This lens is my new selection for panoramas. The Canon RF 14mm f/1.4L VCM is a pro-grade, L-series, ultra-wide prime that delivers impressively sharp photographs with out problematic distortion and flare.
Although modern-day zooms are providing higher sharpness from nook to nook than ever earlier than, a chief lens just like the RF 14mm f/1.4L VCM will all the time provide unbeatable picture high quality with sharper outcomes and fewer distortion (partly due to in-camera corrections) in comparison with a large zoom that has extra shifting parts inside.
But as my colleague Matthew mentioned in his Canon RF 14mm f/1.4L VCM review, the expansive view of this lens comes with an expensive price tag – $2,599 / £2,399 / AU$3,799. However, I’m willing to look beyond the cost as this is a very special lens.
It’s the former that’s really made me take notice when using the RF 14mm out in the field, photographing big vistas. I have really enjoyed shooting at such a wide focal length for landscapes and including big skies.
Shooting at apertures of f/8 to f/11 with a 14mm focal length gives you incredible amounts of depth of field, so images are very sharp from foregrounds to backgrounds. But there’s one other big benefit that this super wide-angle prime lens offers: instant landscape panoramas!
I could compose to include a large expansive landscape view, or a large architectural scene like the very broad Royal Crescent in Bath, England, and then just crop the RAW image to 16:9 – or, even better, 21:9 for a proper widescreen panoramic view.
No need to take multiple images and stitch them together in software, just shoot and crop later at 21:9 ratios. Instant panos!
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