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Wide-angle lenses broaden the angle of view that will be recorded onto your image sensor, and they commonly increase the depth of field and bring more of the image into focus. Furthermore, wideangle images increase the apparent distance between the foreground and the background (the opposite of what a telephoto lens does), which allows you to create some very interesting compositional effects. Additionally, they tend to be physically smaller lenses, which makes them easy to pack as an extra goody to use for interesting shots at opportune moments.
fisheye versus an ultrawide creates, which may or may not be what you would want in a photo. Fisheye lenses provide a distinctive distortive effect, such as in figure 6-13 where I wanted to emphasize the cobblestone pattern in the street with its reflective qualities to create an interesting balance to the photo; often the technique of getting low with your image in relationship to the subject provides a dramatic element in a wideangle shot. I rested my camera on a camera bag to keep it still during the long exposure, and I had to lie down to be able to look into the viewfinder to compose the image.
CANON’S WIDE-ANGLE LENS LINEUP
Canon’s wide-angle lens lineup includes the following:
Not all 14mm or 15mm lenses are considered fisheye; this term refers more specifically to the angle of view (which is 180 degrees on the Canon 15mm fisheye, for example). Fisheye lenses are distinctive in that the lens looks like a bubble, and they tend to distort the image far more visibly (technically known as barrel distortion), as shown in figure 6-13. Ultrawide zoom lenses have wider angles than their standard zoom lenses, which are the next level up in terms of focal length.
■ EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM
Canon also includes 28mm and 35mm lenses in their wide-angle lineup, and these lenses are excellent choices for portraiture situations where you need to photograph a large group, for example. Their minimal distortion on the edges of an image, as compared with wider-angle lenses, is very useful.
■ EF 35mm f/1.4L USM
Canon offers a broad selection of wide-angle lenses with an equally broad price range. If you’re looking for a wide-angle lens, you should take into consideration the distorting effects that a
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■ EF 14mm f/2.8L USM ■ EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye ■ EF 20mm f/2.8 USM ■ EF 24mm f/1.4L USM ■ EF 24mm f/2.8 ■ EF 28mm f/1.8 USM ■ EF 28mm f/2.8 ■ EF 35mm f/2 Canon’s ultrawide zoom lens lineup includes these lenses: ■ EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM ■ EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM ■ EF 17-40mm f/4L USM ■ EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM