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Features

Eight Wide Angle Lenses Under $700 for Landscapes on APS-C Cameras

Brett Day
No Comments
02/23/2019
4 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer IRIX 15mm f2.4 Firefly review product images 2

Last Updated on 02/23/2019 by Mark Beckenbach

These wide angle lenses are perfect for landscape photography, even with APS-C crop factors thrown into the mix.

When shooting with APS-C based cameras, getting a true wide angle lens can be slightly challenging. With crop factors ranging from x1.5 to x1.6, it’s vital to take into account that the lens you shoot with will not be quite as wide as you thought. For example, a 15mm wide angle lens on a APS-C based camera will have an effective focal length of 22.5mm-24mm depending on the crop factor of your camera. Fortunately there are some spectacular lenses out there that are still nice and wide even with the crop factor of your sensor. The best part is that you can get some optically stunning lenses for under $700.

Below we have listed some of the best wide angle lenses that you can shoot landscapes and cityscapes with on APS-C based cameras. Everything from ultra affordable, manual focusing wide angle lenses, to slightly more expensive, autofocusing, wide angle lenses have been included. They are all stunners in their own right. Remember to add the crop factor to the focal length of each lens (x1.5 for Sony, Pentax, Fujifilm, and Nikon, and x1.6 for Canon). Check out the wide angle lenses we’ve picked out below.

 

Rokinon 10mm F2.8

 

Pros

  • Great sharpness when stopped down
  • Very smooth focusing
  • Improved build quality from previous lenses

Cons

  • Can be tough to focus with if you’re trying to capture a subject up close and personally, but the lens isn’t totally designed for that.

Check out our full review.

Buy now Canon EF-S ($349): Amazon

Buy now Nikon DX ($379): Amazon

Buy now Fujifilm X ($329): Amazon

Buy now Pentax K ($329): Amazon

Buy now Sony E ($299): Amazon

 

IRIX 11mm F4 Blackstone

 

wide angle lenses

Pros

  • Solid build quality
  • Weather sealing
  • Sharp image quality
  • Depth of field scale
  • Click at the Infinity setting
  • Metal build

Cons

  • Using the blacklight on the lettering is cool, but glow in the dark would be much better.

Check out our full review

Buy now Canon EF ($595): Amazon

Buy now Nikon FX ($595): Amazon

Buy now Pentax K ($649.95): Amazon

 

Rokinon 12mm F2

 

Pros

  • Great colors
  • Small build
  • Lightweight
  • Nice aperture clicks
  • Sharp

Cons

  • There are lenses with better bokeh for sure.

Check out our full review

Buy now Fujifilm X ($269): Amazon

Buy now Sony E ($349): Amazon

Buy now Canon EF-M ($299): Amazon

 

Rokinon 14mm F2.8 AF

 

Pros

  • Sharp output
  • Accurate autofocus in most situations
  • The clear, crisp color that we’ve come to expect from Rokinon
  • Bokeh when needed
  • Weather sealing

Cons

  • I still really am wondering why Rokinon chose to make this lens for DSLRs.
  • A few inconsistencies with the focus

Check out our full review

Buy now Canon EF ($647): Amazon

Buy now Sony E ($649): Amazon

 

IRIX 15mm F2.4 FireFly

 

Pros

  • Weather sealing
  • Fairly lightweight
  • Accurate focusing depth of field markers
  • Sharp optics
  • Innovative features like the ability to lock the focus with a separate ring

Cons

  • Focusing communication with a Sony FE camera via a Metabones adapter wasn’t the absolute best.

Check out our full review

Buy now Canon EF ($375): Amazon

Buy now Nikon FX ($375): Amazon

 

Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary

 

Pros

  • Fast aperture
  • Weather sealing to a point
  • Fast autofocus performance for the most part
  • Nice bokeh
  • Sharp, surprisingly sharp

Cons

  • To be honest, nothing

Check out our full review

Buy now Sony E ($438.99): Amazon

 

Sigma 18-35mm F1.8

 

Pros

  • Damned good build quality
  • Super sharp wide open
  • The fact that you’ve got wide to normal focal length range at a constant f1.8 blows our minds
  • Fast to focus
  • Perhaps the absolute best concert photography lens anyone can get their hands on

Cons

  • APS-C only, but that isn’t really a con. Sure, everyone wants a full frame version
  • Positively nothing else.

Check out our full review

Buy now Canon EF-S ($589-$694): Amazon

Buy now Nikon DX ($486): Amazon

Buy now Pentax K ($689): Amazon

 

Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD

 

Pros

  • Compact
  • Lightweight
  • A lens that feels like it should always stay attached to your camera
  • Fast autofocus
  • Weather sealing
  • Pretty good colors
  • Wide angle coverage that you’d otherwise only get on a full frame DSLR and mirrorless camera
  • 100% focusing accuracy performance with the Canon 77D

Cons

  • Not much honestly. Some folks may complain about fringing, but it only happens in very extreme circumstances.

Check out our full review

Buy now Canon EF-S ($499): Amazon

Buy now Nikon DX ($499): Amazon

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