Choosing a Lens

The_Gatsby

I'm thinking of getting a wide angle lens to allow me to do more landscapes etc. However, I'm still fairly new to photography so I'm not really sure how to go about choosing one. I've looked online and would I be right in saying that a wide angle lens has a focal length of < 35mm? How do I know if it will fit on my camera? I've seen wide angle lenses on adverts for €20 but then I've also seen them for €500 +. What's the difference and why the huge price gap?

Basically I have no idea what I should be looking for! I basically want a lens to allow me to take a larger variety of photos and to try out some different styles. At the moment I'm using the lens that came with my camera, which is an 18-55mm.

PopeBuckfastXVI

Do you find yourself limited by the 18-55 at the wide end?

In what ways?

Going beyond 18mm is into Ultra Wide Angle territory, and while there are certainly uses for them I wouldn't consider then completely necessary for landscaping, unless you want to do specific wide angle things.

What kind of photos are you trying to achieve?

I'm not trying to put you off at all, I have a 10-20mm lens that I use sparingly myself, and I love what it does, but I wouldn't consider it an 'all purpose' landscape tool by any means.

The_Gatsby

I find that I can't really achieve that distorted sort of look that you get when you use a wide angle lens.

It won't specifically be for landscapes, I'd like to try out some portraits and stuff too.

Leftyflip

The_Gatsby wrote: »

I've seen wide angle lenses on adverts for €20 but then I've also seen them for €500 +. What's the difference and why the huge price gap?

Differences: Image quality for starters, build quality, autofocus, fixed/variable apertures. Image quality. Oh and image quality...

Huge price gap is because you get what you pay for. A cheap bit of glass on a good body is absolutely absurd in my opinion. You're paying for the quality.

PopeBuckfastXVI

The_Gatsby wrote: »

I find that I can't really achieve that distorted sort of look that you get when you use a wide angle lens.

It won't specifically be for landscapes, I'd like to try out some portraits and stuff too.

I'd say look into Sigma 10-20mm or Tokina 11-16mm in that case.

The_Gatsby

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

I'd say look into Sigma 10-20mm or Tokina 11-16mm in that case.

And is there a way to tell if it will fit my camera? Or are they all standard?

Leftyflip

The_Gatsby wrote: »

And is there a way to tell if it will fit my camera? Or are they all standard?

You get the sigma/tokina built for that mount.
They come in Nikon, Canon, etc.