One of the greatest attractions of the super wide-angle lens is that you can shoot exceptional shots in a variety of situations. For example, an entire building can be photographed even when there is only a limited amount of space to shoot in. When shooting interiors, entire rooms can be photographed from corner to corner. These lenses are also useful for landscape photography when you want to exaggerate the perspective by increasing the sense of depth. In portrait photography, the use of a super wide-angle lens can create a strong sense of separation between subject and background. Another application is in photojournalism, when you are trying to capture events as they happen. It is also important to note that the effects obtained from the 14mm and 20mm super wide-angle lenses are very different from the 15mm fisheye lens. While both lens types have extra-wide viewing angles, the latter gives a full-frame 180-degree angle-of-view, resulting in obvious bowed-out distortion around the edges of the image. This causes straight lines in the subject to appear as curved lines in the picture, except for those running through the exact center. In contrast, super wide-angle lenses are designed to correct the distortion at the edges to ensure that straight lines remain straight everywhere in the picture area. As a result, super wide-angle lenses are suitable for architectural photography. Interior of the main lobby of KLIA (EF 20-35mm AFD) Zooming effect during exposure (EF17-35mm USM) Every lens in the super wide-angle category of Canon's EF line-up has a unique feature. In selecting a lens, you should clearly identify the subject that you wish to shoot. For general photography such as snapshots and landscapes, the EF 20mm f/2.8 USM lens is excellent for such purposes. For restricted shooting spaces in which you seek a dramatic effect, the EF 14mm f/2.8L USM is appropriate. You can also choose to shoot with certain EF zoom lenses featuring the super wide-angle focal lengths in their designs, such as the EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM, EF 20-35mm f/2.8L AFD and the EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. One advantage of using a zoom lens is that you can create another special effect with it, zooming during exposure with a slow shutter. Super Wide-angle Focal Lengths' Gallery 14mm Focal Length Dining lobby of Photokina Fair Visitors to Kodak/Canon DCS booth Film showcases at the same booth Crowd at glamour shooting session Scene at one of the digital imaging booths   All the above photos were shot with the manual focus FD 14mm f/2.8L super wide-angle lens with my Canon New F-1 camera. With the exception of autofocus via USM and the Full-time Manual (FT-M) focusing feature, the older lens is almost the same as its AF counterpart. This focal length is not something that I will use on a daily basis, and as such, there is no need for me to invest in the EF version for my EOS cameras. In terms of usage, the techniques are the same, regardless of whether the lens is an FD or EF version. It is up to the photographer to utilize the 14mm focal length's dramatic perspective distortion to create pictures with that exaggerated effect, as can be seen from the pictures shown. If you think there is a need to invest in the EF 14mm f/2.8L USM lens for your EOS cameras, then by all means, go ahead. 17mm and 20mm Focal Lengths Daytime in New Orleans (17mm) Soft drinks dispensing machines (17mm) Inside the Riverside shopping mall (17mm) Explorers of Light exhibition (17mm) Shoe lace stall at Riverside mall (20mm) Canon USA booth at PMA Show (20mm) One of the participating booths at PMA Show (20mm)   In the previous manual focus FD lenses line-up, Canon had offered two super wide-angle lenses, the 17mm and 20mm and a full-frame 15mm fisheye lens. For the EF line-up, there are only the EF 20mm f/2.8 USM and the EF 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lenses. If you need something wider than 20mm but with a narrower angle than the 14mm focal length, your only choice in the EF line-up is with the EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM zoom lens. The EF 20mm f/2.8 USM is an excellent choice if you don't own any of the three EF super-wide angle zoom lenses. If you do, there is no need to invest in the fixed focal length type, especially if your zoom lens is either one of the f/2.8L versions. The lenses are sharp, even at their maximum apertures, making them suitable for available light shooting and still maintaining an acceptable level of depth-of-field to cover the zone of sharpness over most of the picture area, as can be seen in some of the shots above. As to how they were shot, think of the three essential questions and which of the fundamentals of photography that I had utilized in each of the photos shown. From the super wide-angles, let's take a look at what can be accomplished by using wide-angle lenses. Wide-angle lenses offer far more than just wide viewing angles. These lenses are useful for keeping both subject and background in focus while maintaining a realistic perspective. While offering fewer dynamic effects than the super wide-angle counterparts, these lenses balance a wide viewing angle and a feeling of depth to achieve realistic images. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 .