Ultrawideangle

An ultrawide-angle is a photography lens designed to capture a very broad field of view. In full-frame terms, ultrawide lenses typically have focal lengths of about 24 millimeters or shorter, with diagonal angles of view often around 100 to 180 degrees. On smaller sensors, the same lens will produce a different apparent angle due to crop factors, so a direct focal-length comparison is not exact.

Ultrawide lenses frequently exhibit pronounced perspective exaggeration and distortion, especially when shooting close to subjects. Straight lines near the edges can bend outward (barrel distortion), and foreground elements may appear much larger than those in the background. Optical designs use multiple elements, including aspherical and low-dispersion glass, to minimize aberrations and improve sharpness. Some ultrawides are rectilinear, prioritizing straight-line preservation, while others impart more barrel or fisheye-like characteristics.

Common uses include architecture and interior photography in tight spaces, expansive landscape scenes, and creative group or environmental portraits where more of the scene is needed. They are also employed in astrophotography to capture wide star fields, though edge performance and coma can vary by lens.

Types and compatibility: ultrawide lenses come as primes or zooms and are available for many mounts and sensor sizes, including full-frame and crop formats. On APS-C bodies, the effective field of view is narrowed by the crop factor, producing a different but still very wide perspective.

Technique considerations include keeping horizons level, using a tripod for architectural work, and applying distortion correction in post-processing when needed. Hyperfocal focusing is often used for landscapes to maximize depth of field.