Which lens to use for landscape photography ?

[Pallab Talukdar]

  Mention some lenses for beginners to take landscape photo.

[LightWave]

Kit lens?

[orbisschool2016]

I would suggest best lenses for landscape photography is Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G is one of the sharpest lenses ever produced by Nikon.  It has phenomenal optics (center to corner, throughout the frame and aperture range), beautiful colors, super fast autofocus and an extremely useful focal range for wide-angle photography. On the other hand, it is a heavy, bulky and expensive lens that cannot accommodate filters.

the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G has been my #1 most used workhorse lens for landscape photography. While its performance is not as impressive as on the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G, especially in the corners at large apertures, it just needs to be stopped down to f/5.6 and smaller to unveil its true performance.

[Hankosaurus]

Hello Pallab.

What's your camera body and sensor format size? 

I see the point in Doc's question.  The typical kit lens is capable of a lot more than most folks give it credit for, and especially so if one works within its limitations.  As with a good tripod, for example.  Most folks tend to think wider angles when thinking of landscapes, but that's not always the best choice.  Many different focal lengths have been used for landscapes.  It just depends upon the situation at hand.

What sorts of images have you seen which most inspire your interest in landscape imaging?

Orbis has recommended some of the best glass in Nikon's arsenal.  If one can afford it, and the mass is not an issue, then that could be a proper choice.  On the other hand, if one is more sensitive to price and mass, he might consider something like a Nikkor 18~35 f3.5~f4.5.  That's the choice I made.

If I needed a really budget solution, I would probably look for a used wide prime to augment my normal (50mm) lens.  Something like a Nikkor 24mm f2.8, for example.  With a deliberate shooting style, one may find that AF is not so important.  I grew up on manual focusing, so it's no problem for me.

Best of luck with your choice and your adventure with landscape imaging.

[fdsphotography]

1. Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G is the best lens for Landscape photography Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G is one of the sharpest lenses ever produced by Nikon.

2. Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G 1 most used workhorse lens for landscape photography. While its performance is not as impressive as on the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G, especially in the corners at large apertures, it just needs to be stopped down to f/5.6 and smaller to unveil its true performance. It has a lighting quick AF, beautiful color rendering, extremely useful zoom range on full-frame cameras and it takes filters! But similar to the 14-24mm it also has a few problems ? it is bulky, heavy, expensive and has no VR

[LightWave]

Hello Pallab.

What's your camera body and sensor format size? 

I see the point in Doc's question.  The typical kit lens is capable of a lot more than most folks give it credit for, and especially so if one works within its limitations.  As with a good tripod, for example.  Most folks tend to think wider angles when thinking of landscapes, but that's not always the best choice.  Many different focal lengths have been used for landscapes.  It just depends upon the situation at hand.

What sorts of images have you seen which most inspire your interest in landscape imaging?

Orbis has recommended some of the best glass in Nikon's arsenal.  If one can afford it, and the mass is not an issue, then that could be a proper choice.  On the other hand, if one is more sensitive to price and mass, he might consider something like a Nikkor 18~35 f3.5~f4.5.  That's the choice I made.

If I needed a really budget solution, I would probably look for a used wide prime to augment my normal (50mm) lens.  Something like a Nikkor 24mm f2.8, for example.  With a deliberate shooting style, one may find that AF is not so important.  I grew up on manual focusing, so it's no problem for me.

Best of luck with your choice and your adventure with landscape imaging.

The OP said beginner. Hence I mentioned kit lens. I doubt beginners would use expensive lenses like those suggested. Also more important for beginners to learn composition and light, get limited by the lens, and then upgrade while knowing why they are buying the expensive lens.

[Hankosaurus]

Excellent points, Doc.

I shouldn't have glossed over the fact that the beginner can learn a lot for not much money by experimenting for awhile with the standard kit lens.  And then he can leverage that knowledge to make wiser choices for more specialized optics later.

Happy Day.