zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas

From the varied responses you received so far you can tell that different photographers have different preferred focal lengths. You might not use a lens wider than 24mm for family pics or for street photography, but perhaps you would for landscapes and architecture. I personally seldom shoot wider than 24mm (full frame); I have an 18mm prime that I occasionally use for landscape and for church interiors, and I have a 12mm that I hardly ever use. Yet many photographers do outstanding work with ultra-wide lenses. You can do a self-test: when you shoot at 24mm, do you frequently wish that you could go wider, or are you happy with 24mm? So the answer really depends on your own style.

Dennis833 Loc: Australia

Most professional landscape photographers use lenses in the 15-20mm range a lot. I often use my Laowa 15mm F2 zero distortion lens when shooting in tight spaces. EG rainforest and waterfall scenes.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

If you need inspiration, here is a link to the landscape work of an artist who specializes in ultra-wide photographic art - he lives in Wisconsin and his images are exclusively from Wisconsin ! - https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/phil-koch

..

mundy-F2 Loc: Chicago suburban area

[quote=Delta49]I have been trying to decide if anything wider than 24mm is useful. I'm thinking about family gathering around the table, landscape, inside rooms, and street photography. I have been looking at the Tamron 15-30 mm G2, do any hoggers have this lens and what do you think about it and what do you use it for? Thank you for your comments and help.[/quote

I use a prime Nikkor 35mm F/1.4 for street. I will be switching to my new Z 35mm F/1.8 when it is shipped from B&H. I have used my 28 and 24 primes in the street, but my go-to lens is the 35mm, especially capturing people. I am a night street photographer so having a fast small lens is ideal. My Olympus 35 RC is a film rangefinder with a fixed 43mm lens, which is another great street camera. Zoom lens are nice but you can miss a shot. They are also heavy and very conspicuous. If you know your fixed prime lens, you will know in advance where to stand to get the picture. I generally shoot with one hand, so I zone focus in advance. You need to anticipate the action.
Mundy

wmurnahan Loc: Bloomington IN

My 14mm on my full frame gets some use, and was bought to do night sky shots and landscapes which my other lenses don't cover well enough.

mundy-F2 Loc: Chicago suburban area

I use my 17-35 mm F/2.8 Nikkor for landscapes.
Mundy

mundy-F2 Loc: Chicago suburban area

Very nice images.
Mundy

mundy-F2 Loc: Chicago suburban area

Good points. Most of my pictures have been taken with either a 35mm or 85mm lens. I consider my 35mm as my standard lens.
Mundy

pendennis

At one time, I thought that anything short of a fisheye was a suitable wide angle lens. However, I've come to believe that the widest I can comfortably use, is the 24mm, although I have a nice 17mm f/3.5 Tokina, a 16-35 AF Nikkor, a 20mm f/2.8 AF-D Nikkor and a 24mm f/2.8 AF-D Nikkor.

I occasionally need a polarizer, and the lenses often start to darken along the edges and corners. And yes, part of this is due to the angle of acceptance when one gets wider than 24mm. There's the issue of distortion when the viewing angle is no longer parallel to the ground, as well as the expansion distortion of wide angle lenses in general. Don't get me wrong. They're extremely useful, but like long telephotos, they're a specialty.

Quixdraw Loc: x

24mm has been my favorite wide angle for a very long time. When I sort images by Focal length I am often surprised by its frequency.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

I use my 18-55 almost exclusively for landscapes and it is usually in the 18mm range.

zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas

One of the frustrating problems on UHH is that posters do not declare if they talk about full-frame or APS-C systems. So we are comparing apples and oranges all day long. 18-55mm is a typical APS-C range, corresponding to 27-80mm, unless you are a Canon shooter. So 18mm APS-C actually is not wide at all. Just sayin'.

Paul Diamond Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA

Hi,
You asked about the Tamron 15-30 mm Zoom lens. Therefore, anyone else with experience with another lens really isn't qualified to reply. - Or is that only my opinion??? (Hello 6 pages of replies?)

I own the Tamron 15-30 mm for my full frame high resolution sensors (D800E and D850), a purchase just a few years ago in anticipation of my 2019 trip to Yosemite. I researched it extensively. It has good/very good resolution for this extra wide angle field of view, little distortion and very good sharpness. As expected, I have little use for this rather heavy and large lens in my everyday shooting. But, it was the 'panoramic' lens that I wanted for panoramic views in Yosemite. Recommended for what it does best.

Suggest you not tilt the lens up. It does distort when the closest image area is near the bottom of the tilted view and infinity at the top. (Unless, you like this!) My shots of the tallest pines, redwoods and sequoias with the camera turned 90 degrees had obvious visible distortion. I have not yet tried to correct any of these photos in post processing. But, as a very wide angle lens, excellent resolution, excellent lack of wide field distortion and it gave me the wider field of view I was seeking for some select images in Yosemite.

The issue with this and other ultra wide lenses is to answer the question "How many times will you use it in your 'normal' shooting???? For me, this is rare. So, do I carry this large, heavy lens as part of my 'regular' kit?? Will it stay in my backpack for all outdoor shooting? Or is it a 'specialized lens' for special purposes?

I own it. No apologies asked or expected. If I plan to go to the places where I want an ultrawide view with great sharpness, this is my already owned and infrequently used lens. No excuses or apologies. It is great at what it does. I don't use it often. And I don't have any regrets.

And, especially if I go to a 'special' place like Yosemite or the Grand Canyon or expansive scenics, this is my lens that I happily own. And, I will happily use it with the expectation of great results at what it does best.

However, I do believe that most photographers do not need and regularly use a lens like this range (full frame) on a regular basis. Unless they live where wide and distant vistas are a customary part of the kind of pictures that you shoot. - I wish it was true of me. But, it is more rare. (And, still I enjoy this expensive and more rare use of this lens for my shooting.)

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Yeah, that’s just your opinion. While did ask specifically for the opinions about that particular lens he also asked if anything wider than 24mm is useful.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Hoover Dam. This shot was taken with a 17mm lens back in '76 on my 35mm film camera. All I had at the time was a nifty 50. I was disappointed that I couldn't get the shot I wanted when a kind tourist next to me offered to let me use his lens. That is not distortion, the tower on the left IS leaning at about a 45° angle.

Being a scan from a print, I didn't see any reason to "store original).