Are any lenses good wide open?

[ChrisA]

I'm still very new to photography, but I've been reading a lot of reviews of lenses lately. It seems to make sense when thinking about future lens purchases to always take away ~2 stops from the lens' advertised aperture.

I disagree. You can shoot wide open. Most shots you wil take have the subject in focus and much of the rest of the image blured. We do this on purpose to make the subject stand out and to remove clutter from the composition. In these shots who cares if the corners of the image are not sharp?

If you are shooting flat test targets then yes you care about the edge sharpness but the real world is 3D.

The shallow DOF of a fast lens will to a lot more to blur images backgrounds than any lack of sharpness in the lens.

THat said, good lenses are very good. Shoot at the f-stop you ned to get the efect you want

 

[Phrasikleia]

The more and more I look at photographs that just seem "right" to me, the more I recognize just how important sharpness really is. Now before anyone says "Nah, it's all about the light and the composition!", let me say: I agree. A sharp photo of a crap subject in bad light will be a crap photo, and conversely a great photo can be soft and still be great. But all other things being equal, the images that really do it for me are generally all tack sharp.

I could not agree more. Looking at a tack sharp photo is like looking at a very detailed painting or sculpture: it has that extra "wow" factor. A sharp image really pops, which should be a desirable effect even for the most casual of hobbyists. There is the odd photo that benefits from blurriness (ethereal abstracts and the likes), but most photos work best if something in them is tack sharp, even if it's just a small (but important) part of the subject.

If you are shooting flat test targets then yes you care about the edge sharpness but the real world is 3D.

The shallow DOF of a fast lens will to a lot more to blur images backgrounds than any lack of sharpness in the lens.

Well, if you're shooting landscapes, you probably also have a need for great corner sharpness. If you're shooting portraits, then maybe you can get away with center sharpness only. One thing that made me ditch my first (and only) kit lens was trying to photograph full-length figures with it. Sure, the background was all blurred because of the shallow depth of field, but I found that I could not get the head of my subjects enough in focus when framing an entire figure. The head would fall too close to the edge, far outside the center, and would therefore be much softer than the figure's waist: very undesirable!

 

[baypharm]

The old Vivitar Series 1 lenses were great when opening up all the way.

 

[JarredWagner]

Any L series lens will look fantastic wide open. As far as consumer lenses, stick with primes - 28 f1.8, 85 f1.8, 100 f2 are three that come to mind. The 50 f1.4 is notoriously terrible open but cleans up nicely at f2.

Keep in mind that wide open sharpness is, for the most part, irrelevant for a beginner. With today's high ISO performance, you can get away with closing down a lens a stop or two and still get your shot. What's more, pros will tell you that closing down a little is always a good idea! It will help with focus inconsistencies and always give you a sharper shot, while retaining most of the shallow look (at least in longer lenses).

My advice is to buy the best stuff you can afford and forget it about it. Shoot and have fun!

 

[luminosity]

That's just not true about L series lens. They are not magic. Some look pretty good wide open, but like most lenses, they need a bit of stopping down to look their best.

The only lens I've used that looks terrific wide open is the Nikon 24-70. Wide open, it's as good as some lenses are stopped down. When you consider how much and what type of glass is in it, it isn't surprising.

 

[JarredWagner]

That's just not true about L series lens. They are not magic. Some look pretty good wide open, but like most lenses, they need a bit of stopping down to look their best.

The only lens I've used that looks terrific wide open is the Nikon 24-70. Wide open, it's as good as some lenses are stopped down. When you consider how much and what type of glass is in it, it isn't surprising.

This is splitting hairs and beyond what most people will ever notice. Yes, every lens will look better closed down. Yes, the Nikon 24-70 is pretty much perfect. But also, yes, all L lenses look awesome wide open. Not absolutely perfect, but 100% usable, you know, for making pictures, and that is ultimately all that should matter!

