Wide angle lenses. What do the numbers mean?

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Comus

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Hi all,

I'm looking through ebay at wide angle lenses and wonder if someone could tell me:

1. Why would I get a 'nifty fifty' when I already have a 28-80mm? Would it give me better results than simply setting my zoom to 50mm?

2. What does it mean when a lens is described as 0.45x or .22x? How does that convert to mm?

3. I've read that a wide angle lens is a good lens to have if your interested in landscapes etc. What should I get as a good budget model?

Thanks,

Comus
 
1. Why would I get a 'nifty fifty' when I already have a 28-80mm? Would it give me better results than simply setting my zoom to 50mm?
Because at 50mm on your 28-80mm you wont be able to achive the maximum appeture of f1.8 that the nifty fifty can, and get you excellent DOF on pictures (plus prime lenses tend to have better glass in them than zooms)

2. What does it mean when a lens is described as 0.45x or .22x? How does that convert to mm?
link to lens would help, i have no idea! :thinking::lol:

3. I've read that a wide angle lens is a good lens to have if your interested in landscapes etc. What should I get as a good budget model?
Depends what camera you have and what your buget is, the sigma 10-20mm is a smashing wide angle to get but is fairly pricey at 260ish!
 
Thanks Clawz,

I'm not sure how to link to the lens but I'll work on it.

I have a Nikon D80. I searched the FAQ's on how to set up a signature earlier so that I can list my kit at the bottom of each post but not sure I understood it properly.

Comus
 
with that i wouldn't bother mate... its more of a filter than a lens!!! a cheapo alternative, that will NEVER give you a proper picture! Not compared with a proper wide angle lens.

Id go for the sigma one chap, the 10-20mm as i say its a CRACKING lens!! ask anyone on here!! :thumbs:
 
Thanks. Will do. Looking at a Nifty fifty on ebay as we speak. I assume a manual focus isn't an issue as the D80 has a body driven AF?

Comus
 
Careful !!

These are adapters that screw onto your existing lens and the figure is a multiplication factor.

These are a poor substitute for a 'proper' lens - although can be fun for experimentation, but don't expect wonderful results.
 
Dont think so, I dont own a Nikon so cant offer comment, sry. but you will want to put it on manual sometimes as its good to get the focus prescise if your using the 1.8 appeture! ;)
 
Comus said:
Thanks. Will do. Looking at a Nifty fifty on ebay as we speak. I assume a manual focus isn't an issue as the D80 has a body driven AF?

Comus
Click to expand...

As long as you don't buy an old MF lens.
 
1. Why would I get a 'nifty fifty' when I already have a 28-80mm? Would it give me better results than simply setting my zoom to 50mm?
Yes. Better glass, sharper pics and more control over DOF, and the f/1.8 is a bargain price...

2. What does it mean when a lens is described as 0.45x or .22x? How does that convert to mm?
you're talking about filter convertors. Steer clear:) A lens is described by its focal length and aperture (ignore anyone who rabbits on about "35mm equivalent focal lengths - we're in a digital age now!).


3. I've read that a wide angle lens is a good lens to have if your interested in landscapes etc. What should I get as a good budget model?
Sigma 10-20mm is by far the most popular, although the Tamron 11-18mm is also a cracking lens...The Canon 10-22mm/Nikon 12-24mm lenses may be better, but they cost a lot more...
 
reddeathdrinker said:
(ignore anyone who rabbits on about "35mm equivalent focal lengths - we're in a digital age now!).
Click to expand...

Thats a terrible comment to make the 35mm eqivalent is still essential as it's the only way to compare the results that you'll get on you camera, a 28mm lens would be pretty wide on a full from body like the 1D but would be about a 50mm on a 1.5/1.6 crop and would make a short telephoto on a 2x crop sensor so of course it's important.
 
a1ex2001 said:
Thats a terrible comment...
Click to expand...

No, it's still rabbiting. All it does is confuse people buying their first DSLR. If you're splashing out on something with a FF sensor, I'd expect you to be well aware of the different viewing angles at specific focal lengths. If you know nothing about the subject, I'd wonder why you were buying several thousand pounds worth of camera, and laugh quietly to myself;)

A 28mm lens is not a 50mm lens, as you state. It's a 28mm lens, no matter what sensor it's directing the light to. It may have a similar field-of-view, but it's still a 28mm lens. The correct statement would be: "A 28mm lens on a crop-sensor DSLR will have a similar field-of-view to a 50mm lens on a full-frame sensor". Don't forget to confuse people even more by adding in the equivalent focal lengths of 4/3 sensor cameras:) It may also be wise to add the proviso that "If you have never used a full-frame DSLR, or a film SLR, then the whole discussion is pretty pointless..."

Back when DSLR's with APS-C sensors first appeared, the 35mm-equivalent comparison was so film SLR users would have a rough idea of what angle-of-view they would get with their new DSLR. These days, it's irrelevant...


(can you tell this subject is one of my pet hates;))
 
I kind of agree with you about the 35mm equiv thing, but only because they never state the corresponding 35mm equiv f/stops. It's a farce on the bridge cameras proudly advertising f/2.8 on the lens (absolutely aperature size) and then the focal length as 35mm equiv, meaning the DOF control is absolutely nowhere near what you'd expect of (in that example) f/2.8.

That said for all SLR lenses all that matters is the actual focal length. The equiv length will depend on the camera, although to be fair 1.6x seems to be the most common.
 
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