never know!

I hadnt noticed the crop when I got my 20D, its only recently I've been taking photos of groups etc at a company black tie event and noticed how narrow it was.

Thanks for all the info guys :)
 
joxby said:
huh, In thought anything less than 50 was a wide angle..
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I reckon 40 or more, up to about 55/60 is "standard" in my eyes. Below 40 and it starts getting wide, and 70 is definately long. Nowadays for SLR users you pretty much only get the 50mm prime though, shame really as 40 is very nice:D
 
joxby said:
huh, In thought anything less than 50 was a wide angle..

so what are we calling lenses between 28 and 50, if 50 is standard (neither wide nor tele) and 28 is the start of wide ?

35mm stuffs has passed me by :(

50 is wide on my camera..:lol:
Click to expand...

I thought the same: 50mm is about average, <50mm is wideangle, >50mm is telephoto
 
If you are taking shots of people / groups of people then don't get a ultra wide (less then around 16mm) angle lens as distortion makes people look very strange!!!
 
Cheers guys, I picked myself up a Canon 17-85mm IS USM today, thanks for the info :thumbs:
 
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