10 things to watch out for

You can enjoy a bigger window on the world when shooting with a really wide-angle lens

1 Get protection

The bulbous front element usually fitted to this type of lens can easily pick up knocks or scrapes. If the lens features an attachment thread, fit a lowprofile protection or UV filter to protect it.

2 After dark

One problem with a protective filter is that it can cause ghosting in night shots with bright city lights or the moon in the sky. In these circumstances, it’s better not to use one.

3 Don’t stack

Avoid stacking screw-in filters – a UV filter topped with a grad, for example – as this can cause extreme vignetting with wide-angle lenses.

4 No filter thread?

Creative filters like ND grads are hard to use on lenses with built-in hoods as these usually lack a filter thread. You’ll generally need to take a DIY approach to attaching filter holders with gaffer tape.

5 Better cornering

Wide lenses tend to give better corner sharpness and less vignetting if you narrow the aperture to between f/8 and f/16.

6 In deep

Due to their very short focal lengths, wide lenses give a big depth of field, even at fairly large apertures.

7 Move closer

Shooting from very close to a subject can massively exaggerate perspective effects, for funky-looking results.

8 Look, no feet

With ultra-wide angles of view, it’s easy to end up with your feet intruding into the picture when shooting downwards. Try switching to Live View and holding the camera at arm’s length to compose your shot.

9 DX delights

If you’re currently using a DX body but plan on upgrading to a full-frame camera, an FX lens like the Nikon 18-35mm can serve well as a standard zoom in the meantime.

10 Constant aperture

Zoom lenses that have a constantaperture design are costlier, but are easier to use in manual shooting mode as the wide apertures remain fixed throughout the entire zoom range.