Lots of landscape photographers love shooting wide–but they also don’t like to pack too heavy. With the maturation of mirrorless cameras have also come the further development of great lenses from those companies. At the same time though, no photographer wants to spend way too much money. In all honesty, most modern optics are so good that you don’t really need to.
We’ve gone through our Reviews Index to find a few wide angle gems for the landscape photographers out there while keeping the budget to under $500.
Sony 28mm f2
In our review, we state:
“Sonyâs 28mm f2 is a fantastic lens. It offers great image quality in a small package, but we canât get over the focusing performance. It isnât terrible, but it could be better. We expected this lens to be the fastest focusing full frame E mount lens out there due to the wider focal length and light weight. However, it is a bit behind the restâeven the 35mm f1.4 Zeiss. Still though, youâre bound to be able to create incredible images with it no matter what Sony camera you mount it to. With beautiful bokeh, incredible sharpness, and great colors itâs very tough to beat.”
Buy Now $448:Â Amazon
Sample Images
Olympus 25mm f1.8
In our review, we state:
“Wide open, this lens is a complete stunner. After my first day of shooting in natural light, I concluded that there really isnât any point in stopping the lens down.”
Buy Now $399:Â Amazon
Sample Images
Rokinon 14mm f2.8
In our review, we state:
“The image quality from the lens is absolutely top notch, and I feel even rivals (and in some ways bests) the Zeiss 15mm f2.8. Of course, the image above was subject to heavy editing for artistic purposes. But the 500px community seemed to like it.”
Buy Now (Prices vary):Â Amazon
Sample Images
Sigma 19mm 2.8 DN
In our review, we state:
“Overall build quality has improved dramatically. Instead of black plastic, the new series of lenses comes in a lightweight metal construction that can be had in either a gloss black or sliver finish. The lenses feel great in the hand and are relatively lightweight for their size. I wouldnât put the build quality in the same class as the Olympus 12mm or the Panasonic 25mm (which is actually a plastic lens but very well made), but I think these may be the best bang for your buck with it comes to build quality for the price.”
Buy Now $199:Â Amazon
Sample Image
Fujifilm 27mm f2.8
In our review, we state:
“The 27mm f2.8 is a lens that has some excellent image qualityâin terms of stances we feel that it isnât as sharp as the 35mm f1.4 but it is sharper than the 18mm f2, 14mm f2.8, and the 60mm f2.5 lenses. At its heart, we would probably place this lens as the second sharpest in the bunch. Going even further, we believe that this is the lens that street photographers will truly reach for. Not only does the low profile look of it not attract attention but youâll almost never need to stop it down. Due to the f2.8 maximum aperture, youâll really never really find any really creamy bokeh and stopping it down beyond f5.6 is useless in many situations. Because of this, it might appeal most to the âF8 and be thereâ crowdâwho number amongst some of the truest and rawest street photographers.”
Buy Now $449:Â Amazon
Sample Images
BONUS: Lensbaby Sweet 35
In our review, we state:
“I mentioned that the Sweet 35 is a specialty lens that needs a lot of practice to be mastered. Once you found out about how to make use of its strengths and weaknesses though, it rewards you with beautiful pictures that have a totally different look from anything you can achieve with a normal lens.”
Buy Now (Price varies):Â Amazon
Sample Images
