I’ve being using the Kowa 8.5mm lens a lot recently. I love the virtually no distortion and the edge to edge sharpness. The effect this lens has on landscapes is amazing. It transforms an ordinary scene in to something truly special. I bought a Kood ND filter which screws in to the lens hood – this enabled me to play around with shutter speeds. Slowing the shutter speed creates interesting water and cloud effects.
When photographing water – especially when it is fast moving, it’s worth experimenting with shutter speeds – too fast and it freezes the water in a snapshot, too slow and all detail is lost and over exposed – the key is to try create movement through the scene – I usually aim for around a 1 second shutter speed by adjusting the aperture and ISO along with an ND filter.
To create an interesting mist effect with slower moving water like the sea – you need a very slow shutter speed of around 20 seconds – for this you will need a strong ND filter, a small aperture (high F stop) and low ISO speed to reduce the amount of light entering on to the camera sensor.
Here is a selection of recent super wide angle shots with the Kowa 8.5mm lens and Olympus OMD EM-1:
Forth Bridge, Scotland, Kowa 8.5mm f2.8mm lens
Snowdon View, Kowa 8.5mm f2.8mm lens
Sunset, Kowa 8.5mm f2.8mm lens
Llanrwst, North Wales, Kowa 8.5mm f2.8mm lens
Snowden River, Kowa 8.5mm f2.8mm lens