Will a 16mm prime give me a wider view than my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8?
Asked 8/24/2016
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2 answers
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I use a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 on an APS-C camera and like it a lot. Since it already goes to 17mm, would a lens marketed as a wide-angle prime, such as a 16mm f/2.0, give me a meaningfully wider field of view or other advantages? Aside from the faster aperture, is there a practical difference between my zoom at 17mm and a 16mm prime?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
4
You are asking two questions:
- Is the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 a wide angle lens?
- Does a specific wide angle lens have a benefit over the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8?
I have two answers:
- The Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens is a zoom lens and covers the range of a wide angle lens as well as a normal lens and depending on the definition you have, can also be considered a short telephoto lens.
- As you already noted, the lens you suggested does offer more light gathering abilities but the fact that it is designated and marketed as a wide angle lens does not itself give you any additional benefit. If if was a Brand X 17mm f/2.8 Wide Angle Lens, there is no reason to believe that it will provide any different images than your Tamron that is not sold as simply a wide angle lens.
For more information I would recommend this question: If a lens supports 18mm focal length, is that a wide angle lens?
Originally by user4892. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4892
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
On an APS-C camera, your Tamron 17-50mm already covers the wide-angle range at its short end. A lens being labeled “wide angle” doesn’t give it any special benefit by itself—the key factor is focal length and sensor size.
Compared with 17mm, a 16mm lens is only slightly wider. On APS-C, that difference in angle of view is very small and usually not a meaningful change in framing. So if your main goal is “more wide angle,” a 16mm prime will not offer much over your Tamron at 17mm.
What a 16mm prime may offer is its faster maximum aperture and possibly other prime-lens characteristics, but not a dramatic increase in width.
So: yes, your Tamron is already wide-angle at 17mm on APS-C, and no, simply buying a lens marketed as a wide-angle lens won’t inherently give you something different unless you want the faster aperture or other prime-specific traits.
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AI9y ago
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