Disadvantages of Wide Angle Lenses in Landscape Photography

Wide angle lenses are a huge part of landscape and seascape photography and are used extensively within the field. They are extremely popular and quite often produce amazing results if used correctly. Just like any lens that is used in landscape and seascape photography it also has some disadvantages and limitations that you need to know about.

One of the big disadvantages of wide angle lenses is that when you are up close to an object, they tend to distort and stretch the subject out of proportion which is not a desirable effect. Unless of course you are actually trying to achieve that effect but most of us as landscape and seascape photographers aren't after that effect. It's easy to avoid this effect if you know about it, but if you aren't aware of it, it can catch you out by surprise.

Another disadvantage of wide angle lenses is that they are prone to vignetting and can often produce photos with soft edges. The entire photo may be sharp except for the edges, again this is an undesirable effect but it's easy to avoid. Your wide angle lens will be particularly prone to vignetting if you have a thick filter holder on it. You should always try and get a really thin filter holder so as to avoid the vignetting.

The last real disadvantage of a wide angle lens in landscape and seascape photography is that it has a very limited zoom. They are fantastic for taking close up photos of objects but are almost useless when trying to capture objects that are a fair distance away.

The advantages of a wide angle lens far outweigh their disadvantages but as with anything that you buy, you just need to be aware that there are some downsides to them. As with anything as long as you are aware of their limitations you should have absolutely no issues with them. They play an important part in landscape and seascape photography for good reason, they are such an effective lens and can capture so much information.

If you are looking to buy a wide angle lens, you shouldn't stress out too much about the disadvantages as the advantages far outweigh them. Go for it!