Lenses for Landscape Photography

For the aspiring photographer wanting to improve their images, investing in different lenses for landscape photography will greatly assist you.

Before you start to consider the best lenses for landscape photography, firstly take time to consider the types of images you are trying to capture. Whilst a wide-angle lens is normally a sensible starting place there are many variables to look at beyond this such as the speed of a lens, quality of optics and image stabilising technology.

Acquiring a good set of lenses should be considered more of an investment rather than a cost. If maintained properly, they can serve you well for many years.

Picking the right focal length

Focal length is essentially the amount of a scene a lens can capture – or the angle of view from the lens. The lower the number the wider the angle of view and wider the lens can capture. The human eye sees the world at around an equivalent of a 50mm on a normal 35mm camera.

Accordingly, photographers need to consider how much of scene they wish to capture as part of their composition of an image. This may mean using an ultra-wide angle lens such as a 14mm or 18mm. At the opposite extreme, zoom lenses can be useful for composing a shot from a long distance. Lenses such as a 300mm or 400mm provide you with options to frame a distant waterfall or details across a valley for example.

Don’t forget magnification

Whilst the above rules for selecting focal length remain true for all cameras, the format of digital camera and its sensor type will affect the magnification (crop factor) of a lens.

Different formats/sensor sizes have different magnification effects as seen below:

Sensor type – Magnification

• Full Frame – 1x
• APS-H (Canon) – 1.3x
• APS-C – 1.5x
• APS-C (Canon) – 1.6x
• Micro Four Thirds – 2x
• 1-inch – 2.7x

Beginner lenses for landscape photography

The two most lenses used for landscape photography are typically a fixed 50mm lens and either is a fixed or zoom 28mm lens.

Generally, the faster a lens is (i.e. the wider its maximum aperture – ability to capture more detail in lower light conditions) the more expensive it becomes. Equally the materials used to make the lens influence pricing quite significantly.

Entry level beginner lenses for landscape photography are generally made of plastic and composite materials. By contrast professional grade lenses use high quality glass and specialist higher grade composites for the barrel. In terms of prices; expect to pay anything from £80 ($100) upwards for a decent starter lens.

Camera manufacturers frequently offer cost effective ‘ bundle deals’ with camera kits, offering a discounted price on a lens as part of a full starter kit with a camera body.

Generally speaking, these offer good value for money and are a good starting place, but still leaves you room to upgrade at a later date.

Beyond the basics

If you put ten photographers in a room and ask the same question –“what are the best lenses for landscape photography?” you will more often than not get ten different answers!

As your landscape photography extends beyond the basics a number of factors will start to affect your choice of favourite lens.

Many photographers reach a tipping point where they become ‘ locked in’ to a particular manufacturer, such as Canon or Nikon cameras. Brands like this offer a wide range of lenses across different price points.

As previously mentioned, lens optic quality greatly affects pricing as will image stabilisation functions. High end professional lenses are also typically weatherproofed, with sealing on key moving parts of the lens.

Professional grade lenses widely vary in prices from several hundred dollars to figures in excess of $10,000 for range topping equipment.