Question for New Yorkers

[boughey]

I'm due to visit NY in September and was wondering if anyone had any

advice on how wide an angle lens I will require to get decent shots

of the taller architecture, given that it is not always possible to

get too far back from the buildings to get their full height in the

frame (10D with 1.6 crop factor).

 

I currently have a Sigma 24-70 F2.8 EX DG Macro and a Canon 70-200

F4 L. When I require wide angle I usually fit the Sigma lens to a

spare film body but this obviously doesn't give me the advantages of

digital which I have come to appreciate and so I think another

purchase maybe required, but funds are tight.

 

Any advice?

[dogbert]

Your right, you can't really back away from buildings in NY easily and still get a clear shot. From memory, I struggled but just managed to get the Empire State Building within frame using a sigma 12-24 on a 1.6 crop body from the other side of the street. 24 mm even on a film body does not sound wide enough to me.

 

Don't buy a super wide just for NY though, especially if your money is tight. The architecture is not that interesting IMHO. Make sure you really want it.

[fitzroy_hepkins]

Adrian, try and take the Staten Island Ferry, it's free. You'll get some good shots of the city skyline, The Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor and The Verrazano Narrows Bridge. I think your 24-70 will work on the Ferry.

[jim_larson1]

If you are in the streets. . .then what you really need is a tilt-shift lens.

[SCL]

I agree with Geoff (although I'm not a NYer but a Chicagoan). Don't get a separate lens - too expensive for one trip and you will be inherently disappointed due to distortion inherent in wider lenses. (Most professionals would use a tilt & shift lens for this type of photography). Try to find a more distant vantage point to capture a building rather than close up, or if you're really adventurous, patient, and taking a tripod, you can get some outstanding shots (even with a 50mm) by using a panoramic device, such as a Kaden mount, and software to stitch the images. A couple of months ago on the web I saw an incredible panoramic picture comprised of somewhaere around 28 shots of the Flatiron Building (taken with a 50mm lens)...truly one of the most dramatic crisp, clear and concise shots without distortion I've seen. Good luck & enjoy your trip.

[miles_feigenbaum___dallas_]

New yorkas would use a 4 by 5 tilt and shift for this type of shot.

 

Your lens could capture the boids an toitles, an a little of dis an dat.

[mark u]

Shooting from the street is really quite difficult because you can't get far enough back to get a decent view. Even on film you need to be at least 30% of the height of the building away to get it all in at 24mm - and that will be with the lens tilted up 36 degrees, giving a lot of perspective distortion.

 

Take the circle cruise (I still have slides of the twin towers of the World Trade Center taken from the boat with a 35mm lens just as they were being topped out at 110 stories), visit the Jersey shore and high vantage points such as the Rockerfeller Center and Empire State. You'll recognise the views from postcards and TV/films. More interesting architectural views are probably in the atria of buildings, rather than the full height midtown and financial district towers - and also the much lower height of brownstone houses etc.

 

If you want something for digital convenience to give you passable quality at f/8-f/11 for cheap (around $120 + NY sales tax at B&H or Adorama which you could visit at the peril of your credit card), consider the Sigma 18-50 f/3.5-5.6 DC - about equivalent to the Rebel 18-55 kit lens optically, but will mount on your 10D.

 

Getting anything of higher quality, or wider, will add substantially to the bill - and you need to get below 15mm to beat 24mm on film. A logical choice might be the Tokina 12-24mm, but that's $500 + NY tax, or for $30 less, the Sigma 10-20, although the latter is too new for a clear opinion. The Sigma 12-24 is perhaps the most distortion free of the super wides and can be used on a full frame camera, but now we're in $700+ territory.

 

Another option would be to consider lens rental from e.g. Adorama. Provided your credit card can stand the deposit of the full retail value, you could have a 16-35 f/2.8L or 14mm f/2.8L over a weekend for well under $50. You'd be advised to contact them in advance to reserve the lens and to discuss the acceptability of your credit card etc.

[boughey]

Thanks for all your input folks!

[brian_donaldson1]

Try a vertical panorama shot with a 50mm. There will be some distortion but you'll get the whole view.

[eugene_lipkin]

How about renting a lens from B&H or Adorama which happen to be in NY. TS lens would be the best but it is a specialized lens and may not be useful enough for ou to buy

[f1-fanatic]

Eugene is absolutely on the money... Rent a lens. It's inexpensive and you will get pro equipment to boot. Only problem is B&H doesn't have a rental department (at least not yet). The other shops in town are Alkit on Park Ave South and 18th Street(ask for Sandy), Photocare, Calumet, or Adorama. Good luck and enjoy!