Wide angle lens recommendation for Canon DSLR

[Bob98SR5]

Hi folks,

We are selling our townhouse, so I'd like to take a lot of pics on the interior. I have the base Canon XT Rebel. I figure a wide angle lens would be helpful in taking interior pics---or would a fish eye lens be better? I've posted some links below, can you more knowledgable folks let me know which one is best for my purposes? Of course, I don't want to break the bank :)

Affordable Wide Angle Lens

Sigma 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6 DC AF Wide Angle Zoom Lens ($90)
http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-18-50mm-3-5-5-6-Digital-Cameras/dp/B002DGXUQK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top


Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 SLD Aspherical DC Optical Stabilized (OS) Lens w/ Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) ($199)
http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-18-50mm-3-5-5-6-Digital-Cameras/dp/B002DGXUQK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top


Thanks,
Bob

[mastacox]

Take a look at this thread: http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/464721/0&year=2006

Overall you'll just have to decide how wide you want to go (between 15 an 20 mm probably). You'll also probably need a piece of software that removes fish eye distortion.

[slomatt]

Bob,

The problem is that the Rebel has a 1.6x crop factor, which means that a wide angle lens actually doesn't provide as wide of a field of view as you would expect. For example, an 18mm lens is usually considered pretty wide angle, but on the Rebel it is effectively 29mm which is more of a midrange focal length.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Field-of-View-Crop-Factor.aspx

My primary lens is a 17-40L and while it is great for landscape shots at 17mm I consider it barely wide enough for interior shots where I want to cover a large amount of the room. This is on a Rebel T1i.

If this is a just for a one time use you might want to consider borrowing or renting a 10-12mm lens. Or you could use something like a 18mm and stitch a few photos together.

- Matt

[Bob98SR5]

Matt,

Thanks for the information, i had zero knowledge/idea of what you just mentioned. I'll read the link you sent me, as I still have a lot to learn about cameras.

I think I may just do what you suggested: stitch some pictures together. Is there an 18mm lens you recommend?

[4x4mike]

Bob,
I'd stitch the photos together. I have to do a lot of that at work because of the little point and shoots we use and the large panorama views.

I had a fisheye attachments for an old 18-70 lens I had and it wasn't very good. You could take some nice close up artsy photos but for a room or space is was very distorted. Along the lines with stitching. Look online for some free software. I've got a co-worker that uses something that works pretty well. You can input some information (focal length, distance to the object, etc) that pretty much eliminates the distortion.

I dropped my Nikon bag on Saturday and now my walk around lens is kind of buggered up. It was an 18-135, priced right at the time of purchased and was used for probably close to 8,000 shots. The 18mm is really nice if you haven't tried that. My 18-200 should come today or tomorrow.

[paddlenbike]

I agree with everything already said. I use an 18-200 Nikon with a similar 1.6 crop factor, so 18mm isn't as wide as I would like and especially for something like interior home photos. Go with the stitch. If you're going to spend the money you'll want something like what's on my list...a 10-24mm lens.

[Bob98SR5]

hey guys,

ok stitching it is. i'll look for some free stitching software too.

man, this is one expensive hobby!

[slomatt]

hey guys,

ok stitching it is. i'll look for some free stitching software too.

man, this is one expensive hobby!


Ha!! That's a great quote, and way too true. Do you have the stock 18-55mm lens that came with your rebel? That lens is not half bad once you stop it down past f6 or so, I'd lock it at iso 100 and f6 and then put it on a tripod for the shots. With creative camera placement (shooting in windows can get you more distance) I think you could make it work out. For smaller rooms you can always stitch a few shots together.

- Matt

[Bob98SR5]

matt,

yes, i do have the 18-55mm lens. I find it a pretty decent lens, i've been able to futz around with it and get some decent shots. i still have much to practice and learn. thanks again for the tips on the settings. i'm gonna have to make or find one of those matrix charts of all the settings/variables that go into making a good shot (i.e. iso, focal length, aperture, etc.)

bob

[mastacox]

The 18-55mm is a fine lens, you just have to know how to use it (and not mind a little post-processing).

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/Pidgeon.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/ThornsFramed-1.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/YellowFlowerFramed-1.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/RedFlowerFramed-1.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/NoTrespassing.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/Intuition.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/PoolLightResized.jpg