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Hello,
Does the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens fit for building photography like the picture below?
I have this lens, but I don't want to drive a lot of miles and arrive with the wrong lens :)
Or do I need another lens for this work?
or
boemboem, I use the 18 mm on my DX for a lot of various shots of buildings and such. It will work well from my experience on the types of shots you posted here. To be honest, in the old days everything (most of what folks used) was a prime lens and you simply move yourself to get a shot or angle. I am beginning to realize with the dslr that some of the old techniques add to the character of the shot rather than relying on the "zoom". I kind of went off topic, but my point is that the 18 mm will achieve what you are seeking imho.
@boemboem, I have quite a few Nikkor lens and Nikon DSLR cameras. I have done a lot of scenic and building photographs and although I have shot with the 18-55 lens you have I do not regard it as any more than a price point lens. Within it's range it is OK. Many who have this lens have come to regard the 18-105VR as what they want, mostly due to the lack of reach after 55mm.
I have used a lot of other Nikkor lens. For arch. type shots the 16-85mm is quite good. I prefer the 12-24mm DX for especially tight interior shots. I have also owned several Nikkor 35mm shift lens. I did not have a high regard for them just so you know. Try them before you commit if you go that route. Getting the right lighting and a sharp enough shot seems to be the image capture target and maybe building lines that are less than perfect can be fixed with software. Having been in the large format pro business I have been able to do justice to some building and interior photos. Today I rely on 35mm DSLR DX cameras. My experience with FX Nikons has made me cautious as DX DSLR seems to be about what I can afford at this time. Also field use of FX capable glass is not as easy as the Nikkor glass that often can handle both DX and FX but the 1.5 magnification factor of the APS-C format is sometimes a decided advantage.
It will most likely do the job. It depends on how close you have to stand to the buildings. While I had the lens and took some shots in the city it did a decent job, but say if you were across the street from a really long or tall building and were restricted by a building directly across the street from the one you were trying to take the picture of then if might not be wide enough. I now have the 12-24 which is wide enough for just about anything.
Here is my one example I have with the lens before I sold it...got most of the building.
It's perfectly usable. I wouldn't bother with any other lens, since you are yet to learn what you really need for your style. The 18-55 is wide enough for exteriors and the distortion is no biggie with auto corrections.
If you are very serious about doing architectural work, the 24mm PC Nikkor is great. It covers FX, but is still fairly wide on DX. Here is a shot from literally across the street from this building. Some Lightroom 4 correction was also applied. The corrections post processing are very good, yet I am a believer that the original is always better.
D4, 24mm f/3.5 PC Nikkor
Post Script: Well, I went out and shot a couple on the D90 with the 24mm PC Nikkor. And, now I know why they have all the warning about pinching fingers. The bodies with built-in flash hang out on the front enough so one can easily pinch the fingers. Thus, allow me to correct myself and NOT recommend the 24mm PC Nikkor for the cameras with flash. Instead I would suggest the AF-S DX NIKKOR
10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED as the one which will give the widest view. (An actual horizontal 91 degrees or vertical if portrait position)
I started off with the 18-55 a couple of years ago - the 18mm focal length at the end gives you a nice taste of wideish angle while leaving just enough compression so as to be forgiving in terms of making good compositions. The wider you get, the more attention you need to pay in terms of camera positioning and points of view.
You should be fine with that lens for a lot of exterior shots , depending on how far back you shoot from.But as you get into it , you'll find that 18mm isn't really that wide - I now have an 11-16 and I don't even think 11mm is terribly wide either!
I think the biggest advantage of getting an ultra wide lens like an 11 or 12 mm lens is that you can stand fairly close to the building and still get the whole building in. Or whatever it is you might want. The disadvantage of not being able to get close and get the building in is getting lots of foreground things in the picture that you might not want. If you have to stand across the street you get people and cars and things like that in the way. But you can make due with the 18 if you have to.
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