Handheld landscape lens

I have a Canon Eos T1i and I need a good handheld lens to use for landscape-scenery pics. I have been looking at Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, and Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM. Unfortunately, money is an object since my husband says everytime I want a new lens it is another $1000. Also do I need a CP filter as well.

Thanks,
Holly

Hi there...

If you have the Kitlens experiment (or check the shots you made)... For landscape the WideAngle lenses are often most used.

Do you often shoot at the kit's wide end (17mm)?? Then perhaps the ideal landscape lens would be a wide angle zoom like zooms in the ranges like 10-20 (there are several, at different prices). The kit lens can be kept for the other shots.

Another thing to consider is learning to handhold at longer shuttertimes (one can win a stop or two easily here, possilby more) and/or using a tripod.
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All in my humble opionion of course!

If I seem to talk nonsense or you can't understand me, it's probably my English

I don't have the kit lens. I purchased the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM and the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. I usually take pics of bugs and birds but I am finding a need for landscape/scenery shots but I don't have the width. I travel with my husband and it is hard to have the time to use a tripod.

At the moment I am using a Tamron 18-270 VC (Vibration Control). I used it recently on a once in life time" visit to the Grand Canyon (see http://picasa "web.google.com/dickcampbell19) and I wasn't disappointed with the pefromance of the lnes (or the Grand Canyon ).

You don't need such and extreme focal length range for pure landscape work (and probably loose some optical purity) but it did enable me to a capture wide view and a closeup of the squirrels without changing lenses (see imags 13 and 14).

The Cannon 18-55 IS (Image Stabilisation) kist lense may suit your purpose. For handheld lansdscape work, Image Stablisation is certainly worhwhile.

I also have a Tamron 10-24 and find it useful but not the weapon of choice as a "walk around" lens. It does overlap the 18mm ranges so I guess it could be used for general lanscape shots. I just think that for many landscape shots, ultra-wide angle tends to loose too much detail on the horizaon. In the San Francisco section of my web page images 7, 8 and 11 are wide angle and benefit from it.

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**** Campbell
http://picasaweb.google.com/dickcampbell19

Oops, I don't know how that quote got into the middle of the URL. Here it is again.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dickcampbell19

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**** Campbell
http://picasaweb.google.com/dickcampbell19

Holly Hoyer said:

I travel with my husband and it is hard to have the time to use a tripod.

Click to expand...

I just returned from a trip with my T1i, and used the 17-55mm for most of my landscape shots. Even though it has Image Stabilization, most of my shots were on a tripod in order to maximize depth of field, which means small apertures, meaning often very slow shutter speeds.

Here is another solution: Purchase the new Canon G11 for less than the price of a great DSLR lens. It will take up less space and weigh less than the Canon 17-55mm lens!

My brother is a landscape photographer and uses a Pentax system with the FA limited Primes lenses. He recently purchased the G11 to use on trips where he's with other people and would find it inconvenient to carry a lot of gear + tripod.

He has tested the G11 extensively and gives it high marks. He recently wrote, "I plan to do most of the G11 work hand held. The G11 with battery weighs exactly 1 lb."

With the small sensor, he can shoot at f/4, meaning faster shutter speed, and get the same or more DOF than with his Pentax @ f/11. Like our T1i cameras, the Pentax is 1.6 crop.

You can carry the G11 in a small bag for your quick landscape shots! I'm considering getting one as my second camera!

B&H has a rebate through 12/3:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&N=0&gclid=CIqF-JWS-p4CFY915QodQzDGJg&A=endecaSearch&Ntt=canon%20-g11&Q=

Review:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong11/

regards,

-rich

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Careful photographers run their own tests.

If money mattters, a geat buy is the Sigma 17-70. There's a new version just out with optical stab ilization, which is handy for handholding the lens with small apertures so that you get your landscapes sharp from near to far.

Tamron, Tokina and Sigma all make lenses in the 17/18 - 50/55mm range, with f2.8 maximum apertures. These are all good.

The best bargain is the Canon 18-55 IS, even without the deal you get on it when buying it as part of a kit.

BAK

Oops - the B&H rebate is through 12/31.

Take a look at this lens. It has been rated good buy those who bought it and runs about $400. You can buy a VC (stabilization) version for $650. But since it is brand new, it is still being compared to its great non VC version. But essentially gives you what the canon 17-55mm gives you with a fraction of the price.
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Quickly shooter, draw your lens or prepared to get shot.

This lens is a great starter lens which offers you wide angle shooting and IS plus it has partial macro. It is the kit lens for most of canons cameras but it actually has pretty good IQ. It will run you less than $160. I say go with this to start.
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Quickly shooter, draw your lens or prepared to get shot.

... and, like another poster said, you only need one lens. It is $599 from Amazon but there is a $70 rebate from Tamron til the end of the year...

Jim

I think that the purists would say that this lens has too much complexity, glass, distortion and it's true that Tamron must have made lots of compromises to enable this lens to be built.

As per my samples earlier on this thread, for all of that, it doesn't do a bad job. I was really impressed with the image qualty of the squirrel closeup. This photo and the wide angle of the two squirrels illustrates the focal length range quite well.

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**** Campbell
http://picasaweb.google.com/dickcampbell19

... http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=34064157

Jim