Architecture Photo Lens?

[vikinghelmet]

Hello,

Hopefully I'm in the right forum now, but here goes anyway: I own a Canon Rebel XT 350 D Digital with the kit lens (18-55 mm). I'm shortly going to Guatemala and wonder whether I could have a better lens for capturing architectural details.

With Mayan Ruins and Colonial churches, I don't want to miss out on anything!

If you have suggestions for a lens, I'd love to hear them.

[mwfanelli2]

Hello,

Hopefully I'm in the right forum now, but here goes anyway: I own a Canon Rebel XT 350 D Digital with the kit lens (18-55 mm). I'm shortly going to Guatemala and wonder whether I could have a better lens for capturing architectural details.

With Mayan Ruins and Colonial churches, I don't want to miss out on anything!

If you have suggestions for a lens, I'd love to hear them.

If you want the best architectural photos, you'll need a tilt-shift lens and a tripod. Canon has a couple of choices. They are expensive but well worth it if architecture is your thing.

[vikinghelmet]

Has anyone found any focal lengths particularly useful?

[mjs1973]

What type of details are you looking to capture?

After reading the title of the thread, my first thought was a TS lens like Michael mentioned. These are used for architecture because you can keep the camera level, and tilt the lens to capture the structures, and keep the verticle lines straight.

If you're looking for close up details in the structures, perhaps a macro lens in more what you're looking for. The more info you can give us about what you're trying to capture, the more help we can offer.

[another view]

If you're trying to shoot architecture, as in the whole building, then a tilt-shift lens would be something to consider. Actually, a professional job would be with a view camera - but even a good wide angle lens, a level camera and some Photoshop skills can produce pretty good results.

But, architectural details are something different. It's hard to say what you'll want without actually being there first. A zoom with a lot of range might be a good thing, like 18-200 range. 18 isn't at all wide for architecture, but with details I've used up to 400mm lenses.

[vikinghelmet]

Most of the fine detail will be picked up by my 18-55mm lens, but I'm looking for more wide angles too.

Hope that helps.

[another view]

If you want a wider lens, look at the Sigma 10-20. I have one and it's really good, but I think Canon has a 10-22 or something like that which may be worth checking out as well.

The wider the lens, the more important it is to keep the camera level unless you're trying to create a special effect. Best thing to do is to use a tripod and a hot-shoe mounted bubble level, but if that's not possible then pay very close attention to vertical and horizontal lines in the viewfinder.