Wide-Angle Lenses For Digital

Wide-angle photography opens up vast new vistas to the photographer, but “going wide” presents a special challenge to the digital-SLR user. That’s because the image sensors used in most D-SLRs are considerably smaller than a 35mm film frame and thus “see” a smaller portion of the image produced by any lens than that seen by a 35mm SLR. As a result, a given focal length produces a narrower angle of view when used on a D-SLR than when used on a 35mm camera.

Most D-SLRs that are based on the 35mm SLR form factor have image sensors that measure around 23.6x15.8mm, close enough to the 25.05x16.7mm dimensions of an Advanced Photo System C-format image frame that these are commonly known as “APS-C” format sensors. Cameras in this category include all D-SLRs from Fujifilm, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Pentax and Samsung, plus all Canon D-SLRs except the EOS-1D/Ds series and EOS 5D.

There are two basic solutions for wide-angle fans. You could buy one of the full-frame D-SLRs, of course (currently, the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II or EOS 5D), on which all lenses frame just as they do on a 35mm SLR. The drawback here is that those cameras sell for around $7,000 and $3,000, respectively.