Wide Angle - The Basics

[big_si]

Originally Posted by triplefin

Helen P on here and YD has just got the F30. Her last lot of pics (I think it may have been Tenerife were taken using it) she put some on here and YD lovely sea horse etc so you might like to PM her. Shes usually on one or the other fairly frequently.

Thanks for the tip!

Wow! Those pics are nice!

[TimIngmire]

Just to add a couple of points:

1. Another lens to add to the list above from Ken is the Sigma 15mm or Nikon 16mm - both of which give interesting results on a cropped sensor DSLR, where on film they are FE's.

2. Compacts can give excellent results. As Mark said, I've been thinking about getting a F30 as a backup - it's a really nice little camera that performs really well. With a housing the package can be picked up for around £350 but, as I've just had to buy a backup D70 body, I'm not sure I can justify it. Having said that it's still very tempting and I can imagine some really interesting results with video from a compact with filter. Hopefully Mark will be able to get some good footage with the f810 and filter.

3. AIUI, the new F40 doesn't allow A and S modes so the F30 is still the better option for the UW shooter.

4. Adding a compact to a DSLR shouldn't really be difficult - you just need a bracket with ball and tripod screw to bolt the camera to and a 3-way ULCS bracket to connect onto the DSLR housing handles. A couple of fibreoptic cables would connect the camera to the strobes and simply changing the mode switch on the back of the strobes would enable you to switch between DSLR hardcable and Compact fibre optic. Be a big set-up tho.

Tim

[TimIngmire]

Here's a useful trick to get the thread back on track, with Wide Angle scenics, think about the foreground, middle and background just as you would with land photography. Try and have them balanced and well composed.