Quote Originally Posted by another view
One thing to remember is that the focal length of the lens never changes. A 50mm lens on a 35mm SLR is just that, same on a DSLR with a crop factor (example 1.5x on a Nikon). With that crop factor, the 50mm lens will have the angle of view of a 75mm lens - but it still is a 50mm lens. The perspective of a 50mm lens will stay the same. It's almost like making an 8x10 print and cutting a 5x7 out of the center of that print.

There are ultra-wide lenses made for DSLR's, depending on what camera you have. Nikon has a 10.5mm fisheye and a 12-24 zoom. The third party companies (Sigma/Tamron/Tokina) have some available too. They usually don't work with film cameras because they don't project an image that covers the full 35mm frame, but the Sigma 12-24 works with both.
Does Minolta have one? Or does Sigma make one for Minolta?