BUDGET WIDE-ANGLE PRIMES

A wide-angle prime is considered a must-have for many photographers, Here, we test four of the best low-cost options for mirrorless full-frame cameras

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Canon, Sony and Nikon have the lion’s share of the full-frame mirrorless camera market and there’s a growing array of excellent lenses available in all three mount options. They range from inexpensive, fully manual affairs from independent manufacturers to prograde lenses with all the bells and whistles, and heavyweight price tags to match. Top-quality lenses are always nice to have but there’s rarely money to burn, especially at this time of year, so it pays to choose wisely.

Many photographers view a wide-angle prime as a must-have lens for all sorts of reasons, from landscape and architectural shooting to street photography, environmental portraiture and, heavens above, for capturing a starry night sky. But while fully manual lenses are often relatively cheap to buy, the lack of autofocus and the need to adjust the aperture via the lens’s onboard control can rightly feel like a retrograde step in the digital age.

The good news is that budget-friendly wide-angle autofocus lenses are now available for mirrorless cameras, typically with a fairly fast f/2.8 aperture rating. Better still, they tend to have a compact and lightweight construction that sits well with typically svelte mirrorless bodies. The upshot is that for an ‘affordable’ outlay, you can grab a wide-angle prime that’s ideal for everyday shooting or for popping in a corner of your gadget bag whenever you need it.

We’ve rounded up some contenders, including own-brand Canon RF and Nikon Z lenses, plus a couple of attractive independents from Samyang and Tamron, designed for Sony E-mount cameras. The Canon 16mm lens gives the most generous viewing angle of the bunch, whereas the Nikon 28mm is naturally the most moderate in this respect, with the Samyang 18mm and Tamron 20mm taking the middle ground. Here’s how they compare...