whick lense for good stateroom photos

[The Viking]

Upgrading myself from the basic to mirrorless.

 

Which lense size do you use when you take picture of the stateroom?

[zackiedawg]

Generally, unless you're in the Royal Suite, ship cabins are pretty small, so the wider you can go, the better, for getting cabin shots. Ultra-wide lenses are usually best - I typically use a 10mm focal length when shooting ship cabins - I have a 10-24mm UWA lens for my DSLR, and a 10-18mm UWA lens for my mirrorless camera, so I'm covered at the wide end with either rig!

[pierces]

The kit lens is not usually wide enough for the average stateroom. I have used panoramas to get the shot in the past but since I sold off my 11-18 zoom, I plan on replacing it with a manual focus wide like the 12mm f/2.0 or 10mm f/2.8 Rokinon/Samyangs. Unbeatable bang for the buck and at that width and manual focus is easy with my NEX's focus peaking and magnified assist.

 

Dave

[The Viking]

Thank you both if you. Will check out the availability for my new A6000.

[parkie]

I use a Nikon 12-24mm on my DLSR for interior shots; 12mm is enough in most situations.

[DENNICH]

I am looking at getting a new lens for my Nikon. Like the OP, I would like to get some good stateroom photos, and some of the lovely cruise food, buffet spreads, and other general cruise scenes. I was looking at the Tokina AT-X 12-28 F 4 Pro DX, or the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX II. Does anyone have experience with either of these? I currently only have kit lens.

 

Thanks!

[zackiedawg]

If you have an APS-C crop body Nikon, the 11-16mm Tokina should be a solid performer - I've always heard good reviews from those who have them, and it's respectably fast (F2.8) for a wide lens. The 12-28mm I'm less familiar with, but when getting UWA lenses, most people will usually take more on the wide end than at the long end - 12mm vs 11mm may not sound like much, but the wider you go, the more drastic that angle of view becomes - so small differences in mm equals more wide reach than you'd think.

 

Viking - the Sony SEL10-18mm OSS lens is excellent for the A6000 - if you can afford it. It's a bit pricey, though has come down a bit on sale, but it is very sharp, and a rare thing for an ultra-wide lens, is stabilized, which makes it a very good handheld shooter in low light and night situations. And 10mm is nice and wide. I have the 10-18mm for my A6000, and love the combo - it will be getting a lot of use next month on a Disney trip.

[DENNICH]

If you have an APS-C crop body Nikon, the 11-16mm Tokina should be a solid performer - I've always heard good reviews from those who have them, and it's respectably fast (F2.8) for a wide lens. The 12-28mm I'm less familiar with, but when getting UWA lenses, most people will usually take more on the wide end than at the long end - 12mm vs 11mm may not sound like much, but the wider you go, the more drastic that angle of view becomes - so small differences in mm equals more wide reach than you'd think.

 

Thank you so much for your advice. I took a look at your photos and you obviously know what you are talking about. Your ship pool photos are stunning. I ordered the Tokina 11-16mm lens. I look forward to learning how to take some great photos with it. Thanks again.

[kenevenpar]

At what focal length does the image start to "fish-eye"?

[zackiedawg]

It's not so much the focal length, but the lens design. UWA lenses that are 'rectilinear' in design actually never 'fish' as they are designed to keep vertical and horizontal lines straight, or as close to straight as possible, even as you get down to as little as 8mm on crop-body cameras, or 12mm on full-frame cameras. You can actually get a 12mm fish-eye, or a 12mm rectilinear...same focal, but one has the rounded barrel-distortion style of the fish-eye, and the other stays straight.

 

With ultrawide lenses, you just need to learn your framing and pay attention to angles - it's such a drastically different focal length and shooting style because of how close you can stand to something and still completely fit it in the frame...and because the rectilinear lens designs on ultrawides are very sensitive to any upwards or downwards angles...as long as they are kept level to the horizon, they can be remarkably straight....as soon as you angle them up or down even a little bit, the vertical lines start going drastically at angles and skewing the perspectives. Not that this is always a bad thing - that's one of the things a lot of folks like about UWA lenses is the forced perspectives and fun angles...but if you want an 'architectural' type shot, realistic and straight, just keep the camera level to the horizon and it will keep all the lines respectably straight without any fish-eye effect.

 

I did a guest article on a blog many years ago - but it could be helpful to anyone looking to buy into an ultrawide lens, since they really are a whole different way of shooting:

http://viewsinfinitum.com/2010/05/21/10-tips-on-using-a-wide-angle-lens/

 

Hope it helps!

Edited June 30, 2014 by zackiedawg

[pierces]

At what focal length does the image start to "fish-eye"?

 

Usually at about 16mm full frame or 10-12mm on an APS-C camera (shorter on Four Thirds due to the smaller sensor).

Fisheye actually refers to the amount of uncorrected barrel distortion visible in images . Two lenses can have the same focal length with one being corrected for distortion (rectilinear) and the other not (fisheye). There are also degrees of fisheye. Full-frame covers the entire frame diagonally while circular only projects a circular image in the center of the frame.

 

Dave

[kenevenpar]

It's not so much the focal length, but the lens design. UWA lenses that are 'rectilinear' in design actually never 'fish' as they are designed to keep vertical and horizontal lines straight, or as close to straight as possible, even as you get down to as little as 8mm on crop-body cameras, or 12mm on full-frame cameras. You can actually get a 12mm fish-eye, or a 12mm rectilinear...same focal, but one has the rounded barrel-distortion style of the fish-eye, and the other stays straight.

 

With ultrawide lenses, you just need to learn your framing and pay attention to angles - it's such a drastically different focal length and shooting style because of how close you can stand to something and still completely fit it in the frame...and because the rectilinear lens designs on ultrawides are very sensitive to any upwards or downwards angles...as long as they are kept level to the horizon, they can be remarkably straight....as soon as you angle them up or down even a little bit, the vertical lines start going drastically at angles and skewing the perspectives. Not that this is always a bad thing - that's one of the things a lot of folks like about UWA lenses is the forced perspectives and fun angles...but if you want an 'architectural' type shot, realistic and straight, just keep the camera level to the horizon and it will keep all the lines respectably straight without any fish-eye effect.

 

I did a guest article on a blog many years ago - but it could be helpful to anyone looking to buy into an ultrawide lens, since they really are a whole different way of shooting:

http://viewsinfinitum.com/2010/05/21/10-tips-on-using-a-wide-angle-lens/

 

Hope it helps!

 

Thanks, very helpful! I enjoyed the article. I always say I learn a lot from these boards, now it even applies to photography!

 

Ken

[kenevenpar]

Usually at about 16mm full frame or 10-12mm on an APS-C camera (shorter on Four Thirds due to the smaller sensor).

Fisheye actually refers to the amount of uncorrected barrel distortion visible in images . Two lenses can have the same focal length with one being corrected for distortion (rectilinear) and the other not (fisheye). There are also degrees of fisheye. Full-frame covers the entire frame diagonally while circular only projects a circular image in the center of the frame.

 

Dave

 

Thanks. Very helpful.