Wide Angle and Versatility On A Budget

[Caleb Kimbrough]

I'm a hardcore prime lens fan... so I have to suggest the Zenitar 16mm 2.8. I picked mine up brand new for ninety bucks on ebay and you can find them at a couple of store on the net for about a hundred.

Almost every picture on our website was taken with that lens. The biggest thing you have to look at when trying to find a good chasing lens is the speed. A nice wide angle zoom lens might sound good, but if it's 5.6 all the way through, then it's not going to perform too good in the low light conditions that a lot of storms present.

I love love my Zenitar and would never hesitate to recommend it as a good wide angle lens.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

I am actually thinking lens speed ain't all that important with storm photography. As goofy as it may sound, it's really not that big of a concern, at least when using a wide angle lens. The only time it'd be an issue is handholding, and that gets pretty "non-issuey" with such small focal lengths. I myself wouldn't let lens speed be an issue if it's a wide angle for storm work. If one iso's up to even just 400, it's going to need to be pretty darn dark out to not be able to hand hold it(with say an F4-F5.6).

I just got the Canon 10-22 EF-S and love it already. I was contemplating selling my 17-40L and getting by with this 10-22. That was till I chased the other night and forgot my 17-40 at home. I had a 50mm and then the 10-22. The 17-40 area remains a must have for me, when it comes to storm photography. It really sucked not having it with. So screw the idea of selling it. At the same time, 10-22 is pretty fun and will be nice while wanting to be closer to potentially tornadic storms(for structure with it, while any tornadoes via video). Anyway, I'm a big fan of the 10-22 now.

 

[Chris Kridler]

Since I use Nikons, maybe this post won't help you a lot, but I love the Nikkor 12-24mm I got before chase season. Beautiful for landscapes - adds drama to shelf clouds and storms - and makes for intimate indoor photography, as this lens can capture a lot of a room at its widest angle. And it's a DX lens, so you get the true 12mm. The non-digital lenses aren't as wide as advertised on a digital camera. I also recommend getting the best glass you can. Nikkor lenses for me were a huge improvement over the Sigma etc. I'd used with my previous cameras.
Chris K.