The 14mm image thread

[vkalia]

I mostly shoot wide angle with a fisheye (Tokina 10-17 for over a decade, and Olympus 8mm for the past 6 years).   The Tokina replaced a Sigma 10-20 and i havent looked back since.      So from a creativity point of view, “seeing” with a fisheye lens is natural for me and I really like the results I get with it.

 

I recently got a Panasonic 7-14mm lens from a fellow member for an upcoming trip to Egypt for photographing sharks - I made the purchase knowing this was not going to be a lens i would use that much, and that there would be learning curve with getting used to the reduced FOV, but I am kinda  surprised by how steep that curve is!    I took it out for a test spin recently, to a site I know really well, and didn’t get even a single keeper.     That FOV simply isnt “natural” for me.

 

Can i request people to post some of their shots here?     Preferably reef shots - big fish shots are somewhat obvious.    I know there is a wealth of images online, but it would be helpful to have a bunch in a single place and would help me “see” better how other are composing with this lens.

 

TIA!

 

[DreiFish]

Great idea! Could we broaden the topic at least and highlight some beautiful images taken with other extreme wide angle lenses, like those that can read 11 or 10mm focal length? There haven't been many such lenses around, but there are a few. 

It would be educational to see some of the results that can be achieved at such extreme focal length for inspiration and education.

[Davide DB]

All shy?
No one has any photos taken with this focal length?
 

😎

[DreiFish]

Ok, I'll bite. I haven't shot with the Canon RF 14-35 a lot, but I've done a few dives with it. Frankly, I find it a challenging perspective to shoot with (I definitely am much more comfortable with the 8-15mm fisheye), but I can . When shooting people (and I imagine other subjects), you have to be careful to keep them in the middle of the image. Anything too close to the edges becomes heavily distorted because of the extreme perspective. Here's a few samples at 14mm, between F13 and F16. Nothing I'd call inspirational, but at least it gives a flavor. I do prefer the rendering of straight lines inside wreck interiors. (keep in mind I was shooting it with a 30mm extension and 180mm dome, which Nauticam recommends a 40mm extension for. With the right extension and a 230mm dome, there may be some improvements in the corner image quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18 by DreiFish

[DreiFish]

Some examples of the extreme distortion you get when putting a subject too close to the edge of the frame at 14mm. The 10mm would only exacerbate that I imagine.

[DreiFish]

And just for comparison, putting the same Canon RF 14-35 behind the Nauticam WACP-1 and shooting at 24-28mm. Clearly not rectilinear anymore, but the corners are slight barrel distortion near the edges of the frame are slightly more pleasing to my eye, at least for shooting people. 

 

 

[vkalia]

Thanks for those images, @DreiFish.    

 

I am glad to see that you can get a relatively large FOV with that focal length.   Maybe it is just a matter of perception after coming from the FE, but composing with the 7-14 always felt compressed - looking at your photos, that’s clearly just a matter of getting used to a different focal length.

 

As for corner sharpness - never saw an image which made me think “this would look better if corner sharpness was better”, so that’s a non-issue for me.      And your wreck photos only reinforced that - excellent images, all, and never once did my eye stray to the corners to check.   🙂

 

PS:   Love the shot of the people jumping off the boat, especially the goldie leaping out.    My golden retriever loves water and will wade into seas, ponds, puddles, etc. but she refuses to jump into water.    

Edited June 19 by vkalia

[Adventurer]

On 6/19/2024 at 1:36 AM, DreiFish said:

 

 

 

that shot is terrific @DreiFish ! Kudos. 
it utilizes the pincushion distortion of the lens very well and gives the image a lot of depth.

 

nice and inspirational example how to “think different” when bringing that focal length to the water.

[Davide DB]

@Adventurer Why don't you post some pictures you were talking about in the other thread? The ones you don't like because of the extreme distortion. I would say the collection of tiles and sketchboards is complete. Real examples are needed.

Don't be shy and don't be ashamed. @DreiFish has posted his own.

 

P.S.

I'm thinking to merge these two threads somehow...