 

[RedTomato]

I'm still very new to photography,

Then stop reading about lenses and gear, and get out and shoot lots of stuff. For me, angles, subject, composition and lighting are far more important than having the best gear. And the advantage is you can work on composition and lighting and the rest with almost any camera, even the cheap $5 disposable cameras.

Not to diss the highly expert people in this thread who know far more than I ever will about photography, but a detailed lens discussion isn't exactly meeting the OP's needs.

One of my favourite cameras was a cheap £20 digital mini-camera that's the size of a matchbox with 100k pixels - not even 1mp let alone 10 or 12 mp. Looks like a kids toy from an Xmas cracker. People relax and laugh when I photo them with it and the shots look wonderful. http://www.paramountzone.com/espion.htm Just shows you don't always need expensive gear for good shots. Ask Ansel Adams.

 

[nickXedge]

<snip>
Not to diss the highly expert people in this thread who know far more than I ever will about photography, but a detailed lens discussion isn't exactly meeting the OP's needs.
<snip>

I guess you stopped reading the post after I said I was still very new to photography. Though I appreciate your point of view on the matter, you didn't read what I wrote. I'm not buying anymore gear for probably at least a year, and I didn't say I wanted information to go out and buy the best gear. I'm in no position to buy L glass, or really good glass at this point. I have a Canon 1000D, with a kit lens and a 55-250mm IS. Not expensive stuff.

I actually did ask for all the detailed lens discussion, mostly out of curiosity and to learn more while the weather where I am is crap and I can't go out and shoot. I even posted a few replies thanking everyone for the input because I learned a lot from the discussion and appreciate the knowledge the experienced photographers have.

 

[RedTomato]

OK that's cool. I'm gad you learned stuff and found this thread helpful. I just wanted to put forward an alternative viewpoint, rather than discussing kit all day.

PS photos in the rain are hard work but fab Clouds give excellent neutral light coverage.

 

[nickXedge]

OK that's cool. I'm gad you learned stuff and found this thread helpful. I just wanted to put forward an alternative viewpoint, rather than discussing kit all day.

PS photos in the rain are hard work but fab Clouds give excellent neutral light coverage.

I would love to take photos in the rain but I'm terrified to take my camera out in it. I know most people say even the non-weathersealed cameras can handle rain, but it's been a literal non-stop downpour and I don't exactly have the funds to fix or replace if something should happen. And I live in a townehouse complex, so there's not a whole lot going on outside the window. I suppose I could go out and shoot from my truck window, but that's very limited in terms of subject and composition. Maybe I'm maybe excuses because the weather is crappy... who knows. Thanks for the tips though.

 

[compuwar]

I would love to take photos in the rain but I'm terrified to take my camera out in it. I know most people say even the non-weathersealed cameras can handle rain, but it's been a literal non-stop downpour and I don't exactly have the funds to fix or replace if something should happen. And I live in a townehouse complex, so there's not a whole lot going on outside the window. I suppose I could go out and shoot from my truck window, but that's very limited in terms of subject and composition. Maybe I'm maybe excuses because the weather is crappy... who knows. Thanks for the tips though.

Four words- "Buy a rain cover."

I like Fotosharp.

Paul

 

[nickXedge]

Four words- "Buy a rain cover."

I like Fotosharp.

Paul

Never even thought of that. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[compuwar]

Never even thought of that. Thanks for the suggestion!

Fotosharp lets you trial before you pay- and I like the design, it's not as complex as some of the other "straps and velcro" solutions. The translucent ones scrunch down enough to fit in the camera bag or your pocket easily- just carry a plastic bag to put the wet cover back into when you're done shooting.

Paul

 

[seedster2]

nikon 200mm f2 was the sharpest lens I have used wide open.

the 70-200 VR II is pretty sharp wide open as well.

 

[borrowlenses]

Almost all of the pro lenses (L for Canon and ED AF-S for Nikon) are sharp wide open but it varies from lens to lens. There's a reason they are so expensive.