Landscape photographers have often looked at wide angle lenses to capture the vastness of the natural world. While some wide angle lenses are expensive, there are some models that Canon promises will not cost you a lot. If you are a young photographer who is looking for an option that can be of help, here are two lenses that will get the job done. Have a look.
Canon RF 16mm f2.8 STM
What makes it great? Canon 16mm is a lovely lens that costs less than $300. It offers a close focusing distance of 0.13m, a magnification of 0.26x and is created with 9 elements in 7 groups. It has 7 aperture blades, lacks internal focusing, and lacks weather sealing. Of course, given the price, the lens is all-plastic like, but that is what most offerings in this range are.
Why is it unique? The Canon lens can focus on moving subjects, and it had a 98 percent success rate with a dog headed towards the camera. However, with landscape photographers, they don’t have to worry too much. It can also focus five inches away from a subject, which is great for some close-up shots of leaves. The image quality has some distortion, you can edit it in post. You also get some nice depth of field, excellent sharpness, and some chromatic aberration in RAW files.
The Canon RF 16mm f2.8 STM is an Instagram-ready lens that captures wide-angles affordably and without weighing the camera down. I can easily see new photographers loving the ultra-wide view and quirky distortion that such a wide view creates. The colors are right on the mark and the autofocus works great. However, at this price point, the imperfections that are common with such a wide-angle are corrected with software rather than glass. A portion of the image’s edges and corners are discarded when correcting for barrel distortion and vignetting.
Canon RF 28mm f2.8
What makes it great? The 28mm is also a nice, wide lens, with 0.17x magnification, weighs 120g, and a close focusing distance of 0.8 feet. It is pocket sized, easy to carry around, simple to use, and makes for an ideal companion for those who want a compact model. It is also not weather sealed, so you have to be careful.
Why is it unique? As one of the cheapest lenses, the STM autofocus motor is good as well. It can focus on people who move, and there can be some focus on breathing. The latter can only be a challenge to those who are shooting videos. If you are shooting largely for social media, you will like the JPEG quality. The colors are punchy, the lens has some character, and the subjects look sharp, even at the edges.
If you’re a beginner with an entry-level camera and want a lens that can go anywhere yet produce images a bit better than the kit, buy the Canon RF 28mm f2.8. While it’s not a perfect lens, it’s got enough pros for the $300 price point that many photographers on a budget will like this lens.
