Ultra-wide lens

The ultra-wide Fuji 8mm is slowly turning into my favorite lens. It is so small and light but is capable of producing fantastic photos. People say that gear doesn’t turn you into a better photographer. I disagree when it comes to this lens. It has given me a boost to head out in the evenings to shoot some new material. I am currently working on my skills when it comes to classic landscape shots: a specific subject matter in the background combined with an attractive foreground. The 8mm lens allows you to get very close and to make the foreground appear larger than it is. There are three things I have learned along the way.

Focus stacking

Being able to get close to the foreground comes with a downside: you can’t get everything sharp – even with a high aperture. Luckily, focus stacking comes to the rescue. I shied away from it in the past due to my lack of Photoshop skills. But I recently learned it’s super simple. For most photos, I now try to do two to three different focus areas and then blend them in Photoshop. The photo below required two (foreground and background).

Tripod

Focus stacking is somewhat difficult if you don’t have a tripod. You want the different photos to align perfectly. The photo above was a lucky shot. There was a fence and I could wedge the camera between the wires and keep it stable that way.

Contrast

Having a lens this wide creates a bit of a problem when it comes to exposure management. It’s not unusual to have larger differences in exposure values for the foreground and the background (plus the sky). Modern cameras allow the recovery of shadow values. But it can look somewhat washed out. I started carrying graduated filters again which I use handheld. Also, I started exposure bracketing in some situations. The photo below is a composite of nine images: 3 different focus areas and three exposure values for each. I use Lightroom to blend the exposures for each focus area and then do the focus stacking for the resulting three images in Photoshop.

Rating & next steps

Yes, I love the possibilities that this lens offers. There is still plenty for me to learn and I am excited about using it a lot more in August. Would I recommend the lens? Yes, absolutely. And I also recommend to learn photo stacking if you end up using one.