3 Lenses We Love for Cityscape Photography. They’re Small Too!
We tested these lenses for cityscape photography and positively love them–we’re sure you will too.
Let’s start this off by telling you one big thing that you positively don’t need for cityscape photography–big lenses. Big lenses can be heavy and sometimes make you not want to shoot. They also don’t necessarily give you the best image quality (a myth in the photo industry). When you’re traveling or on vacation, you want to pack light. You also need lenses with great features that can also be very versatile. Lucky for you, we dove into our Reviews Index to find some of our favorite lenses for shooting photos in big cities. You’ll love these lenses for Cityscape Photography!
The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house by the staff. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve done full, thorough reviews with. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge.
Pro Tips for Shooting Cityscape Photography
Here are some tips from our team at The Phoblographer to get you started.
- Most of the time, you’ll be focusing out to a far distance away or infinity. So you don’t really need a lens with a super-fast aperture. Instead, you can get something slower.
- There’s no point in shooting with your lens wide open unless it’s nighttime. Stop your lens down to f5.6 or f8.
- Reach for focal lengths that are a bit more versatile. Maybe you’ll end up stopping at a place to eat and want to take food photos. You’ll also probably want portraits of you and a travel mate.
- Try various angles. Get up high! Go low!
- Always wear a camera strap. There are great straps from companies like Vi Vante! Go check them out!
- If you’re going to change a lens, be careful. Turn your camera off, then take the back cap of the lens you want to use. If you’re outside, wait for the wind to calm down. Then quickly swap the lenses out.
Sony 24mm f1.4 G Master: Nearly Perfect for Cityscape Photography
In our review, we state:
“Marrying a petite footprint with a feather-like body, the Sony 24mm f1.4 G Master is capable of creating stunning images with razor sharp detail and dreamlike bokeh. A marvelous union of technological advancement and optics engineering, as far as 24mm f1.4 lenses goes, Sony simply did it better, smaller, and lighter than the competition.
The Sony 24mm f1.4 G Master is a lens many photographers will want to add to their shopping list, regardless of their photographic specialty. Whether you’re a landscape photographer, an astrophotographer, a street photographer, or even a portrait photographer, there will be situations where the 24mm f1.4 G Master will shine. Paired with the excellent autofocus systems found on the latest Sony camera bodies, the 24mm f1.4 G Master will allow you to reliably create images as you had envisioned them in your mind’s eye.”
Fujifilm 16mm f2.8 R WR: Caught in the Rain? This Lens Won’t Mind
In our review, we state:
“For a user like me, I’m not going to move away from my Fujifilm 16mm f1.4 R WR lens, which I gave a fair amount of praise to. But when I look at the Fujifilm 16mm f2.8 R WR, I know that this is a lens for the user who wants an affordable autofocus lens with weather sealing. And for that user, Fujifilm is delivering. Just know that you’re probably going to be looking longingly at its older sibling.”
Canon RF 35mm f1.8 STM: For When You Want to Get Close
In our review, we state:
“The Canon RF 35mm f1.8 USM IS is a lens that photographers will pick up if they’re looking for a good 35mm lens for the Canon system that has image stabilization. In addition to that the image quality is also very sharp for what it is. Then consider the bokeh and the fact that you can not only get this from a 35mm lens, but the f1.8 aperture lets you really blow your backgrounds out. I can’t really complain about the Canon RF 35mm f1.8 USM IS except, you know, I wish it was built better.”