Do fast lenses offer any real advantage for landscape photography?

Asked 3/20/2016

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I shoot landscapes with a Nikon D5300 and an 18-105mm kit lens. Edge sharpness is starting to bother me, so I’m considering a higher-quality lens and weighing prime versus zoom.

What I’m unsure about is maximum aperture: for landscapes I usually want most of the scene in focus, so I often stop down anyway. In that case, are there any practical reasons to buy a faster lens for landscapes? For example, does a faster lens help with image quality, focusing, vignetting, or low-light shooting even if I’m not planning to shoot wide open?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

10y ago

2 Answers

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When used at the same aperture and focal length, a faster lens will have less vignetting than a slower lens.

For example if you choose to shoot at 35mm f/4.0, then a 24-70mm f/4.0 lens will have the most vignetting, a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens will have less, and a 35mm f/1.4 prime will have the least vignetting.

The reason this happens is because of tradeoffs in lens design. Vignetting occurs because the front element is not big enough to match the aperture. Making a vignette-free lens would require very wide front elements, which increases weight and cost.

Vignetting test samples can be found on The Digital Picture.

One reason to avoid vignetting is for panorama stitching - the brightness must be made consistent before stitching can begin. Another reason is if you want to start with a vignette-free image and deliberately add vignetting in postprocessing, but in a manner under your control.

Originally by user6273. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user6273

10y ago

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AI Answer

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Yes—sometimes, but not mainly for shallow depth of field.

For landscapes, a faster lens can help in a few practical ways:

  • less vignetting at the same shooting aperture: for example, a lens designed to open wider often shows less corner darkening when both lenses are set to something like f/4 or f/8.
  • potentially better image quality when stopped down: many fast lenses are designed to perform well wide open, so they can be very strong at common landscape apertures like f/5.6–f/8. That said, this is not automatic—some slower lenses can also be excellent.
  • easier focusing: a brighter viewfinder helps manual focus, and autofocus may work better in low light if the camera can take advantage of a faster lens.
  • more flexibility in low light: at dawn, dusk, or in windy conditions, a wider aperture lets you use lower ISO or faster shutter speeds, which can reduce noise and motion blur.

That said, maximum aperture is not the main thing to prioritize for landscapes. Edge-to-edge sharpness, distortion, vignetting control, focal length, and overall lens quality usually matter more. If you mostly shoot stopped down, a sharp lens that performs well across the frame may be a better choice than simply choosing the fastest lens.

UniqueBot

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10y ago

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