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07-28-2015, 04:03 PM   #1
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Lens choice

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I am looking for advice on a lens choice. I do mostly landscape, garden landscape and macro photography. I was recently at Longwood Gardens (located in Kennett Square, PA) taking pictures at their Italian Water Garden and the "large lake", they have several. I was walking back toward the Conservatory through "Peirce's Woods" and was admiring the trees. The beech trees were very large with wide trunks and heights of about 75 - 100 feet. Looking up, I wanted to take pictures of these tall trees from the ground up to the top. I tried using my DA 16-45 but did not get the results that I wanted. If I went out into the meadow, I could get the entire tree from the ground to the top, but it did not really show how large the trees really were. I want the photos to look like I am standing next to these really big trees and you can see how really big their trunks are as well as their canopy.

What would you suggest for getting a "ground up" from literally the base of the tree to it's crown? I am using a K5 and I do most of my shooting with the camera on a tripod.

Thanks,

Jay

07-28-2015, 04:12 PM   #2
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I'm thinking a fish eye lens would work. You can get a good used Pentax DA 10-17 for as little as $250 on flea bay. Pentax SMC P Da 10 17 mm F 3 5 4 5 If Lens 3610170548188 | eBay
07-28-2015, 05:06 PM   #3
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Fisheye is great. Took me a while to think of it as not a "novelty" lens, but once I did, I fell in love with her. FIsheye sees all!
07-28-2015, 05:09 PM   #4
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would ya consider stitching together shots with glass you currently have and like? wouldn't Microsoft ICE stitch together several shots of trees, etc and capture what yer chasing?

07-28-2015, 05:15 PM   #5
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The FE will cause it to occupy a smaller area in the image.

Try using your 16-45 with:
1). composition/shift adjustment set to vertical maximum
2). Camera and lens horizontal
3). Lens zoomed as far from the wide end as possible with the tree in the image

By tilting the camera, you are making the top of the tree smaller. By using the shift/composition adjustment, you can capture more of the tree and less of the ground.

Can we see the image you have?
07-28-2015, 05:24 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Driline Quote
I'm thinking a fish eye lens would work. You can get a good used Pentax DA 10-17 for as little as $250 on flea bay. Pentax SMC P Da 10 17 mm F 3 5 4 5 If Lens 3610170548188 | eBay
QuoteOriginally posted by Codazzle Quote
Fisheye is great. Took me a while to think of it as not a "novelty" lens, but once I did, I fell in love with her. FIsheye sees all!
+1 on the fisheye, stand at the trunk and look up and take a shot of the canopy
07-28-2015, 05:43 PM   #7
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The Sigma 8-16 HSM would be a great choice. I have one and it is sharp as can be.

07-28-2015, 06:51 PM   #8
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I am a member at Longwood gardens and visit there about 6 to 8 times a year. I bring the following with me with my K-5 or K-3 bodies.
1. DA 15 Limited or DA 21 Limited for scenics. You can get the entire Italian water garden in with the DA 21 Limited. Both work well in the conservancy. For shooting up the big trees the DA 15 would be better
2. DA 35 mm Macro for landscapes and, of course, flower Macros. This one is always in my bag. If I could take only one lens this would be the one.
3. DA 70 or DFA 100 WR, these go on when I am in the waterlily garden. The DFA 100 may be a bit too long for anything else, that along with light weight and sharpness makes the DA 70 easier to carry around. I rarely see visitors lugging around big telephoto lenses there.
I use primes almost exclusively, I have a DA 17 - 70 which covers all of these in one lens but it is heavier than DA 21, DA35 macro and DA 70 combo and not quite as sharp as the primes. This is one place where sharpness really matters.
I cannot comment on the ultra wide zooms and fish eye lenses. I will have to try one sometime to see if it gives more possibilities than the DA 15 mm.

Good Luck:

John
07-29-2015, 02:28 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Jake21209 Quote
What would you suggest for getting a "ground up" from literally the base of the tree to it's crown?
Stitching is the cheapest solution




DA16-45 @16mm handheld pano stitched to give the same FoV as ~12mm lens but with less distortion.
07-29-2015, 03:21 PM   #10
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Try using an ultra wide lens like the inexpensive Sigma 10-20 @10mm and get up to the base of the tree... make sure you get something like a plant in the immediate foreground to help show how big the trees really are. Don't forget to use plenty of DOF to get everything sharp.

Just my opinion of course

Good luck

Randy
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