Author Topic: 20mm for landscape  (Read 30993 times)

simsurace

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #15 on: August 14, 2015, 19:03:35 »
I think with Samyang a lot depends on whether you get a good copy, as sample variation is thought to be quite large by some people.
And I think this is more to due to the rather shallow DOF with the aperture set to 1.4, if you're used to lenses with autofocus ;)
No, I've heard folks complain about decentering issues.
Simone Carlo Surace
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zuglufttier

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #16 on: August 14, 2015, 19:11:37 »
I can only talk for myself ;) My Samyangs are all fine and I've been using them for five years or so.

simsurace

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #17 on: August 14, 2015, 19:18:57 »
I can only talk for myself ;) My Samyangs are all fine and I've been using them for five years or so.

Congrats! Just make sure to not bump them around too much  :)
Simone Carlo Surace
suracephoto.com

Akira

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #18 on: August 14, 2015, 20:07:52 »
I'm happy owner of Samyang 7.5mm/f3.5 fisheye for m4/3.  The image quality is excellent corner to corner.  However, the distant scale and the infinity stop are not very reliable.  Thanks to the one-touch magnification of the LCD on GF5, the manual focusing is a breeze.  The focus ring feels well damped but may be a bit easy to worn out.

I'm looking at 14/2.8 for my D7000 because the distortion is strong but of a simple barrel type on DX.

One complaint about the fisheye and 14/2.8 is that they have 6-blade aperture.  So, when you stop down, you will only get six-ray star image.  I would have liked to have seven-blade aperture.
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Peter Connan

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #19 on: August 14, 2015, 20:27:29 »
Recently I was looking for a wide angle for astro-landscape photography.

The final finalists were the Nikkor 20mm f1.8 and the Tamron 15-30mm f2.8.

I eventually chose the Tamron after testing both in parralel. It is beautifully sharp at infinity, even wide open.

Yes, it's bigger and heavier than the 20mm, but I think it culd be very good for your purposes, and here in SA it is also cheaper than the 20mm.

Somnath Goswami

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #20 on: August 18, 2015, 16:03:35 »
I find my old and tattered nikkor 20 mm f2.8 ais to be an exceptional and relatively affordable UWA solution. It takes filters and really works well. One 20 mm shot for you C & C

Jakov Minić

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #21 on: August 18, 2015, 17:07:21 »
Lovely image, Somnath!
However, I am not sure that it proves 20/2.8 sharpness at infinity :)
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Erik Lund

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #22 on: August 18, 2015, 17:12:28 »
I agree,,, lovely reflection in the water behind/in front of the rock!

Sun and the clouds infront of it looks a little strange  :o
Erik Lund

zuglufttier

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #23 on: August 18, 2015, 22:07:24 »
Any 20mm from Nikon out there is good enough to produce excellent photos! They are also sharp enough and there's no situation in which I'll miss a shot or something.

But: Some are sharper than others! This is a purely technical view ;)

Somnath Goswami

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #24 on: August 19, 2015, 05:41:16 »
Lovely image, Somnath!
However, I am not sure that it proves 20/2.8 sharpness at infinity :)

Yes , I agree. That was the way I shot it , focused rather close and the morning mist obliterated the distant shores. Thanks for your thoughts.

regards
Somnath

I agree,,, lovely reflection in the water behind/in front of the rock!

Sun and the clouds infront of it looks a little strange  :o

I botched in PP  :P

Cheers
Somnath

Bernard Delley

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Re: 20mm for landscape, quite sharp near centre
« Reply #25 on: August 28, 2015, 22:45:21 »
a 100% crop from lower left edge to centre horizontally and a bit more vertically. Quite sharp near the centre (near right upper edge in this crop) at f/11, but still falls off significantly towards the edge, left.

jhinkey

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #26 on: August 29, 2015, 08:01:29 »
Hi there,

right now I'm using an old 20/3.5 Ai for most of my landscape pictures. While the lens works great, is very light and there's no lighting situation I have to avoid, I only get mediocre sharpness from it when the focus is set to infinity. This is a known problem ;) I didn't really notice this before I used it in my holidays in Ireland... Well, not a real problem but the nerd in me wants a bit more sharpness.

What would you say are my options? I'm a bit spoiled by the 35 and 85mm lenses from Samyang, especially the 35mm is almost perfect. Is the 20/2.8 Ai-S a real upgrade to the 20/3.5 for my purposes or should I just get the new 20/1.8G? I'm a bit attached to the feel of the old Nikkors... If 14mm weren't too wide for my taste, I'd just go and grab the Samyang 14mm.

Late to the party a bit, but I've tested a couple of 20/3.5 AIS lenses and found them all to be not very sharp, not nearly as sharp as my 20/2.8D and my equally sharp 20/2.8 AIS.  However, my best 20mm/2.8 lens is my 17-35/2.8 - it's not perfect, but stopped down it's sharp across the frame and it has excellent flare/ghosting characteristics.  It is large and heavy though . . .
PNW Landscapes, My Kids, & Some Climbing

pluton

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #27 on: August 29, 2015, 09:49:20 »
However, my best 20mm/2.8 lens is my 17-35/2.8 - it's not perfect, but stopped down it's sharp across the frame and it has excellent flare/ghosting characteristics.  It is large and heavy though . . .
It's also a really good 24mm lens as well.
Keith B., Santa Monica, CA, USA

jhinkey

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #28 on: August 29, 2015, 11:07:19 »
However, my best 20mm/2.8 lens is my 17-35/2.8 - it's not perfect, but stopped down it's sharp across the frame and it has excellent flare/ghosting characteristics.  It is large and heavy though . . .
It's also a really good 24mm lens as well.

Most definitely.

It's a lens that Nikon needs to update and re-release.
PNW Landscapes, My Kids, & Some Climbing

John Geerts

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Re: 20mm for landscape
« Reply #29 on: August 29, 2015, 11:27:49 »
I agree. But the 17-35/2.8 is still one of the best lenses to work in the field.  And I like it's bokeh too at F/2.8.  Besides that you can approach the subject at 28 cm which gives room for macro/details especially at 35mm.

Here a recent photo D700 at 20mm F4  - Protest against expansion of city hall